Tracing Back My EU & American Ancestry and Migration
It has been challenging to confront false claims about my heritage from people who seem intent on misrepresenting who I am or where I come from. I’m not sure what their ultimate goal is, but I intend to stop these false stories and narratives by sharing portions of my DNA results publicly. I feel I have no choice. However, I'm relying on science, not rumors, to counter these claims and prevent further attempts to separate me from my true ancestry and ethnicity Some individuals even began spreading rumors that I was of African descent, that my biological father was Afro-Hispanic, or that I'm ethnically Jewish. FALSE.
Therefore, I am going to stop them for good. And I want to be clear, stating the facts about my ancestry is not racism; it is simply clarifying misinformation. And let's start by saying also that my mother is also not Afro-Hispanic. She's not Black. She's Caucasian, same as my biological father.
I want to address claims made by certain AI tools and individuals who insist on changing my ancestry or national origin by assigning me to countries such as Mexico or various Caribbean nations (including Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and others). To clarify this misinformation, I am sharing the countries indicated by my maternal haplogroup and the regions where I have confirmed genetic connections. So let me state this clearly: I am not Mexican, I am not Caribbean, and I am not Puerto Rican and I'm not Brazilian. Certainly I am not French, I am not Indian and I'm not Australian, whether located in either of my countries, the United States or in Nicaragua where I was born or anywhere else. My ancestry and identity are not determined by assumptions, my current location, my name, or my nationality status.
This is a partial view and a partial percentage (to protect my DNA data) of my Ancestry Composition (which is different from my mtDNA). From overall European results, I am primarily of Spanish, Italian & Maltese, and Central American descent. My DNA test also shows a small percentage of Western European ancestry. While I do have a small amount of Northern African DNA—specifically from the Maghreb, Egypt, and Arab ancestry from Turkey (which is Europe) —this does not make me of African descent.
A separate DNA test from another company estimates that I am 17% Irish, which suggests my European ancestry may be higher. However, I believe this percentage may be slightly inaccurate because not all of my DNA matches are on that platform. I also lack a significant number of haplogroups connecting me directly to Ireland. However, In my autosomal DNA, all the Irish and Scottish haplogroups appear on my paternal side, but as a woman, I do not carry those Y‑DNA.
Now, it is time to dismiss those false stories that my Latin American ancestry is from other places outside Nicaragua and Costa Rica. And here is how I am going to prove it.
Some of my Spanish grandmothers were already living in Costa Rica and Nicaragua by the 1850s as Spanish settlers, which aligns with my documented family history. This supports the fact that my DNA composition does not show Mexican ancestry, they did not migrate from Mexico to Costa Rica or Nicaragua, nor I see any ancestry from the Caribbean countries or Puerto Rico. I also do not have South American ancestry, including Brazilian.
My genetic results identify me primarily as Iberian Spanish and Portuguese. I also have 7.3% Italian and Maltese ancestry, along with Nicaraguan and Costa Rican ancestry, which appear in my DNA migration map. These regions represent the most recent maternal migration paths reflected in my true mtDNA.
My oldest maternal ancestors descend from Haplogroups N, R, and H. However, I do not have enough relatives within Haplogroup H and all its sub-branches for it to be considered the dominant haplogroup in my maternal line.
My maternal Haplogroup N1a connects me specifically to historical individuals such as Ernest Wejher (1517–1598 CE), who appears in the documented lineage associated with this haplogroup. I have very few living relatives connecting us to that Haplogroup. However it's an extremely rare Haplogroup.
My maternal haplogroup is R0, which I have mentioned in previous posts. This haplogroup connects me to one of my great‑grandmothers of Prussian descent. This lineage also explains my genetic connection to Agnes of Swabia, whose direct maternal ancestry traces back to Bertha of Savoy, born in Mainz, Germany. Bertha of Savoy was the wife of Emperor Henry IV. Her mother was Adelaide, Marchioness of Turin, and her grandmother was Bertha of Tuscany. These women were of both Italian and German descent, which aligns with the branches in my DNA map.
Haplogroup R0 is a descendant of the macro‑haplogroup R. It is ancestral to the R0a subclade and to haplogroup HV0, which in turn is ancestral to haplogroups H and V. All of these appear in my DNA, but not in large enough proportions for H or V to be considered my dominant maternal haplogroup. My Haplogroup HV0a connects me to Grand Princess of Moscow Sophia Palaiologina who was of Italian descent.
In addition to R0, I also carry Haplogroup K1a4a1a, which is a rare mitochondrial lineage. This branch originated in Anatolia (modern‑day Turkey). Through this maternal haplogroup, I have a rare documented ancestral connection to Otto the Great 👑. His descendants—such as Conrad II, Henry III, and Henry IV—intersect with my R0 lineage through their marriages, including Henry IV’s wife, Bertha of Savoy (mother of Agnes of Swabia). Their descendants include Conrad II, Henry III, Henry V, Lothair III, and Frederick Barbarossa, Duke of Swabia who belongs to both the Salians Dynasty and the House of Hohenstaufen. All descendants of Holy Roman Emperors. And further relatives that connect me to my Italian heritage, Prussia, Germany and further to Austria. Here is the full family tree.
