Roots, shoots and stories

 I can't remember exactly when I first had my DNA tested. Initially it was with Ancestry and later with 23andme. I did it out of curiosity - not for my ethnicity results, which frankly turn out to be so boring - nor to find an unknown close relative - but mainly to find out what 'cousins' are out there and if the DNA matches I get help corroborate the genealogical research I have done. I thought I would find the results interesting. What I didn't realise was analysing my DNA matches and the DNA we shared from a common set of ancestors would turn into an obsession! :) I was lucky to be in at almost the start of DNA analysis and was able to pick up new techniques and make use of new developments provided by the testing companies and others as I went along. I also studied a few courses on genetic genealogy with the University of Strathclyde. So what have I been doing with all this 'knowledge' over the years? Personally, I have managed to confirm the ancestors I hav...

 To be Swedes or not to be? That is the question! My husband Martin grew up with the family story, that the Stepeks, although for centuries living in Poland, originated in Sweden. The name Stepek is an uncommon one, even in Poland, until the 20th century being confined to the far south-east, predominantly in the small town of Haczow. The meaning of the name could be one of a couple of possibilities. Historically people had moved into what is Poland from the east from the Steppes - the name could be derived from that. Or the -ek suffix means 'little' or even 'son of', so could be something like 'Little Steve or Steph' or son of Steve/Steph. Our research has the Stepek line going back to the mid 1700s, all in the same town of Haczow, but were they always there or did they come from elsewhere? So is there any evidence for the family story that the Stepeks came from Sweden??  Martin's Aunt Danka (Danuta Stepek) said that her father had told her that most of the ...

 My husband Martin could have been a fluent Polish speaker given that his father, Jan, was Polish. However, Jan made a conscious decision not to teach any of his children his native language.  He had come to live in Scotland at the end of the Second World War, having been given a grant to study in Glasgow. It was while there he met Teresa his wife to be. She was Scottish from an Irish background. Jan had lost so much through the war - his father, his mother, his home and the independence of his homeland - and being unable to return to Poland, he had lost everything. As a result, his focus was entirely on building a new life in Scotland and becoming "Scottish" - though his accent never changed! So his children were never taught Polish, something Martin regrets. Polish was only heard in the house when Jan's sister Danuta or other Polish friends came to visit, and at Christmas time, when Jan was on the phone arranging presents for the children from Poland. Martin's fathe...