Vikings!?

Some new DNA results! While my father's full DNA results are not yet complete, we know his mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) results.

Mothers pass their mtDNA, unchanged, to their children 100% of the time. Over time, because of small errors when it copies itself, mtDNA slowly changes. By tracking when and where these changes occurred, we can also track the migrations of our maternal ancestors. The code that describes his mtDNA is I1a1e.

My father's known maternal line is Grace Davis > Emily Campbell > Emma McGregor > Amelia (unknown surname), who had immigrated from Scotland in the early 19th century. However, the mtDNA gives us some more information.

"Haplogroup I1a has the most frequent and widespread distribution area among Haplogroup I sub-clades, most common in Scandinavia; Swedish, Norwegian and Saami populations."

This very distant maternal ancestor was possibly a Norse woman who settled in Scotland over a thousand years ago. While Norse settlements were extensive in Scotland for several hundred years, they were eventually absorbed by the much larger, native population. However, their genetic legacy may remain.