Do I look Polish? (Part II -- Much more detail than other topic)

page 1 of 4: 1 2 3 4 Next »

Sep 25, 08, 23:15 / #

I saw someone start a post like this but rather than intrude on her post, I thought I'd start my own. (I am attention hungry like that!... Actually, I have a bit of history to go along with this inquiry...)

Our story... Because of the whole Prussian Empire thing, my great-grandmother spent her entire life in the dark concerning her Polish roots (her family was from West Pomeranian Voivodeship). The same thing happened with my great-grandfather, whose family came from Lower Silesia (though I've discovered a few of his ancestors migrated from Russia in the 17th Century). When I began researching the towns from whence their families came, voila, they were smack dab in the middle of Poland!

The thing is... Grammy and Gramps always took pride in their German features. They weren't Nazis or anything, but they always joked self-beratingly about some of their physical characteristics; both had sparkling blue eyes, mousey brown hair, huuuuge noses, very slanted eyes, etc.

I look a lot like my great-grandma whereas my mom looks a lot like my great-grandpa (so does my grandmother).

I did a NatGeo genographic testing kit and I'm a J* (woo woo!) -- of course that is only on my mom's side. As for my dad... Well... I don't know who he is. I don't know his name, or anything. However, since I was conceived, born & raised in Wisconsin, I'm guessing my shot at being Polish on both sides is relatively high. However, a lot of people I've known throughout my life, including some family members, "swear" I'm part Spanish (based on the fact that I used to speak it fluently) -- which I highly doubt -- so I'm wondering if a few life-long Poles can give their two cents here...

My physical genes -- Polish (maternal grandmother)? Irish (maternal grandfather)? Or something else (Daddy's mystery genes)? And if I don't look Polish or Irish, what the Hell am I!?? Haha...

Introducing... Me.	Me with a sunburn... My skin is VERY pale!
Getting the picture yet?

Lodz_The_BoatThreads: 58 Posts: 2,314 Joined: Sep 7, 08	Sep 26, 08, 00:58 / #
I would say... yeaaaa.... you are more or less. But I think you are basically (if Polish) then from South Western Poland. To be exact

DaisyThreads: 16 Posts: 2,172 Joined: Apr 28, 07	Sep 26, 08, 01:11 / #
matryoshka: Me with a sunburn... My skin is VERY pale! That'll be the Irish genes

southernThreads: 116 Posts: 10,948 Joined: May 17, 07	Edited by: southern Sep 26, 08, 02:19 / #
Eyes,nose polish,the rest is not.Polish 40-50% but characteristics have lost sharpness through mix.

ShelleySThreads: 18 Posts: 3,647 Joined: Jun 26, 07	Sep 26, 08, 02:25 / #
I'd say you look Irish to be quite honest.

Lodz_The_BoatThreads: 58 Posts: 2,314 Joined: Sep 7, 08	Sep 26, 08, 04:12 / #
matryoshka: what the Hell am I!?? Alien? There was a thread on it... you can search :).... your contributions to it will be highly valued. Dont take it as a silly joke. It is highly possible that your ancestors are from another planet who got lost in the space, and silently landed on Earth without bothering the radars. Think about it...

Guest	Sep 28, 08, 11:58 / #
To me you look like a mix of Irish and Polish, your skin tone could be Polish as Polish people are often pale, occasionaly with pink or yellow undertones.

nutmegThreads: - Posts: 2 Joined: Sep 28, 08	Sep 28, 08, 12:03 / #
Estern European and Irish, I wouldn't worry if I were you. You're preety.

Grzegorz_Threads: 81 Posts: 6,213 Joined: Nov 16, 06	Sep 28, 08, 12:16 / #
matryoshka: Because of the whole Prussian Empire thing, my great-grandmother spent her entire life in the dark concerning her Polish roots (her family was from West Pomeranian Voivodeship). matryoshka: The same thing happened with my great-grandfather, whose family came from Lower Silesia Hmm... So they were Polish or you don't know ? Because before 1945 vast majority of people living in these areas were Germanics.

dnzThreads: 25 Posts: 804 Joined: Dec 2, 07	Sep 28, 08, 13:33 / #
I would say you looked pretty hot :D

JovaThreads: - Posts: 197 Joined: Mar 15, 08	Edited by: Jova Sep 28, 08, 13:39 / #
southern: Eyes,nose polish,the rest is not. Oh come on!!! If I take a look at a few of my Polish friends the only thing I'm going to notice is that they all have completely different noses and eyes (all shapes and colours!!!). How can you possibly say "this is a Polish nose" or "these are Polish eyes"?? This is nonsense!!! Judging from the pics, I'd say you look white Causasian and nothing more!

