(Also see our “Ethnic Communities” map of the British Isles.)

Here is a graphic overview of the results of my autosomal DNA test done by Ancestry.com. It leaves little doubt that my line of the Bakers came from England. But that could also include Scotland or the northern “border” territory between England and Scotland (where both Englishmen and Scottish folks tell me there his historically been a preponderance of Bakers. We also have a healthy chunk of Irish in our pie. I’m betting that is “Ulster Scot” from Northern Ireland based on a little historical research. The bit of western Europe and Iberian Peninsula (Spain/Portugal) is to be expected and is common with most Scots-Irish and even English people—although my great grandmother’s Sephardic Jewish lineage could account for some of that, too.

The weak showing of American Indian DNA was disappointing, but I’ve since read a good bit about why, in families with confirmed/documented Indian heritage, DNA tests results often do not show it. It’s a confusing subject, trust me! Of course, my bit of Indian heritage has not yet been proven beyond a doubt, so the whole subject remains open and vague.

Interesting that I am more “English” than the typical native of England today!

Sadly, there is a reason for this. The population of England has become so diluted with massive waves of immigration encouraged by the liberal government in recent decades, that the “average native resident” of the country is now only about 60% English. My Bakers, on the other hand, left England in the 17th century when they were very close to 100% English (or Irish or Scottish) and settled in the Appalachian Mountains of America. There we have remained to this day. Much of that time, we have been isolated from urban areas and the influx of other ethnicities to the this country. For this reason, my DNA has remained around 65% original English. And that’s about 5% more than the average native of England today. (Ireland is in this same situation today. They are having real problems with the massive emigration of their young adults to Canada, America, Australia, etc., while at the same time they are encouraging immigration from other parts of the world in a desperate attempt to fill the thousands of essential jobs that the Irish youth have left behind.