I Found My Adopted Father's Heritage... Can I Sew the Clothes? [Part 1]
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- Опубліковано 21 гру 2022
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Come on a journey with me as I discover my adopted father's heritage, to learn even more about our ancestral past, so I can complete one of my goals in life - to sew historical fashion from each of my ancestral origins. This is part 1 of a 3-part series, which I will be continuing next year. Part 2, will be the sewing of one of the ancestral garments, and part 3 will be yet another ensemble from another ancestral origin.
Thank you so much for watching and happy holidays!
Yours, etc.
V. Birchwood
Social Media:
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Business Inquiries - vbirchwood@helmtalentgroup.com
#HistoricalFashion #MyHeritage
Buy a DNA kit here: bit.ly/Birchwood_mh . Use the coupon code Birchwood for free shipping.
As an added bonus, you can start a 30-day free trial of MyHeritage’s best subscription for family history research - and enjoy a 50% discount if you decide to continue it.
Thanks for this, I actually got myself a DNA kit with your coupon code! I've been wanting to take one and this was just the nudge I needed...
@@db1519 Thanks for the support! I hope you find out some interesting information about your heritage with the test! 😊
Oh my gosh, the lilac jacket/wrap you are wearing in this video, what kind of weave is that? It almost looks like a knit. I don't know how to describe it other than it looks almost scrumptious!
I think this is the first time I've seen a youtuber with a sponsorship from a DNA testing company talk about the company's privacy policy! Thank you so much for talking about this! The privacy issues with genetic testing are very serious and it's a relief to hear at least one company won't sell this extremely sensitive data.
Thanks so much for acknowledging it! I’m a very private person in many ways, so this stuff really matters to me too.
I am relieved to learn, as well.
Thank you.
The UA-camr UsefulCharts also talks about privacy. He has a number of videos comparing the different companies, what they provide, pros and cons. They really aren't one size fits all which is why so many people like me have done tests from multiple companies.
Well said!! I always wonder about this when I see these sponsorships. What happens with your DNA after testing, because in the end they're just a company with business interests.
Pro tip: Policies can change. Don't trust companies.
Nearly 2 years ago, I decided to do AncestryDNA, and, to my surprise, almost immediately found the sister my mum had given up in the mid-1960’s. We’ve spoken, traded photos, and she looks JUST like my mum. We lost mum 8+ years ago, so it was really nice to find my sister. 😊
Congratulations!
I did the My Heritage DNA test years ago and recently found a relative. But as we talked I started to understand why I never heard of her before: she is my grandmother's half sister from an unmarried union and was put to adoption. I never thought something like that could happen in my family, I must say I wasn't prepared to face the reality being thrown at me like that. I don't regret doing the test, but beware of what you might uncover, cause those stories don't happen to other people only...
I wouldn't be too discouraged about the relatives not getting back to you, there's a million reasons why that might be. They may just not be actively using the site anymore/right now. Even if you don't get ahold of them, you may still be able to use their tree information to trace something back for yourself..
My sister and I just did ancestry this year since genealogy was something my dad was super interested in before he passed. We're looking forward to exploring it together.
Thank you Rachel! I definitely don’t feel too discouraged and I trust that I’ll find the information I need at some point, and if not then that’s okay too 😊 what a fun activity for you both to do together and a great way to honour your dad too!
This is so beautiful. I’ve never really been all that interested in my heritage as a black American, it’s always depressing to think about. I never found that I was that connected to Africa or even the small amount of indigenous I’ve heard in there too. So I understand that feeling of something about you can just feel missing. This is a beautiful journey, I can’t wait to see you finding your heritage and it was sweet to see you talking to your Dad.
Always explore your heritage. It is your identity. And, if possible, visit the land of your ancestors.
That’s … unfortunate. You were carefully taught to de-value our heritage and view it as sub-par. You are missing out on so many wonderful achievements, history, and vibrant cultures. Music, poetry, dance, cuisines, theatre, education, medicine, public safety, and commerce. And if you knew more, then you would find stories of resilience, innovation, and joyous celebration of the human spirit. And connections you never dreamed of.
I was on a bus in Capetown, South Africa, and as it stopped at a traffic light, I saw a group of Black women talking as they waited for the light to change, and I immediately recognized their body language as the exact same as my female Elders, and myself. And this is coming from a Black American who has lived so far north that the Arctic Circle is a just day trip from my front door most of my life.
Stop gazing at yourself in the cracked and debased mirror of oppression and you will see a different world. Peace.
Thank you so much Makeda! ❤️ I'm so sorry about the depressing thoughts attached to your own heritage, and I can understand why perhaps it hasn't been a thing of interest because of that. Ancestral trauma too is so real, and especially for BIPOC it can be incredibly painful.
As a huge fan of "Finding Your Roots" I know it's very common for black Americans to have slave ancestors, BUT there have been some Free Black People (not the term used at the time, but I want to be compassionate) found from the onset of this country. LOL I'm so white I glow in the dark, but I encourage you to think about going on this journey. My ancestors come from the Germany/Poland area on both sides of my family--traced back to about the 1750s, and immigrated before WWI. I wish you blessings on your way.❤
@@krunoslavkovacec1842 it often really is not your identity. It can be part of it, but it does not define all of you.
