A man eager to learn more about his ancestry was left shocked after a DNA test produced some unexpected results.
Americans are eager to learn more about their past. According to a 2022 survey of just over 2,100 U.S. adults conducted by OnePoll on behalf of genealogy company Ancestry, 66 percent of respondents want to learn more about their family history.
Greg Curry, a photographer from Cape Breton Island in Canada, wanted to find out more about where he came from. So, in 2016, he and his wife decided to get a DNA test that would trace their lineage back.
"I have an interest in my family history and had done some digging into my immediate ancestry before taking the test," Curry told Newsweek. "I was curious to see what would come up. Back then, there was a lot of hype about finding something you might not know."
Curry said he "wasn't expecting anything specific" from the results he got and had an inkling of what some of it might stay.
"I knew that I had a strong history of Scottish and Irish ancestry," he said.
His wife's results proved to be quite unexpected. "My wife had gotten some surprises of Italian and Northern African, so I was hoping to find something exciting that I wasn't aware of," he said.
He nervously opened his results to see what secrets might be revealed. Scanning the screen, Curry admits he was "a little shocked" at what he was reading.
According to the test, Curry is 100 percent northwestern European and, more specifically, 100 percent British and Irish. The findings were confirmed in a handy visual aid depicting Great Britain and Ireland as one giant shade of blue. That blue represented Curry.
"To see the ring on my profile in one color, compared to my wife's that had multiple, was funny," he said. "I really thought over the years there had to be something else."
Though it was a shock, Curry was able to see the funny side, posting a slideshow to his TikTok account (@greg_curry) confirming there was "0 percent diversity" in his family tree.
In some ways, it wasn't a huge shock to Curry, although he had expected to see at least one other color on the screen. He has yet to meet anyone who has experienced the same thing.
"I'm from Cape Breton Island in Canada, and I would assume that other locals could have similar results as we have a strong history of Scottish and Irish here," he said.
"It is wild to have 100 percent, though! I've talked to some friends, and they don't have 100 percent, so I'm not sure how normal it is."
Obviously, given the lack of any real surprise, the experience has not changed the way Curry sees himself all that much.
"I'm proud of my heritage and have since learned more of my family's history on the island," he said.
Curry would also encourage others to explore their own family heritage if they ever get the chance.
"I think it's very interesting, and you never know, you might find out something new about yourself...or in my case," he joked.
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