My ancestors are from pre partition India, what’s current day Pakistan. They have zero records as everything was left behind during the partition. My parents were young and don’t have much recollection. Recently did my dna and it came back with 77% south Asian, 13% Irish Scottish Welsh, 7.5% Scandinavian, rest broadly Europe. I have absolutely no idea where the European part came from as my parents don’t know if we ever had a non Indian relative. Only thing that makes sense is the fact that British ruled over India for about 250-300 years. Would love your views on this as I have no way of researching anything being in the US now.
Sadly, I'm not sure what you can do. For one, you're situation is similar to those that never kept records, to begin with (oral tradition-based societies). For another, your genetic heritage is tied to groups that have under-participated in testing for you to build a family tree with DNA. Until genetic genealogy participation increases, I recommend you focus on documenting the lives of those you know. Go deep into their stories and what their lives (memories) were like before the partition and now. That's an amazing story to document before it's gone forever. I know that's likely not the answer you're after, but it's a start. Then wait and pray for the genealogical situation to change and it just might.
Well, that all depends. There are so many factors. For one, the ancestor might not have lived in a record-making or record-keeping locale. That's one extreme. On another extreme, your ancestor hid their identity. But in the middle, is the need to do more research. Meaning, research all known relatives of your ancestor. Research every possible record that identifies the specific individual (Sometimes we haven't looked at enough records). Sometimes, we just have to wait for more records and resources to become available. For my ancestors who have left few clues as to their origins, I keep a research plan of what I've searched. Then, I revisit that ancestor every couple of years ago. Sometimes I find new clues. Sometimes I don't. But often, if they did live in a record-keeping location, I just need to be patient.
Where were you born, work, live, marry, engage in the census, attend church, give birth and RIP, oh and give me the specific location, date and who it involves?