I really appreciate your drawing attention to the question of data ownership. It's something my spouse cares a great deal about, so we've neither of us ever really considered getting tested, before now. It's good to know there is a prominent company out there doing this the right way, on their own.
Thanks so much! This matters a TON to me also. I'm really glad that MyHeritage has this written into their privacy policy and that they're protecting people's sensitive info.
Agreed. I'm worried about insurance companies too in the future trying to use these tests for preexisting conditions etc
I was adopted in a 'closed' adoption that can never be unsealed due to grandfathered laws, so I can never know who my parents were for sure. I feel that way a lot. I took a dna test a few years ago, but never got closer than a cousin twice removed. Maybe I'll know something more eventually.
I’m so sorry Ashley! I hope that you’re able to get some more answers in the future ❤️
I empathize, as an adoptee with no biological knowledge. Hugs. ❤️
Keep checking the genome sites everu year or 2. More ppl are doing tests and being added all the time!
You might contact a genealogist. They can use your DNA to track through more records and get closer to your immediate family. There are various forums, but Facebook is a good place to start as far as finding a genealogy group.
Hello Vali! Thank you so much for this video! As a first-generation Russian adoptee in America, it's taken me quite a while to track my birth family. They are in the same town that is described on the paperwork for over 20 years now, and I have an older sister! I'm ethnically Russian, Baltic, Finnish and Scandinavian
aw i didn't know your name was vasilisa! i love that name and the story :)
Thank you! 🥰 I’ve learned to really love my name as I’ve gotten older, but most people still can’t pronounce it 😅
An interesting detail of Irish dress at the time is that actually it was very common for working women to wear bright red skirts. Excited for your journey into this new branch of heritage!
How cool! thanks for letting me know! I suppose this is something black and white photography really doesn’t pick up. Perhaps I will need to make the skirt red instead!
Robert Lynd, an Irish-born essayist and nationalist (1879-1949), wrote a book called Home Life in Ireland that describes some of the working class attire, including these red skirts! "The material of which the clothes are made, on the other hand, is of distinctive interest, and a bog-coloured coat of dyed home-spun has an appropriate beauty of its own. In Connemara the men wear a baínín (a jacket of white flannel) which helps to give an air of local wonderfulness to the roads and the fields. The women too, with their petticoats of beautiful shades of red remind us of a time when the Irish were noted for their love of colours, though the red petticoat of the town is sometimes eye-scaring enough.
The red petticoat of rural Ireland, I may say, is of a totally different colour from that worn in pseudo-Irish plays on the British stage. It is not an offensive scarlet; its colour is nearer that of a red carnation. It is not, of course, the custom to wear green garments along with it,
I have already spoken of the beauty of the heavy dyed garments of the women of Achill, some of bright blue, some of bright red, some of bright green. It is customary to use an incredible number of yards of stuff in these skirts, so that the figure has something of a clumsy look. I heard from one girl how an Achill woman had reproved her for immodesty, because she wore a skirt of the ordinary shape and measure." Robert Lynd, Home Life in Ireland (London: Mills, & Boon, 1909), 208-210. referenced from www.tota.world/article/217/
@@theverbind That sounds like such a great resource, thanks for sharing!
@@VBirchwood John Breslin has done two books called Old Ireland in Colour of colorizing old photos of Ireland that could be a helpful reference. There's definitely an instagram and just lots of the photos available on the internet elsewhere.
that's so cool!
I am adopted by my Dad, and we both did the MyHeritage DNA kits and we talked His Sister into doing the test as well. What came back was a huge surprise. Mine is straight forward Scottish, Irish Gaelic and English and Norwegian.
Dad’s family is right across UK, Europe and India and Asian with a hint of Jewish. We have found so many relatives but I have not contacted any of them as we are both not ready, on my Mom’s side of the family I had a cousin who contacted me, I knew her Mom so was happy to chat with her.
As an adopted person myself, I don't have any knowledge of who my biological family was. I do know that I was put into care because of severe neglect. My biological parents neglected me so much that eventually the neighbors complained about it and I was removed from the home. I went back for a short time when I was 4, but my nursery school teachers found cockroaches in my lunch pail. That quickly ended my involvement with my biological family. I had supervised visitation until my adoption. I was adopted in the mid 1980's, and it was a closed adoption.
That is so sad. Dr. Gabor Mate says that neglect is just as traumatic as abuse. I think of stories from adults who say that none of the adults in their lives intervened when it was apparent neglect or abuse was going on. Children are helpless and need adults to intervene, even when it is the difficult or inconvenient thing to do. That you had teachers and neighbors around you who cared about you and had the courage and initiative to help you have a better life is extraordinary.
I’m so so sorry about the neglect you experienced Megan. ❤️
@@VBirchwood thank you for caring. I am a stronger person for it and I have a good family.
It’s beautiful to hear you have such a wonderful family. I hope you all have a lovely holiday season!
@@VBirchwood you too. Happy Christmas.
Really excited about this series! Hopefully it can help you and your father feel more rooted, too.
The shawl sounds like it would be great for travelling, as you can use it as a blanket on the train/bus/plane.
Thank you so much Ragnhild! 😊 I’m extremely excited for the shawl as it’ll definitely come in handy!
