It’s a thrill when a DNA discovery matches a family story. A few years ago, I was swapping memories with my cousin, Donna, when she mentioned that her dad told her that we were descended from Eric the Red. It was one of the stories his grandfather, Carl Andersen, told him when he was a boy. Several years ago I had my DNA analyzed by 23andMe. In 2024 they introduced “Historical Matches,” a premium...
Asa Haraldsdottir of Agder
Asa Haraldsdottir of Agder was a legendary Norwegian queen of the petty kingdom of Agder. Asa was the daughter of King Harald Granraude of Agder. She was born in the 8th century and died around 834 CE. She is reputed to be the woman buried in the famous Oseberg ship. The ship was discovered in a burial mound near Tonsberg, Norway, in August 1903. It was excavated in 1904-1905. According to the...
Izjaslav Ingvareych VK541
Some of my ancient ancestors were Norse traders and raiders that explored and settled in an area near the Baltic Sea in what is now Russia and the Ukraine. After a few generations of intermarriage with the native Slavic tribes, they became known as the “Rus.” Prince Izjaslav Ingvarevych of Dorogobuzh The individual with whom I share a genetic link was a man named Izjaslav Ingvarevych (Izjaslav...