Here is my connection from Haplogroup K1a4a1a which connects me to Otto The Great who is directly related to Agnes of Swabia and whom I share ancestry with. However based on my full DNA map, I have to point out that I cannot trace myself back to Winifred Crossley Fair who shares the same haplogroup and whose maternal ancestry is rooted in England not in Italy, Spain or Prussia. And I will elaborate why in the next few paragraphs.
I also want to clarify a false claim that I am Jewish. My DNA results show 0.9% Ashkenazi Jewish, which is too small to indicate I'm largely Jewish. This percentage is common in many European people due to the ancient population mixing and especially knowing my relatives were mostly in Europe. However, my other DNA test shows zero Jewish ancestry so it's not totally clear. Also it's unclear where the 0.9% is located, since the colored map covers a large portion of Eastern Europe starting in Poland. However, my DNA test doesn't say Polish Ashkenazi exclusively. I want to be clear about the fact.
My DNA also contains other haplogroups connected to the broader N → R lineage. After Haplogroup A2, the second‑largest haplogroup in my DNA is H, which is a younger descendant of R0. However, it is not large enough to be considered my most recent maternal haplogroup.
Here is a partial view to protect my DNA map.
According to my DNA migration map:
Haplogroup A2 (16,000 years ago): Your maternal line stems from a branch of Haplogroup A called A2. All members of A2 descend from a woman who lived nearly 16,000 years ago in northern Siberia, and this lineage later appears in parts of North America.
My DNA map also shows a dotted ---- line connecting Haplogroup N back to ancestral Haplogroup L which indicates an unconfirmed ancestral path or missing DNA connection. However there is a solid line between N and R0 which indicates an unbroken mitochondria connection. However, it's expected to have L in my DNA since All humans (no exception) ultimately trace back to Haplogroup L and the Mitochondrial Eve (mt-Eve). Haplogroup L is one of the oldest maternal haplogroups in human history approximately 200,000 old that originated in Ethiopia.
Because my maternal line contains N1a and R0 and A2, this indicates that my oldest maternal ancestors migrated from the Arabian Peninsula to Europe into Central America, not the other way around. Their most recent migration origins were in Europe.
This also explains how my 4th–5th great‑grandfather, Baron Karl Georg Wilhelm von Bülow 🛡⚔ met my 4th–5th great‑grandmother, Baroness Josefa Acosta Chaves von Bülow 🛡⚔ from Costa Rica. She was of Spanish descent. However, it's quiet possible the mother of my great-grandfather Karl von Bülow carried his mother's Haplogroup R0, which is how it appears in my mtDNA today. Or possibly, he was of haplogroup J since that's one of the haplogroups connecting me to former Prussian and German relatives.
My more recent Spanish ancestors lived between 566 CE and 900 CE, which makes them relatively recent compared to the ancient origins of haplogroups that trace back tens of thousands of years. This is one of the fascinating aspects of DNA: it can connect you to ancestors who lived millions of years ago through deep genetic lineages, while also identifying more recent historical ancestors.
The purpose of this blog is to correct false claims—made by AI tools and by individuals—about my ethnicity and identity. My ancestry includes not only Central America but also North America.
My maternal grandfather descended from English and Scottish families, several of whom settled in North America. I do not inherit mtDNA from him, but I did inherit autosomal DNA from his side through relatives. Same from my paternal relatives.
Through one of my oldest Spanish ancestral lines, I was able to trace a connection to early North American settlers. One of my great‑grandfathers was a direct descendant of Edward Bennett (1577–1651 CE).
And finally from my maternal side one haplogroup connects me to my American ancestors, Cornelia Cole Fairbanks who was the wife of Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks. She was the second lady of the United States from 1905 to 1909. She was a leader in the women's suffrage movement. She was the daughter of Ohio State Senator Philander Cole and his wife, Dorothy Witter Cole.
So therefore I have relatives that were connected to American history on both my mother side and my father's side.
And it goes along with my discovery connection to several founding fathers of the United States like Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and President Abraham Lincoln through Haplogroup X1 (Only 128 people have been identified to be this closely related to Abraham Lincoln) who was of Irish and Scottish descent and who's haplogroup is more detailed composition due to mutations.
I know for fact that one of my grandmothers was related to the descendants of President Lincoln or perhaps she was a cousin of descendant of Lincon's mother Nancy Hanks Lincoln who's maternal haplogroup is X1c. Those connections probably initiated in Europe but expanded to the Americas, since my Haplogroup X1 and Haplogroup X2 migration path points to the United States.
The only exception is Edward Bennett who is linked to one of my Spanish ancestors from Las Gobas. He was a settler from England who traveled to North America. I guess I am a direct distant relative of Edward Bennett.
So this concludes another chapter in my ancestry research, adding yet another verified piece to the long and complex story of where my family truly comes from—and firmly debunking the misinformation circulated online and repeated by obscure, unfounded sources. Each discovery strengthens the documented truth of my heritage and reinforces the importance of evidence over speculation. My lineage speaks for itself, and no false narrative can override the historical and genetic record that continues to confirm who I am and where my ancestry originated.