All history is family history. But we must also remember that family is more than just blood. I have friends who have discovered relatives through this process that they didn’t know they had and on the whole it’s been a wonderful experience for them. But a little shattering too. So many reasons why someone might not connect. In any case, we are ALL family.
What a great idea! I am adopted and can't find anything on my father from Ancestry. So I was just looking at MyHeritage when your video dropped. LOL Good luck with your search. I myself am working on an Edwardian Scottish ensemble for similar reasons. So much fun to discover our histories.
TLDR: My adopted family also counts as my family lines and that investigation has been very interesting too.
But I really related to some of what you dad was saying. I never felt like I fit! Anywhere. It was really, really, hard to feel so misunderstood. So I opted for never connecting fully to anything. Until recently.
Due to sorrowful circumstances I also had to give my son up for adoption. He found me when he was 35 and got me the ancestry DNA kit. He was the first person I'd ever met who looked like me, laughed at the same things as me, hated peas like me... And now I also have some cousins and a half brother. What a fabulous journey you are on. You will be amazed at what you find, you researcher you.
YES!!! I am so looking forward to this new series and really admire your commitment to your family history journey in recreating their garments. I also have very high percentages on my father's side of Irish and Scottish so I highly anticipate your research into the working clothing. As a genealogist of 45+ years, I would highly recommend your father taking his own DNA test, it he hasn't already. I do understand why you did yours here on social media, (privacy reasons) but if he takes his own test, the results will be a generation closer to his matches bringing him higher percentages of the ethnicity of his father and mother. Also, I have learned so much from all your previous videos on historical dress and appreciate you taking us on your journeys. Happiest of holiday and keep up the good work - See you in the new year.
Thanks so much Michele! I’m definitely planning to buy my father a MyHeritage DNA kit at some point in future when I next see him (it’s been over 4 years though since we have seen one another as he lives very far away). What a cool professional to have for the past 45+ years!
@@VBirchwood Thank you honey, my grandmother got me started when I was 17 - it is addicting, just like sewing...lol
... my.mother taught me that. If you ever need any help, just reach out. It is so fortunate that we live in a digital world now, it makes genealogy so much easier. When I started there was no internet, can you imagine ! I so enjoy your channel, keep doing what you are doing!
@@VBirchwood There is another reason for your father to take the test as well; only he can provide data on his paternal line due to certain genetic markers only appearing on the Y chromosome. But you can get a lot of information about his maternal side. Apologies if anyone else already mentioned this or if you already knew! I wish you the best of luck with your journey!
Oddly enough, my father was adopted in teh 60s. It was a very closed adoption. I became fascinated with finding out more starting in my teens, but my dad just wasn't terribly interested. I poured over the scant records, looked up the hospital of his birth, found information on the OBGYN, everything. I then took the DNA test through Ancestry and after months of looking, someone finally popped up with a big chunk of shared DNA! It turned out to by my dad's half brother and we have both now met his birth mom and we are starting a new family relationship, 60 years later! My story is VERY similar to yours so I found this fascinating, along with basically everything else you do. I, too, am an amateur dress historian :) such a pleasure to watch this and relate so much to something!
Wild: I am on a similar journey! My mom is adopted and I did a dna kit thing too. AND am about to start making a vyshyvanka (Ukrainian blouse)
I can’t wait to see your projects!
How amazing! I hope your journey all goes well too 🥰
Hi Ms. Vasi, my father just passed away in June and I never really knew him. I definitely understand the childhood experience of never feeling like you belong after being moved between different family members growing up, and never being wanted by any of them. We are visiting his Puerto Rican family this winter break and while they are all nice, I still feel like a stranger in their house.
I love this! Growing up white in America, somehow I believed I didn’t really have a culture-because being white was just “normal.” It’s such a demented, embedded racism. Developing a white identity is one of the things I’ve been trying to learn how to do in recent years. It never occurred to me to combine this with my love of fashion history! My roots are all Welsh, Scottish, and British (Cornwall), with a smattering of other northern European nations. Now I want to research National dress in these areas and look at the historic photos I do have for my family and maybe even recreate some of those clothes. I always appreciate your thoughtfulness and this video really touched me. Thank you! ❤
That’s such an interesting perspective. In some ways, racism has created a space where white people can’t celebrate their heritage fully because it’s white washed. My sons are half white, and I take joy in them knowing it’s Scottish and German
It's something I struggle with as a white person too. I'm Dutch and I feel like Dutch culture is so bland. The culture/traditions we have is mostly food (not even food that can be easily made at home), or Christian holidays. But I'm not Christian so I find it hard to identify with (not to speak of the racist blackface holiday). I'd love to see what other heritage I have. I also love learning about old traditions that unfortunately have died, to see if I can revive them to gain a sense of "real" Dutch identity.
As a Ukrainian, I’m wondering how that Ukrainian ancestor of yours got to your region in the 40-50’s, or even prior. Knowing our history as a state, I have no doubt that Ukrainian ancestor had quite an interesting journey
I’ve wondered the exact thing! Definitely would have been an intense and eventful journey.
