The coordinators of the Gagnef Parish Roots website, Rosalie and Diane, are "long distance" 5th-cousins who discovered one another via their internet genealogy research in the early 1990's. During the almost 20 years they've each been exploring their family ties and ancestry in Gagnef parish, they've realized they are related through at least four overlapping paternal family lines, all tracing back to their mutual 11th greatgrandfather, Olaus Laurentii, the first Lutheran Vicar of Gagnef parish in 16th century Sweden!
Diane's expertise in family history took a new turn several years ago, when she began reading up on the rapidly-expanding science of DNA testing and genetic ancestry. Thanks to Diane's encouragement and advice on how to start the process of DNA testing, Rosalie recently began her own DNA-history exploration, which proved invaluable, when it validated a long-unanswered question about whether one of her ancestral roots traced back to the Saami (Lapp) regions of Arctic Norway and Finland! She was thrilled to learn she is a member of the U5b1 Saami haplogroup from the northernmost reaches of Norway!
During the past 20+ years, the cousins have each found dozens of relatives, some close and some "many times removed" throughout the US and northern Europe. They consider themselves extremely fortunate to have established friendships and strong working relationships with individuals throughout Scandinavia, who are noted genealogy experts in their home countries. Having the opportunity to ask questions and "pick the brains" of their long-distance cousins, has added tremendously to their available resources and their combined strength in family history research!
Diane's passion for "genetic genealogy" blended with Rosalie's talents in historical research and Scandinavian folk art painting, coupled with their mutual love of reading and learning, will only add to the success of this Gagnef Parish genealogy website! |
