How Did I Get to be Finnish?

Have you taken a DNA test yet? I've tested through two companies: Family Tree Maker for my female ancestors through my mother, and Ancestry for a look at both sides of my gene pool. As you might guess, I'm 45 percent Swedish from both Northern Sweden (my Swedish grandmother's side) and Southern Sweden (my Swedish grandfather's side). A like amount is from my mother's side: Czech, Germanic, and Eastern European. But I do have 5 percent of my genes from Finland and it is attributed to my Swedish ancestors. So how did that happen?

Both of my brothers tested, and they both have 8 percent Finnish ancestry. One of my Swedish first cousins, once removed tested, and his results show 9 percent Finnish. I was fortunate to have one of my paternal uncles test a few years back, and he tests at 20 percent Finnish.

As I always mention when writing about DNA, I am not an expert in DNA research. I'm barely a novice who has attended a few workshops to gain a basic understanding of my DNA to use in my own research.

First, is there a way to understand how far back my lineage might go to gain 5 percent from a Finnish ancestor? There are actually many combinations that could account for that 5 percent.

As you can see above, my brothers and I don't share the same percentage of Finnish ancestry. Likewise, we don't share the same percentage from each of our parents. One of us is more Swedish than the other two. DNA is passed down randomly. So, while one parent may have 10 percent Italian for example, none of that 10 percent might have been passed down randomly to the child.

When I look at my mom's DNA, she has NO Finnish ancestry. Thus, it's a certainty that my Finnish DNA, as well as my brothers' Finnish DNA, came from our paternal line. My Swedish uncle (my father's brother) has 20 percent Finnish DNA, just a bit more than twice what both of my brothers have at 8 percent. Because that uncle is one generation closer to the Finn ancestry, his 20 percent makes sense. And, because my first cousin, once removed has 9 percent Finnish DNA and is related to my paternal grandmother, it seems clear that the Finnish DNA comes through Maude Edith Olofson Linn whose ancestors are from the north-central portion of Sweden.

The Finnish DNA is not from the Linns; it is from the Olofsons. 

Next, can we narrow this down a bit more. 

Until 1809, Finland was a part of the Swedish empire, under Swedish rule. 

During the 1600's, in the areas where Maude Edith Olofson Linn's ancestors were from, iron ore had been discovered in the forested areas. While the Swedes were capable of mining the ore, they did not have the ability to refine it. Thus, the Finns were invited to come to the forest areas in the 1600s. These areas were now used to make charcoal for the iron blast furnaces and iron works and to refine the ore for military use.

Can we find any Finns in Maude's line who might have been iron workers? The answer is YES. My 7th great grandfather, Bertil Monsieur, was born in Finland in 1644 and died in Hanebo Parish, Gavleborg County, on 8 April 1739.

But how much DNA could I possibly have inherited from a 7th great-grandfather? Pretty much nothing. Less than 1 percent. Of course, other factors play a roll. DNA inheritance is random. What if I inherited 3 percent or even 4 percent from Bertil Monsieur? What if his son, my 6th great grandfather, inherited a larger amount, up to 50 percent Finn from his father, or if he married a full-blooded Finn, passing on 50 percent or MORE between the two of them to their children? What if other ancestors of Maude's had small amounts of Finnish DNA that randomly mixed and found their way to my generation?

And, what if there was general mixing of DNA during that time between Swedes and Finns, proximate neighbors where genetic differences are very small, even before Sweden captured Finland and ruled?

In general, 4-5 generations back is where we can stop counting DNA as a good indicator of our heritage. But it's not a hard rule. Randomness. That's what makes each of us different from our siblings, our cousins, other relatives. While I've been told that I look like Maude, my paternal grandmother, I actually have a bit more of my mom's DNA in me. Maybe the Bohemian/German DNA is more about my height, my nose, my cow ankles or the random curls in my hair, but my Swedish DNA is more about my facial features and blue eyes. 

I would never tell anyone that I am part Finn. The amount is so small, the randomness makes it impossible to narrow down completely, and all people from Nordic countries do share some of the same genes. I would tell people the story about Bertil Monsieur and other people from Finland being invited to help with the iron ore refinement and that he is my 7th great-grandfather because I know that to be 100% true. But whether Bertil was 100% Finn, or was simply born there and was really some other ethnicity, is something I will never know with certainty.

Another reason I just love genealogy!!!