I have a similar goal - to make traditional/folk clothes from all of my ancestor's homelands. I am fortunate that my mom and grandmother kept well-documented family trees that were confirmed with DNA testing. I have already sewn the kilt for Scotland. Future projects are a dirndl for Germany, aran sweater (knitting) for Ireland, Hudson Bay capote coat for the French-Canadians, and a 13th-century Magna Carta-themed dress for England. Finding a garment for England was really tough, so I decided to focus on one particular ancestor, Robert de Ros.
This is a really fascinating direction to go with a dna kit. Thank you for the recommendation.
Also, I’m going to be eagerly following this journey. I’m largely of Irish heritage and I prefer the working class clothes in general. So this will be something I thoroughly enjoy keeping up with. ❤️
Thanks so much Kit! I hope I’ll be able to unearth some interesting information about Irish working class clothing 😊
I forgot to say, you do look like your Grandmother and you are both beautiful! I am so happy and excited about the upcoming videos.
Regards,
Audri
I love you’ve explored your family heritage. You have inspired me to do the same. The look on your face when you saw the matches that you came upon said it all. I too am of Scottish and Irish descent. But I still would like to pursue the DNA testing you suggested here. The clothing you’ve chosen is in many of my family pictures I have from the early 1900s, most of which were farmers. I can’t wait to see what you have chosen to sew! Thank you.
Thanks so much Sandy! I hope you discover many interesting things about your heritage 😊
As an Irish woman, I'm very excited to see your Irish ensemble!!
Thank you so much! Hopefully I can represent Irish heritage well! 😊
@@VBirchwood We Irish are a fairly easy going folk, as long as you don't go all top of the mornin', leprechaun, lucky charm-y you'll be welcomed into the fold! We're such a small nation that there really isn't much of a historical dress community, so I'm certain your research will prove to be invaluable!!
Oh gosh I would never hahaha. I was studying Irish a while back and really enjoyed my time there when I visited. One of my close friends is Irish as well, a very lovely person 😊
@@VBirchwood oh mo Dhia!!! Cén ceantar in Éirinn is fearr leat?
My god, I have not seen such a beautiful video on UA-cam for a long time. Keep it up, you have a captive audience member here waiting for your story to further unfold.
Thank you so so much Jocelyn! I really appreciate it 🥰
This is such a cool project! My mother is also adopted and from her heritage I have Irish genes, but I connect much more to my familial Scottish heritage because her adoptive mom (my granmum) is a first generation Scottish immigrant, so I grew up with that being a larger part of my life. Im going to make my own kilt someday. Being part of the black diaspora due to slavery, makes its very difficult near impossible to narrow down your heritage to a country or ethnic group, you just kinda have to guess. But my enslaved ancestors made community in Georgia so I can try to honor that.
I also have my heritage! Really cool! My family has missing pieces in general because one side is Native and due to colonization a lot gets lost on jumbled, the other side is more of a mystery but most of my grandmas family died when she was young and they where poor so having information was hard pressed. And I myself am a donor conceived person and so I have curiosity there about that side of my heritage. I know from my bio dad I'm also Jewish! Also I think it's cool how you want to make a garment from each of your heritages, because I've wanted to do something similar, but where I combine my peoples into one outfit, like I'm combined into one person :) 💖!!!!
What an amazing goal to have too! 🥰
@@VBirchwood thank you 🥰💖! May both our goals be well met!
Lol I would like to be able too not being so good at drawing lol!” 😂 I wanted to wish you and your father good luck in searching for blood relatives. And I wanted to say bravo to you for your determination on hand sewing your day-to-day clothing. And wanting to honour your parents by creating outfits from their heritage. Браво! 😉your joie de vivre inspirers me to hand sew historical inspired clothing for myself… I’m 60 years young and everything I made was for my kids or family or strangers… I always felt that I wasn’t worthy to wear very nicely made apparels. Always felt that I wasn’t born in the right era . But watching you grow has you make your own garments helped me “grow” too. Your wisdom touched me. So for 2023 I’m gonna make myself a new wardrobe that I’m gonna wear because I heard somewhere that to create balance in your life , if something is added in your home you gotta let go of one thing!!! 😊 thank you V. 😊happy new year!
This is so amazing and beautiful for you. I am of mixed European ancestry which is not unusual in New Zealand. I have Irish, Scottish, Danish, and recently I found out Dutch through my paternal grandmother’s grandmother who was half Dutch half English which I didn’t know as I only had that she married my great great grandfather who was Danish and left Denmark and went to sea when he was 14.
Thank you Renata! 🥰
Looking forward to your make. I also have Irish and Scottish heritage. My brother took a dna test and we’re pretty much mainly British Isles and then Poland. I can trace the Polish easier because my grandmother was 1st generation American and her Polish parents were in the 1950 census as being from Poland. It’s sad that my grandmother didn’t pass on her first language but it is very common that 2nd generation and 3rd generation do not speak their ancestral language.
That’s going to be a fun outfit!!
Thank you Kat! Nice to be able to represent some working class clothing 😊
@@VBirchwood Oh yes! Working class outfits are often overlooked and they’re both fascinating and very comfortable as well as being quite fashionable in their own way.
I took the MyHeritage DNA test. I found out that I have >12,000 Finnish relatives (in range of 2nd cousin to 5th cousin). I could have already guessed that.