southernThreads: 116 Posts: 10,948 Joined: May 17, 07	Edited by: southern Sep 28, 08, 14:38 / #
Jova: white Causasian Keep dreaming.White Caucasian includes Slavs,Germanics,Mediteraneans and a few more.And between Slavs there are more subdivions,for example between western Slavs-eastern Slavs-Southern Slavs and sub-subdivisions when we enter nations for example Czechs look different than polish but of course more close to polish than the Germans. It is like saying that a small fish has more similarity to another small fish than it has to a shark. Anyway with descriptions like white Caucasian you do not get too far unless you want to distinguish in very grob way.I mean it is obvious that she is white caucasian,she does not expect you to tell her.

JovaThreads: - Posts: 197 Joined: Mar 15, 08	Sep 28, 08, 15:16 / #
Oops, first of all I wanted to write white Caucasian... (wrong spelling). Secondly, southern, I'm not trying to deny the obvious fact that European people are different. I was just pointing out the lack of logic in trying to specify how Polish noses or eyes look like. Polish people have all kinds of noses and all kinds of eyes (well, apart from the slanting ones) and saying "You've got a Polish nose" or "Your eyes look typically Polish" is nonsense!

southernThreads: 116 Posts: 10,948 Joined: May 17, 07	Sep 28, 08, 16:38 / #
Jova: Polish people have all kinds of noses and all kinds of eyes There are kinds of nose shapes and eye shapes which appear in higher frequency in Poles than in other folks and these are characteristics to distinguish them. For example this girl in the photo would have typical polish look(and I can show you photos of girls with typical polish look) if her features were not smoothed by another mix.

SwiteziankaThreads: - Posts: 525 Joined: Jun 17, 08	Sep 28, 08, 16:46 / #
matryoshka, you should download some 'straight' photos. All the three you submitted are taken from some angle, from the above and it's a bit hard to talk about your looks. So far I wouldn't recognize anything non-Polish in your features (and I often spot 'alien' faces before I learn someone is not Polish).

southernThreads: 116 Posts: 10,948 Joined: May 17, 07	Sep 28, 08, 16:49 / #
Switezianka: I wouldn't recognize anything non-Polish in your features You are not execised enough.Her features are rounded,there is obvious western european influence.

Oct 4, 08, 23:11 / #

Thanks everybody for the input, pretty interesting stuff... Of course I don't expect somebody to look at me and go "You are so obviously this or that" -- Just as someone who never had much exposure to these roots, I am asking as a curious genealogical researcher.

Switezianka, I am uploading a head-on pic.

BTW all... I do have very rounded features -- however, many of the folks I grew up with who had 100% Polish ancestry has similar features. I'm sure mine could be partially attributed to the Irish genes, but not all Polish people I've known have had "pointy" noses, jaws, etc.

I'm also attaching a pic of my great-grandparents, both of mostly Polish descent. (I look almost exactly like my great-grandmother.) My grandmother looks exactly like Gramps; Mom & I more like Grammy. I thought this might be an interesting comparison.

Straight-on picture!

My great-grandparents, both Polish.

matryoshkaThreads: 5 Posts: 21 Joined: Sep 25, 08	Oct 5, 08, 00:09 / #
Grzegorz_: Hmm... So they were Polish or you don't know ? Because before 1945 vast majority of people living in these areas were Germanics. Grzegorz, I have researched my Polish ancestry extensively and they inhabited areas that have historically always been inhabited by ethnic Poles (going back to early written history). I'm not ruling out the possibility of having some Germanic blood, but my ancestors do not have German names nor did they live in areas that were inhabited by ethnic Germans. The areas they lived in were inhabited by mostly Poles and Jews. My original post was implying that my family members were not aware of Polish history, did not know about the history of the towns their families came from, and so they "considered" themselves German even though that was incorrect. Additionally, my mitochondrial DNA haplogroup is J* which is Middle Eastern or Eastern European; Germans belong to another haplogroup, I want to say K?

BartolomeThreads: 2 Posts: 1,345 Joined: Sep 14, 06	Oct 5, 08, 03:55 / #
Yeah, you look like a pretty Polish lass.

osiolThreads: 59 Posts: 4,714 Joined: Jul 25, 07	Oct 5, 08, 04:45 / #
matryoshka: Do I look Polish? Maybe. Perhaps in some pictures more than others. (How helpful is that?) Now I've answered your question, can you answer mine? Do I look like a donkey?

southernThreads: 116 Posts: 10,948 Joined: May 17, 07	Oct 5, 08, 08:37 / #
matryoshka: Straight-on picture! The upper half of the face is polish 100%.

