Category Archives: personal

History of the Knights Hospitaller

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Knights Hospitaller by Ralph Hammann

During my recent research on the Order of Malta, I came across the fascinating history of the Knights Hospitaller, a humanitarian order of religious warriors during the Crusades. The original purpose of the knights was to provide aid and medical care to Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land. Eventually, the knights were also charged with defending the devoted travelers.

I have always loved history but have not had a great interest in religion in general even though I was raised Catholic. Learning about the Hospitallers has sparked a dormant desire to be connected again in some shape or form to Catholicism. For now, it is only through a historical lens but we’ll see what the future holds.

Formally called the Order of the Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, the Knights Hospitaller, which dates back to 1048 and was officially recognized by Pope Paschal II in 1113, was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order that was headquartered in the Kingdom of Jerusalem until 1291.

With over 970 years of history, I had not known of the religious organization that lives on today in various forms. The Knights Hospitaller were contemporaries with the well-known, and some may say infamous, Knights Templar who ceased to exist in 1312.

After the fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1291, the Knights Hospitaller had no home until they settled on the island of Rhodes. They remained in Rhodes from 1310 until 1522, in Malta from 1530 until 1798, and in Saint Petersburg from 1799 until 1801. They roamed around until they at last settled permanently in Rome in 1834.

Today, several organizations claim continuity with the historic Knights Hospitaller and are considered recognized Orders of St. John. These associations include the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John, the Bailiwick of Brandenburg of the Chivalric Order of Saint John, the Order of Saint John in the Netherlands, and the Order of Saint John in Sweden.

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Ancestry Results Can Now Identify DNA From The Indigenous People of Puerto Rico (The Taino)

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The recent update to AncestryDNA results now lists a percentage for the indigenous people of Puerto Rico, historically also known as the Taino. This is truly incredible news. I, as well as many of my fellow Puerto Ricans, have always known from an intellectual and spiritual sense that we collectively come from and continue to represent the Taino Indian. It truly feels amazing to finally see it clearly stated in official DNA results.

Puerto Ricans grow up hearing about the Taino people and know that Boricuas, an indigenous derived word we warmly refer to ourselves as, are made up of Spanish, African, and Taino blood. With the enormous advances in DNA analysis, we can now estimate the percentages of each group that comprises who we collectively are. My genetic makeup includes 15% DNA from the initial inhabitants of the island of Boriken (Puerto Rico.) Research has finally proven that the Taino, believed by some in the scientific community to have been extinct, lives on in the Puerto Rican.

If you are Puerto Rican and have submitted your DNA to Ancestry.com, check out your most recent update and feel free to share your results and thoughts in the comments section. Of course, the new data is not the end-all or be-all of being Puerto Rican, but it’s helpful information that can lead to an insightful conversation with family and friends.

Ancestry.com states it updates its results from time to time to include more accurate information as it gathers additional DNA data sets from across the globe. The new results could be upsetting if, like in my case, one year you are more Portuguese than Spanish and the next year you’re back to being more Spanish than Portuguese.

In any event, I believe it’s important to know your ancestry because the knowledge provides an international perspective on your family history and demonstrates that we are more connected to each other than we are apart.

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My UPDATED Puerto Rican DNA Results

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Phil’s Puerto Rican DNA Update 2018

My blog post from earlier in 2018 revealing my Puerto Rican DNA results, is now outdated thanks to new data from AncestryDNA. My DNA is the same, however, the interpretation has changed.

The juggernaut genealogy company updated its algorithms a few months ago, providing more data on ethnic regions by breaking down larger ones to identify specific areas. This new information differs slightly from earlier in 2018, providing me with a new ethnic perspective for 2019.

My first results showed that 26 percent of my DNA came from the Iberian Peninsula, of which I thought mostly comes from Spain. I knew that some of my DNA could be traced to Spain’s neighbor, Portugal, but I never really thought much about that fact until I was informed of my most recent results.

AncestryDNA can now decipher between Spanish and Portuguese DNA and the incredible find is that I am 29 percent Portuguese and only 16 percent Spanish! This is amazing news to me, but initially, I had a tough time digesting the new information. My entire life I knew I was partly Spanish, but now I am embracing the reality that I’m more Portuguese than I am Spanish. There is a great deal to learn about Portugal, but I have begun the journey of knowing as much as possible.

My new DNA results also changed in regards to my African ancestry. I was first told that my African DNA came mostly from Nigeria and I was pretty excited about that all year. With the new data, my DNA is less Nigerian and actually more from Cameroon, Congo, Benin, and Togo. So much more to learn about these regions of my ancestry as well.