It's so great that you are pursuing your genealogy! I have dug into mine quite a few times and discovered my ancestors first came from the Netherlands!. Also some from Germany with a great ,great, great grandfather being full blood Scottish. I love going to the library and researching this, (and anything else I am intrigued with).
Your journey is going to be fascinating and I am so interested to hear what you find. I also love that you are sewing representation of the results.
I love the idea, and while I may be a bit chicken to try a full sized garment, perhaps one could make a quilt or stitch some embroidery of historic, genealogical reference...
Thank you for the inspiration in this realm! Love your content!
Thank you so much Mel! 🥰
I would be really interested if you also did the Scandinavian. My family is also Irish and Danish, both working class, and I have had a hard time learning what they would have worn.
Really personal and lovely video. Thank you for the insight into your journey of discovery. It was especially cool to hear your dad talk about his experience with a determined Vasi.
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the video! 😊
Beautiful
Thanks!
Very interesting and exciting that you have found a relative of your Fathers! You are so talented, now you can sew something to match the heritage of your father!
Thank you so much! 😊
I love researching genealogy. It’s a great mystery to solve and even better than reading a good mystery novel!
very true! 😊
Good images
I love this Vasi! What a special thing to share with your father!
Thanks so much Elise! 🥰
I have also had it within my goals to Create garments from my heritage, and have made many *inspired* by, but often feel intimidated by a whole outfit. I am eagerly awaiting this series of videos.❤
That's so exciting, what a good idea!
Thanks so much Noelle! 🥰
Ok, this is such an interesting undertaking. You’re approach is so unique and holistic. Very very genuine……
I’m so incredibly glad I found you! ❤
I love this ❤️ my father was also adopted out in the 50s and I’ve always wondered about his birth parents. Even with DNA kits I haven’t found anything about his birth mother, but I’ve been finding out more about his birth father which has been great. It’s amazing what modern science is able to do.
This is something I've considered myself as we have a fairly complete family tree except for my great grandmother. No one can find out where she came from, we have contradictory information on her parents, and she never talked about it. I've always wondered if my mom taking a DNA test would give us an answer but I worry about the data privacy so I'm glad to hear about the myheritage policies! My grandfather immigrated as a teenager from Austria but the rest of my family has been in the US for quite sometime so our heritage is as far as we know, mostly English, French, and Irish but several generations removed. I like the idea of getting in touch with your culture by making traditional historical garments.
It's been such a pleasure watching you and your channel blossom in 2022. I'm very much looking forward to your future creations. Sending wishes for health, happiness, love, and laughter in the new year!
Thank you so much KB! Best wishes for your 2023 as well and happy new year 🥰
I have a similar project: to learn all the languages spoken by my ancestors. But I like the idea of sewing clothes from their cultures too :)
I like your lace collar!
For being born in the 50s your dad sounds very young!
He’s super young at heart 😊 he also looks like he’s in his early 50s, even though he’s 67 now. He has a full head of long brown hair! Haha
What a delightful and hopeful video!
I will be interested to see the pieces you create from your inspirations!
Thank you so much Catherine! It'll be fun wearing all the garments as part of my daily wear as well 😊
@@VBirchwood I would imagine so! They're nice sturdy practical pieces; and, nicely colored, I would imagine.
Are you going to talk about the theories of the evolution of colors & the amounts of each that go into the patterns in traditional historical cloth?
Very nice 👍👌🤗💋💐 Family members are Great.your D.N.A Riport and your family Tree.🧬🧬 God bless you.Thank you always Best information.
I'm glad you got some information about your family even though it's not as much as you would have liked. Your project will be really nice.
Thank you! 😊 I still have plenty of info to go off of, so I'm excited for the journey of it all!
I have some Irish in my heritage as well. This will be an interesting series to follow. :)
How cool! I hope you’ll enjoy the parts to come 😊
I love this idea! I May make some of my heritage’s clothing as well!
That's an awesome idea!
As much as I love the clothes of upper class women to present myself in, there's nothing like a good and simple working class outfit to do all your chores in. No worries about stains or dirt!
I did a swab with MH, and I liked all the features and privacy policies. My **only** issue is that they **do not** send you an email reminder before charging you for your membership for the year. But otherwise I've enjoyed it :)
wow, your handwriting is so beautiful!
Thank you! I used to get poor grades on my hand writing and was told my teachers I needed to type my notes because they weren’t able to read them 😂 but I am proud of my own handwriting 🥰
"It's not a treat, Runa!" Lol, that's just like my cat! Any time I open a package, she comes running up to me because she thinks I'm opening a package of treats. Dogs and cats are so funny and cute!
You've given me a good idea. I've been thinking about making a dress or skirt/blouse from somewhere between 1900 and 1910, and I have photos of my great grandmothers who both lived in what's now considered part of northern Italy. At the time, they lived in the Italian speaking part of Austria. It would be interesting to recreate one of their outfits. One of my great grandmothers was a seamstress and I've been told she was considered fashionable, so maybe I'll look at what she is wearing. My grandfather, my mother and I all look like her, too.