SashaThreads: 2 Posts: 1,597 Joined: Apr 19, 08	Oct 5, 08, 08:46 / #
matryoshka: Additionally, my mitochondrial DNA haplogroup is J* Did you take a DNA-test or some all-know told you that? From my perspective you're of pronounced Baltic type. That could be western Russia, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Scandinavian countries, Belorussia, Poland... Anyway you're who you feel like. Nobody can force you be Irish (Polish, Rus.. etc.) unless you want it. southern: Czechs look different than polish but of course more close to polish than the Germans Czechs look like Czechs. They have a little to do with Poles.. the closest slavic nation to them are Ukranians. Jova: "You've got a Polish nose" or "Your eyes look typically Polish" is nonsense! Exactly. Appearence is defined by haplotype. P.S. What's "white caucasian"? scratching my head

osiolThreads: 59 Posts: 4,714 Joined: Jul 25, 07	Oct 5, 08, 08:54 / #
Sasha: all-know I hate to look like a know-all. I could add that some people do stand out as being obviously Polish, whereas others don't. A bloke turned up at my place of work in a white van and got out. I saw him Immediately I thought to myself "I bet he's Polish." and it turned out he was Polish. Then I wondered why they had emplyed yet another Polish bloke driving a van. Why not a Polish girl? Surely Polish ladies can drive white vans! Sasha: Exactly. Appearence is defined by haplotype The genetic markers studied in these DNA tests - are they really exactly the same ones that define appearance? I wouldn't have thought so.

southernThreads: 116 Posts: 10,948 Joined: May 17, 07	Oct 5, 08, 08:55 / #
Sasha: Czechs look like Czechs. I know that. Sasha: have a little to do with Poles.. Some look almost identical to Poles.(for example is there really much difference beteen the people in Cesky Tesin and Czecsyn?). Sasha: the closest slavic nation to them are Ukranians. I don't think so.Western Ukrainians resemble Poles.Slovaks in eastern Slovakia have a bit of similarity to Ukrainians in Uzghorod but the Slavs,not thos with hungarian characteristics. Sasha: Appearence is defined by haplotype. Haplotype are not genes creating appearance.However for sure there is a correlation.

Oct 7, 08, 22:01 / #

Haha. I'll give this another shot.

My family is Slovakian, Austrian, Polish, English and Irish on one side, Native American and English on the other.

So, do I look like any of those?

shewolfThreads: 5 Posts: 1,834 Joined: Dec 23, 06	Oct 7, 08, 22:19 / #
Ericasuf: My family is Slovakian, Austrian, Polish, English and Irish on one side, Native American and English on the other. So, do I look like any of those? The dark eyebrows is very typical for Native American ancestry.

plk123Threads: 30 Posts: 6,412 Joined: Aug 29, 07	Edited by: plk123 Oct 7, 08, 22:41 / #
matryoshka: Do I look Polish? most definitely. your cheek bones aren't high but not all poles have high cheek bones. delicate chin is definitely a slavic trait too. i don't see latin in you but we only have one colour pic. it's hard to tell from the b/w ones. none the less, you're easy on the eyes. :D since you mentioned cheeseland, you could have some norse blood in ya. :D oh, your g-paps, a handsome dude, doesn't really look polish to me. oh2, some mentioned irish, i can see that although all the irish i know have much more round faces and almost all have speckles and red hair. i sh.t you not. lol Ericasuf: So, do I look like any of those? i'd say injun may be your predominant feature. i wouldn't id you as slavic as my first choice but there are lot's of different looking poles. for example, i always have hassled one of my closest buds about being roma.. he sure looks like one to me.. but that's most likely not the case (although he has a schemer streak in him. lol)... he is from silesia region.. another thing, in my whole family me and sis are the only people with blue eyes and/or blond hair.

z_dariusThreads: 22 Posts: 5,091 Joined: Oct 18, 07	Oct 7, 08, 22:49 / #
Do I look Polish?

polishgirltx	Oct 7, 08, 23:06 / #
do i look Polish?

plk123Threads: 30 Posts: 6,412 Joined: Aug 29, 07	Oct 8, 08, 00:02 / #
z_darius: Do I look Polish? very polishgirltx: do i look Polish? very what's up with the echo? echo? darn admin. admin. :D