Another discrepancy from last year’s results is that I am less English and no longer Italian. The difference in findings moved to the current Portuguese DNA percentage.

My new ethnic breakdown now looks as follows:

  • 29% Portuguese
  • 21% Native American (Taino)
  • 18% African (Cameroon, Congo, Benin & Togo)
  • 16% Spanish
  • 7% English/Welsh/NW European
  • 2% European Jewish
  • 2% French
  • 1% Basques
  • 1% German
  • 1% Irish/Scottish
  • 1% Middle Eastern
  • 1% Norwegian

In summary, I am 60% European, 21% Native American, 18% African, and 1% Middle Eastern. AncestryDNA did warn that as the technology and science improves, there may very well be a chance that this particular view of my DNA may change again in the future. I am OK with that but do hope any future update will not variate too much from what it is today. We shall see?

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My Puerto Rican DNA Results

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(My DNA results as per Ancestry.com.)

As a Puerto Rican, I have known for decades that my ethnic makeup consisted of a mix of Spanish, Taino, and African ancestry. However, I did not know the actual makeup of my Puerto Rican blood until now. In December I sent away for my DNA results from Ancestry.com. The company noted results would be ready in six to eight weeks but mine was completed in four weeks. I, of course, am still Puerto Rican, but now that means more to me than just being Spanish, Taino, and African.

I primarily wanted to find out the exact percentage of my Native American and African heritage and more specifically I wanted to know where in Africa my ancestors came from. While I waited for my results, I conducted research online and was surprised to find out that most Puerto Ricans who tested their DNA had traces of Italian and Greek ancestry. I also saw many Puerto Ricans had some heritage from Great Britain. Prior to this research and my DNA results, I never really thought of being anything other than Puerto Rican.

Here is a summary of my Puerto Rican DNA results:

  • 26% Iberian Peninsula (Spanish)
  • 20% Native American (Taino)
  • 18% African (16% Nigeria, 1% Africa North, 1% Ivory Coast/Ghana)
  • 13% Great Britain
  • 10% Italy/Greece
  • 8% European Jewish
  • 2% Ireland/Scotland/Wales
  • 2% Finland/Northwest Russia
  • <1% Middle Eastern

I was informed that my great-grandmother on my mother’s side was from Spain, so I thought I would be more than 26% Spanish but happy to finally know the exact percentage. I am very excited to learn that I am 20% Native American and 18% African, which includes 16% Nigerian, 1% North African (Morocco, Western Sahara, Algeria, Libya) and 1% from the Ivory Coast/Ghana.

What I found most amazing is that I am 8% European Jewish (Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Hungary, Israel) and 2% from Finland/Northwest Russia. I also now gladly embrace being 13% from Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales), 10% from Italy/Greece (Europe South), 2% from Ireland, and less than one percent from the Middle East.

(This blog post has been updated.) 

 

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“We’re suffering” – My Mom’s Scream For Help in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico

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My mom and I in Boqueron, Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, 2017.

This morning I finally spoke with my mom, Lydia, in the Boqueron section of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. The last time I heard my mom’s voice was before Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico. Almost two weeks after the hurricane, food and water has not yet reached Cabo Rojo and most likely other towns in the south west part of the island.

My mom says the supermarkets near her are empty, water pressure is almost non-existent, there is still no electricity, it’s hot, she’s getting headaches, and she and her husband Hector have about three more days of can food left.

“We’re suffering,” my mom told me. “I want to leave Puerto Rico now.”

My mom’s flight to New York is scheduled for October 12. My family will send some packages to my mom and Hector, but I hope they get the items. In such a desparate state, the odds of the packages getting to them may be 50/50, but we have to try.

Fortunately, Hector’s cell phone started to get reception today, but the phone can’t be recharged. Things are getting dire for my mom and Hector in Cabo Rojo, PR. The most frustrating thing for me is the sense of feeling helpless. I need to find a way to help my mom.

The world needs to know there are people in Puerto Rico reaching the end of their rope. These people, my people, American citizens, need our help. Food and water needs to reach remote areas of Puerto Rico now.

Though I cannot do much physically to help my mom, I can respond to my mom’s scream for help by magnifying it as loudly as possible.

(UPDATE: On Thursday, Oct. 5, I received word that my mom and Hector are OK with food and things are getting a bit better overall. There are still others struggling and I hope things get better all around very soon.)

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