When I first tested with 23andMe, I thought I’d get the usual pie chart of ancestry percentages. Instead, I found myself staring at something far more exciting; 36 historical matches that linked me directly to real people uncovered by archaeology.
There they were on my screen: Viking burials in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden; warriors from Salme, Estonia; Roman remains from Italy; even a victim of the St. Brice’s Day Massacre in England. My DNA wasn’t just a set of percentages anymore; it was touching history in ways I never expected.
But as thrilling as that was, it was only the beginning. Enter MyTrueAncestry.
Where 23andMe gave me 36 ancient matches, MyTrueAncestry gave me hundreds. Instead of just telling me I was “part Scandinavian” or “part British Isles,” it showed me how those segments of DNA connected across centuries and continents. It layered migrations, wars, and settlements into a timeline that stretched from the Bronze Age Steppe to the Viking Age to the Roman world.
The most powerful part of this journey came when my dad decided to test too. Suddenly, I could see which side each ancient connection came from:
- Some were clearly paternal; tied to the Browns of Alabama, who carried older European threads across the Atlantic.
- Others were maternal; like the McCorquodales, weaving through my mitochondrial haplogroup J1c8, which links me to Gotland and Viking-era Scandinavia.
- And then there were the fascinating overlaps; where both maternal and paternal lines tangled together in unexpected places like Estonia and Denmark.
For me, living in Sweden now, this isn’t just academic. To see names like VK429 from Gotland or VK554 from Salme, Estonia; and then to actually stand in those landscapes… feels surreal. My ancestors once crossed these waters; now I do too, not as a warrior or a trader, but as someone chasing love, curiosity, and wanderlust.
What began with a 23andMe test has become something much bigger. It’s not just about percentages; it’s about people. It’s not just about history; it’s about belonging. And every time I open these results, I’m reminded of what the Swedish word förfäder means: ancestors. They carried us here; we carry them forward.
✨ Swedish word of the day: förfäder – “ancestors.”
They are the story behind our story.
🔎 Highlight Reel: My 23andMe Historical Matches
Here are some of the most striking individuals my DNA connects to:
VK429 – Viking Age, Sweden (Gotland, 900–1050 CE); A woman buried in Fröjel, Gotland, near a bustling Viking harbor. VK489 – Vendel Period Warrior, Estonia (700–800 CE); A seafaring warrior tied to the pre-Viking Baltic world. VK554 – High-Status Vendel Warrior, Estonia (700–940 CE); A leader from the famous Salme ship burial. VK514 – Viking Age, Norway (500–1000 CE); A Norse individual from the heart of the Viking homelands. R117 – Late Antique Roman, Italy (400–600 CE); A glimpse of Southern European ancestry carried northward. VK172 – St. Brice’s Day Massacre Victim, England (880–1002 CE); A haunting reminder of Viking-English conflict. PB2031 – Neolithic Irish Farmer (3632–3374 BCE); One of the earliest farmers of the British Isles.
Swedish Wanderlust 