My name is Bob Hanscom and I have been tracing my ancestry ever since I was 12 years old. I now have a database of over 50,000 names, of which only a relatively small portion has been entered into geni. Prior to DNA testing, I had calculated my background as follows: 50% Hungarian-Catholic (my mother's side), 25% Ashkenazi Jewish (my paternal grandmother's side), 19% English (through my paternal grandfather), and 6% Scottish-Irish (through my paternal grandfather's matri-lineal lines).

DNA results, however, through three different companies show somewhat different findings:

(1) FamilyTree DNA: 44% Eastern European (Hungarian), 1% Middle Eastern, 31% Ashkenazi Jewish, 20% British Isles, and 3% Southern European.

(2) 23andMe: 20.6% Eastern European (Hungarian), 4.3% Broadly Southern European, 12.9 % Balkan, 0.5% Iberian Peninsula, 25.9 Ashkenazi Jewish, 0.2% Middle Eastern, 0.2% Broadly Middle Eastern, 6.6% British and Irish, 0.4% French and German, 11.4% Broadly Northwestern European, 17.0% Broadly European.

(3) AncestryDNA: 30% European East (Hungarian), 30% Jewish, 13% the Balkans, 9% England, 8% Scotland, 5% Baltics, 2% Ireland, 2% France, and 1% Wales.

My paternal grandfather, Victor Hugo Hanscom (1889-1971), was born in Chatham, NH, and descends from many early New England families, including the Howland family of the "Mayflower", the Putnam family of Salem Witchcraft trial notoriety, many early families of Kittery, Maine, and numerous other founding families of Andover, Massachusetts (where I now live). His ancestry includes these surnames: Hanscom, Gowell, Rogers, Fogg, Shaw, Libby, Carle, Evans, Thompson, Berry, Drake, Libby, Babb, Cate, Smith, McCurdy, McLellan, Nutt, Colbath, James, Tibbetts, Canney, Sampson, Larrabee, Rowe, Pendexter, Cobb, Hinckley, Soule, Chipman, Howland, Tilley, Stewart, Green, Morgrage, Stevens, Bloom, Sawyer, Littlefield, Austin, Bragdon, Came, Simpson, Norton, Cranmer, Moulton, Plaisted, Colman, Coburn, Storer, Hill, Eaton, Jenkins, Kendall, Payne, Swain, Smith, Osgood, Booth, Clements, Dane, Ingalls, Farnham, Holt, Allen, Russell, Farrington, Clarke, Browne, Putnam, Hokyoke, Stockton, Carr, Whipple, Abbott, Perham, Fletcher, Shepard, Bank, and Powers.

My paternal grandmother, Charlotte (Tauber) Hanscom (1889-1947), was born in Drietoma, Slovakia (then Hungary) to Ashkenazi Jewish parents. She descends from some very interesting families that lived in Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Austria, including these surnames: Tauber, Knöpfelmacher, Spitz, Bachrach, Teomim, Zwillinger, Zerkowitz, Pick, Teschner, Wilhelm, Popper, Frankl-Kohn, Brull, Lazar, Bass, Lewin, Singer, and Schreiber. She also was a direct descendant of Rabbi Jehuda Loew (d. 1609), the legendary MaHaral of Prague, and of the rabbinical Katzenellenbogen, Teomim, and Luria families.

My maternal grandfather, Michael Laszlo Szűcs (1885-1964) was born in Battonya, Hungary and descends from Roman Catholic families who lived primarily in the central /southeast portion of present-day Hungary. Surnames include: Szűcs, Asztalos, Juhasz, Piros, Kovacs, Frindrich-Kiss, Mali, Szegedi, Varga, Totzer, Major, and Balo.

My maternal grandmother, Julianna (Kiss) Szűcs (1885-1984) was born in Zemplenagard, Hungary and descends primarily from both Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox families that lived in the far northeast corner of present-day Hungary, as well as the far southeast corner of present-day Slovakia. Surnames include: Kiss, Tott, Marczi, Kajibas, Vaszily, Lukacs, Sukaly, Pataki, Kovacs, Pekarovits, Siska, and Jakob. However, her mitochondrial DNA -- through her strictly maternal line -- suggests that her great-great-great-grandmother, Elisabetha (Balogh) Popovits (1737-1817), had maternal ancestors who were born Jewish.

As I've done my genealogical research over the years, I've been careful to document my sources. There are some gaps, but I have a fairly decent record of knowing where my data came from. Happy to collaborate with anybody on geni!