My mother discovered through DNA testing that she had a cousin who was adopted at birth. Her cousin's biological mother was a Catholic nun, so I'm guessing she hid the pregnancy from the rest of the family since this was a complete surprise. It's possible that my grandmother or one of her other siblings knew, but they are not alive to ask. This would have been scandalous in the 1950s, so my grandparents' generation would have hid it from people outside the family. But within the family, we've got a lot of people with poor boundaries, so I think the story would have leaked if anyone knew. I'm glad she reached out to us, though, so the secret wasn't held forever.
Wow! That’s an exciting find for you!!! I think a common element for most Americans is the fact that our ancestors are from other countries so there’s always that missing piece! I’ve watched a few of your videos and I was just curious do you dress in period fashion in your everyday life or just for these videos??? Also I hope you find more answers or at least find peace of mind for whatever it is you’re seeking!! 🙏
Should have him take the test too, there’s parts of the DNA profile that are only on the male side and parts that pass through the matrilineal line. It’ll probably show more results!
This is so cool to see! I’m a sperm donor baby so I’ve done of these as well! I love the idea of sewing different fashions from the ancestral groups, I hope I can do that one day!
The one really good thing about the advances in DNA in recent decades is that its finally scientifically destroyed any racial purity arguments. Its surprising how far our ancestors travelled in an age before ocean going transport. Although in the past couple of generations my roots are 'British' , somewhere down the line I know they'll be Scandinavian, French, and a whole host of other western Europeans, push further back eastern european pastoralists and fertile crescent farmers; not to mention our early homosapian ancestors from Africa, chuck in a bit of Neanderthal for good measure and you end up with C21st .... us.
If I hadn't seen the picture of your granny I would have said there's quite a bit of Pictish in your features, dark eyes, pale skin and a slighter frame than the more Gaelic side of celtdom, but I'm quite sure you're cool with whatever admixture of regions your ancestors were from.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
My father also has tatar and cossac in his line! What a coicidence...
Wow, how cool!
@@VBirchwood And I am also a historian freak/studying archaeology 😅
I just got results back from a DNA test, and my father's side had Baltic & Eastern European/Russian, which was unexpected. He also had Scottish and Irish, which was expected given he was Scottish.
Your Tatar grandma is cute AF !
It’s possible that your relatives may get in touch at some point in the future.
Did you make your pink jacket with the burgundy trim? It's quite lovely. What stitch pattern is it?
Is your Dad going to take a test? It would be really effective if he did. My family is extremely mixed, and one of us from each generation ( grandparents, parents, and kids ) took a test, and it was fascinating.
I really like the dusty rose sweater you're wearing in the first picture of this post. Did you knit it?
I would like to point out that the "Baltic" result may just as easily be related to the Northern and Western European side of the results. Depending a bit on which Baltic country exactly it would be - Lithuania had considerably different history from the other two, which had a lot of German and Scandinavian influence.
This is so cool! Also kind of scary in a way. Thanks for taking us with you on this journey. I’ve been curious to do something like this at some point especially being Jamaican and basically descendant of enslaved people. There might be some Irish/Scottish there for me as well but it is sort of scary to take the leap and find out 😅
Thank you so much! 🥰
I've always known what my heritage is. My father's family originated in Egypt, then travelled to France and then 200yrs ago left Leon for Rome. My Mother's father was from Spain, he moved to Sicily when he was 14 and her mother's parents were from France, they moved to Sicily once married. Both of my parents migrated to Australia in the same year but 6 months apart. My father is quite a bit older than my Mum. My Mum is very fair but my Dad is very dark. I'm fair with very dark curly hair and when I was younger people would think I was Asian. My brother is extremely dark, no one ever thought we were related. It's funny how genes can throw back to where your ancestors were from. I have 4 children my eldest looks Middle eastern, then my youngest is more pale than me with red curly hair, but all my kids look like me which is a little funny. The running joke is like a printer running out of ink I was running out too 😁
Enjoyable video. I suggest a great idea/resource for working class Irish women's clothing would be to check out the films 'The Banshees of Inisherin' dated from near the end of the Irish civil war (approx 1923), and 'The Wonder' dated from after the Crimean war (post1856) and long memories of the Irish famine and poverty (1845 -1852). You may get a better idea of the clothing/dress styles, and of the shawls that were worn for warmth, during the period of your interest from these films.
Thank you for the recommendations and compliment! 😊
My Heritage improved their "etnic origin" recently, but it still could be a bit confusing. I´m lucky and I was able to build my family tree (base on written sources like parish records) in six branches both from my mother nd father side into 18th and even 17th century. We all (me, my mother and my father) took dna test and it showed very diverze etnic background - in my mothers case east european, scandinavian, baltic and few others. I pretty sure none of her relatives in last two or three centuries traveled from Scandinavia or Baltic countries. But this mixture is very very typical for people living in our central Europe region, it usualy means our ancestors lived here for centuries and foreign influences are many hundres (or even few thousand) years old. Almost every person in our country has few percents od Irish/Scottish etnicity - it probably means Celtic, for Celts migrated to Ireland and Scotland from these region (very simplified explanation).
When having Eastern and/or Central European heritage, I recomend you to take it into account - some regions are very homogenous in time, others significantly less. I also really suggest to test your father too - it could significantly help to trace his origin and rule out false matches. It is worth to do it even in private, after this series is over (speaking from my own experience - my dna was shiwing less then my parents, only by testing them we find out important information about our 100 years old family history).
