365 Challenge: Day 14 – German

German: containing roots from Germany

It’s the 7^th day of this week’s challenges, which means it’s time to choose a physical characteristic; and in keeping with the theme of discussing my nativity, ethnicity and heritage, you should know that I’m about 33% German, although my Ancestry DNA test seems to think I’m more around 10%. I think it’s just lying to me. Science can’t always be right, can it?

Based on the last names and documents I’ve located going back to about 1800 on most branches of my family tree, close to 50% of people seem to have emigrated from Germany or a pre-Germany state that was part of the German empire. I think of a few of them were probably from Eastern Europe or Scandinavia, so I sort of merge those with the 10% I saw from Ancestry DNA. That said, something is still not adding up based on known facts, DNA and available documentation. Therefore, I’ve settled on about 33%. Someone is lying about their home country, or someone may have had an affair and passed the child off as her German husband’s kid… I’m not sure, but I love a good scandal!

And I have one in my German side. A great-grandfather’s last name was as German as they come: Mück, possible Müeck originally. But when he emigrated to the US in the 1870s, it was translated on some documents as Miick. He married and had 3 daughters, but later suspected his wife was actually moonlighting as a prostitute. He claimed the younger 2 girls weren’t his and divorced the first wife. He managed famous boxers in NYC around this time, and suddenly one day, he disappears and changes his last name to Reynolds. He then marries another woman, an Irish one this time, and has 6 more children. But he’s no longer involved in boxing and has become a big-time beer brewer. I wish I knew the real story behind all of this, but there’s some scandal doing on there. Unfortunately, there are strong physical traces between him and subsequent male members of that branch, including me, so I know the German roots are real on that side!

As a fun sidebar, just like last time with the 4 Irish stereotypical traits, I found 9 German ones from a new site called “FluentU.” Let’s see how I compare:

1. Direct
   1. Yes, for the most part. I often say what’s on my mind, but I always use a filter.
   2. Score: 1 out of 1
2. Love rules, organization and structure
   1. I invented rules and now I can’t live without them. I’m crazy when it comes these things.
   2. Score: 1 out of 1
3. Punctual
   1. Yes, and punctual to me actually means a few minutes early.
   2. Score: 1 out of 1
4. Love soccer (football)
   1. Not a sports guy.
   2. Score: 0 out of 1
5. Well-insured
   1. This one was odd… so I am going to say probably not, I tend to only buy what I need.
   2. Score: 0 out of 1
6. Distant
   1. Unfortunately, yes… most people would say I can be a little cold and distant about things. I know how to remove my emotions when I need to.
   2. Score: 1 out of 1
7. Love beer
   1. Eh… if it said wine, I’d agree. But I only drink beer from time to time and not very excited about it.
   2. Score: 0 out of 1
8. Always making bread
   1. I love bread. I eat it all the time. But I rarely make it. Let’s split it evenly.
   2. Score: .5 out of 1
9. Love sausage
   1. Not so much. I’m more a red-meat guy. Skirt Steak, Filet Mignon, Tartare, Beef Wellington…
   2. Score: 0 out of 1

And keeping with the statistics game from last time, my score would be: 4.5 out of 9, which is 50%. See… all the records I’ve found are correct. Take that, Science and DNA!