Absolutely ! Also, we don't get exactly 50% of our genes from our father and 50% from our mother, so the ethnic % can be a little off and not reflect the historical reality. I actually got 60% from my father, and I look more like his side of the family than my mother's
What a charming thumbnail!
Thank you Catherine 😊 I envisioned something simple but emotional
@@VBirchwood that was very much the vibe I was feeling when I saw it!
This was a very interesting, and personal video. I appreciate how genuinely you shared your experience with us. I am going to really attempt to edit myself on this comment, as there are so many points that I feel deeply about and life experiences of mine that are relevant to this. One of them is being very under represented by DNA testing. I am half English ( which we know can include much of the UK), and I am American Indian ( a mix of 3 tribes) that were local to each other. When I, or my children took ours, the American Indian part does not show up. Thankfully I have documents going back 180+ years. Hopefully in the next 5-10 years there will be enough collected data to properly represent American Indians.
I admire your passion for your heritage! Making clothes that are indigenous to your ancestors is a beautiful way to learn about them and from them. I do some things similar to that, acknowledging and learning about many cultures, by making the foods they would have, grown, harvested and prepared, in the original ways, like growing corn, harvesting it, drying it, grounding it into flour and making different foods and then... getting to eat it. I like using that technique for teaching, when I go to a elementary school. It really does bring people together and facilitates conversations, understanding and bonds. I think, thanks to you Vasi, that when I am with a group of kid's from 6th - 8th grade, I will include a lesson on the working class dress worn, as well as using food. There is almost always something similar within different cultures that can be somewhat easily made. There is almost always a apron, even for some jobs typically done by males, as well as females. Anyway, you have really been a champion of inclusiveness and sharing the beauty of so many cultures. I honestly hope you find a lot of joy in your new found heritage knowledge. It can be difficult for some people.
I hope your are doing well. I wish you happiness and joy during this season of holidays ❤ I wish this to all of the followers that gather to enjoy this channel 😊
With hope for all,
Audri
Hi !
First : I loved the video ! 💚
What breed/breeds is Rúna ? Do you know where they come from ? My flatmate adopted a very similar-looking dog and it’s a pretty unique look so we’re always wondering.
I think I noticed you say once that you lived in Iceland and I see that your dog is called Rúna. :)
Maybe you should make a video about the Icelandic national costume. I think it would suit you so well!
Hæ hæ, I did indeed live there for nearly 5 years. Ég tala íslensku ennþá en gleymdi mikið 😞 I’d love to do something on Icelandic dress but unfortunately just don’t know much about it aside from what I’ve seen whilst living there.
I'd kind of like to dig deeper into my ancestry, (preferably without donating my DNA). I thought about dabbling in some genealogical research, but I'll never have a family of my own so I don't know if I want to bother
Wow, I'm from Mari El which neighbours Tatarstan :) my hometown is a few hours drive from Kazan. My grandmother is Mari which is a similar minority to Tatar and looks a lot like yours!
Also is Vasi short for Vasilisa? That's one of my favorite names and my nickname as a kid was Vasya which is the male version (though I'm female too)
Hahaha that’s awesome! My family is from Bashkiri but as you know lots of us Tatars live there 😊 it is short for Vasilisa yes!
☀️🌱🙏
Hello from Turkey, my friend! We both share the Central Asia / Turkic genes. Even though it goes far far back 🤭❤
🥰🥰🥰 the Tatar language is quite similar to Turkish too!
This is my family to a t we know my father's side dating way way way back,well the English people that is, alot of our Irish documents were stored in Dublin and destroyed in the 1916 uprising. Same with our German side,up until maybe 2 months ago we had no idea where in Germany we were from but turns out we are from the Rhineland. My mother's side is an almost complete mystery we know her direct relatives but going back a generation to great grandparents we don't have a clue and the details we do have are very sketchy. I've given up with them for now as the names are to common to pin point the relative.
Would be interesting for me to do since my moms grandparents were all adopted and one had 4 different birth certificates 🤷🏻♀️ other than that I know nothing…
Do you feel connected to your turkic (tatar) part?
So, my surname name is Coleman. Except.. we are related to NO other Coleman’s unless its by some very indirect marriage far out in the tree.
When we were growing up, my Grandfather (born in 1912) had always said he was adopted, and that they were abusive, so he ran away from home when he was young. The “Coleman” was supposedly from his adopted family. But it always sounded odd because he had stories that seemed to contradict this. He died in ‘96. Later, when my grandmother died is the early 2000s, my aunt was cleaning out her house. She was going through the photos and found a family portrait that had a label of my grandfather, and all these other names for his parents and a sister. My aunt was able to find a last name tucked away in some other documentation and was actually able to track down this supposed sister. She was in her late 90s at the time!
Turns out he was NOT adopted, nor where his parents abusive. They had emigrated to the US from what is currently Slovenia (pre-yugoslavia days, but there was a lot of political issues at the time that I think they wanted to be away from.) His parents, him, and his sister made the journey to Ellis Island. In the US, a brother was born. They eventually settled down near Sweetwater, Wyoming where there was a growing population of Slavic immigrants. He did NOT run away from home, but he did move away to California which is when I believe he changed his name. He married a woman in Nebraska in 1932. They had three children (they also go by the last Coleman.) For some reason, they divorced, I’m not sure why or if it was because he joined the army ahead of the draft. My aunt has handwritten notes that the divorce was filed in 1941, but the final decree was not until 1943. He then joined the army and we have a photo of him in his army gear in Wales in 1943, and a note and photo of him buying an engagement ring and proposing to her before he shipped out. According to my grandfather’s notes he wasn’t married until 1945, but honestly this conflicts with a lot of other information, including his army stations around this time.. its just what he wrote to his sister. Supposedly he was married in July 20, 1945.. but this doesn’t compute well with the army paperwork.
My father and his sister had NO idea that they had half-siblings until after BOTH of their parents died. It was never talked about, and all of the “incriminating” evidence was tucked away where they couldn’t find it. Thankfully, my aunt found it out in time to meet my grandfather’s older sister before she died and was able to get more details (including the 1st marriage liscense.) We have our theories on why this happened, but most likely it was because she was a pastor’s daughter, and the family was VERY religious and they traveled a lot with the Salvation Army. Dating a married man would have been extremely taboo.. whether it was before he was seperated from his first wife or not is anyone’s gueess, but regardless it would’ve looked bad. Same for having other children. I have NO idea if he was in contact with them.. all we know is that he wrote his sister a few times and she keep the letters which to me suggests they were very infrequent letters.
Long story short, Our last name is SUPPOSED to be “Brlogar” and his mother’s last name was Pecar (with a funny c that i can’t figure out how to type). DNA has allowed us to open up our tree even more as there is a lot of limitations with records being in Slovenia, and its allowed to confirm that these people truly are his relatives. But its still wild that my father and aunt had 3 half-siblings that they had no clue existed!
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
I can sympathise a lot. I was in foster care since age 2 and a half, I know my mother but not really, I have seen her maybe 4 times. I know of lots of siblings but not where my family comes from, not my father, no traditions and I felt always rootless. I have zero national pride and zero identification with it, that all we had in history class was how being German is basicly being evil did not help.
I do not think blood defines us, I did need to belive that given the little I know of my parents. Family is who actually was there who played the part, not who donated some dna...
But I also struggle to connect to my foster family sadly for as a child I never got to belief I really got to stay...
I am facinated by figuring out my ancestry but do not know how that would help since I got a connection I do obviously do not want and am unsure just how much comfort I would find there, if the closer connections are so tainted.
When I watched coco I was genuinely jalouse which is a thing I very rarely ever are...
I am so so sorry to be this person and I don’t mean any offense as I love you and your channel but I’m Irish and it’s pronounced ‘GAWLWAY’. Also thank you for mentioning that Galway shawls came in many patterns and colours. People always assume that traditional Irish clothing was dull but it could be very colourful -especially Galway shawls!
Thank you for mentioning it to me! I tried so so hard to get it right, and even listened to a pronunciation before recording, and still managed to be off 😂 I really appreciate the compliments! ❤️
@@VBirchwood Phew I’m so glad you’re not mad!
Was your dad adopted in USSR? There were war prisoners working construction on "stalinka" type buildings. You could check series of stalinka built that year in your grandparents' area.
But if your dad is from the west the story could be reversed. I knew a family, where English/Scottish woman married Polish pilot during WW2, they had 4 kids. Pilot ended up in mental health asylum, woman gave up the youngest kid for adoption.
Has your dad ever tried to obtain his adoption records? I’m assuming from your website that you’re somewhere in the UK; if you dad was also born there, he may be able to request this information.
If you would like, feel free to contact me privately with more details, and I can respond with resources that might help your dad access his original birth certificate and/or other information. I am an amateur genealogist (as a hobby), so if you would like me to look at your DNA matches as well, I would be happy to see if they have a tree we can use to get closer to your dad’s biological family.
I tried to as a teenager, but because he was born in the US, the hospitals said that they destroy all records after 20 years. Thank you as well for the offer 😊
Красивая британско-татарская девушка с красивым русско-украинским именем Василиса, американским языком и красивым редким увлечением. Взрывоопасная смесь. Подписался, хоть и не умею шить. И, конечно, лайк.
Hello from Australia. I have only recently discovered your vlog and love how you have embraced your preferred historical era. You may be interested in contacting a fellow sewing vlogger - Thoughtful Creativity. She is a Russian born in Latvia. She lives in Tennessee with her husband and gorgeous little daughter. Kind regards, Jo
Doggy!!
Hello, whycdidn't your father take the DNA test? Wouldn't this be more accurate and answer the question of the heritage of his bio parents better? Or didn't he want to? Of course I accept if this is too personal to answer🎀♥️Also I really enjoy your videos, thank you for making them! :)
Possibly it came with the terms of the sponsorship.
He lives very far away and extremely rural, and just out of respect for his privacy. As well, I was quite curious what would come up with my maternal ancestry. I will be buying my dad a MyHeritage kit next time I see him, but it’s been over 4 years since we’ve seen each other. Glad you enjoyed the video 😊
You have Kazak eyes.
I've always thought I have more Kazan Tatar eyes from my grandmother's ancestry honestly!
@@VBirchwood They're beautiful btw. ☺