It has been a crazy year and I am so grateful to bring you this post. In the last year I have fought cancer, had emergency life saving surgery, released my 1st album the same day I launched the genealogy podcast on 8/08/2025 Tdr Now and The Heritage Hunters Podcast. Surgery was on 8/23/25 and I am here!!! Sorry for such a long pause…
I have found some new and very interesting ancestors… I will add gallery below for timeline reference…
Apparently I’m from halpogroup H1tc^… out of thousands tested… I am 1 of 5 descendants found on Family Tree DNA. I am the one from Hungary which the side by side photo above is one of my ancestors from Hungary, she was the Queen of Hungary and also my ancestor and we have an uncanny resemblance to each other. I put information for my updated halpogroup below.
Anna of Antioch (c. 1154 – c. 1184), also known as Agnes of Antioch and Anna de Châtillon, was Queen of Hungary from 1172 until 1184 as the first wife of Béla III. (Wikipedia) She was Queen consort of Hungary.
The accidental discovery of her intact tomb during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 provided an opportunity for patriotic demonstrations. She was the only 12th-century Hungarian queen whose remains were studied by scientists, and her appearance was reconstructed.
Queen of Hungary
After marrying Bela III.
The new couple went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem where they made a donation for the Knights Hospitaller. In the summer, after the death of King Stephen III of Hungary (4 March 1172), her husband ascended the throne as King Béla III, and they moved to Hungary. Anna was crowned queen alongside her husband at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Stephen in Székesfehérvár on 13 January 1173.
I’m only posting here so one day when I’m not here my offspring will know who they are and come from… and anyone interested in old families may enjoy as well.
Another I am adding that I recently found is the Medicis in my maternal side. This is newly found information. Anything that the site updated too.
I did add some other DNA test of some other houses, clans. And like the info below on Catherine. I will add information when I can and may move the info on others into another post to streamline.
Some highlights of my ancestor Catherine de’ Medici — Major Accomplishments
-Queen Consort of France (1547–1559)
Wife of King Henry II of France and one of the most powerful women in 16th-century Europe.
-Mother of Three French Kings
Her sons became Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III.
-Regent and Political Leader
Catherine effectively governed France during the minority of Charles IX and played a central political role throughout the French Wars of Religion.
-Religious Diplomacy
She supported the Edict of Amboise (1563), granting limited religious rights to French Protestants, and helped organize the Colloquy of Poissy (1561) in an effort to find common ground between Catholics and Protestants.
-Dynastic Diplomacy
She promoted the marriage of her daughter Margaret of Valois to Henry of Navarre, seeking reconciliation between Catholic and Protestant factions.
-Patron of the Arts
Catherine was a major patron of architecture, painting, sculpture, poetry, music, theater, and elaborate court festivals.
-Architectural Legacy
She supported the expansion of the Louvre and commissioned the Tuileries Palace and gardens in Paris.
-Cultural Influence
Her Florentine Medici heritage helped bring Italian Renaissance traditions and court culture into France.
-Diplomacy and Political Strategy
Catherine negotiated with nobles, foreign rulers, religious leaders, and competing political factions while working to preserve the authority of the Valois monarchy.
-European Dynastic Influence
Through the marriages and political alliances of her children, she sought to strengthen France’s position in European affairs.
-Historical Record
Her extensive correspondence provides historians with valuable insight into French royal politics during the 16th century.
-A Powerful Woman in a Male-Dominated Court
-Catherine became an extraordinary example of a woman exercising political authority, diplomacy, and influence at the highest level of European monarchy.
⚔️ Historical Controversy
-Catherine is often associated with the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre of 1572, during which thousands of Protestants were killed. Her involvement in the political crisis is well documented, but the traditional portrayal of her as personally ordering the entire massacre is more complicated and remains debated by historians.
👑 Historical Significance
Catherine de’ Medici was far more than the stereotypical “villainous queen.” She was a political strategist, regent, diplomat, patron of the arts, builder, and dynastic power broker who worked to preserve the Valois monarchy during one of the most turbulent periods in French history.
Also, she had a pope for an uncle. That makes 3 popes for great uncles now. I thought that was cool to learn.
I have so much more to post… I will work on posting more often.
-Dawn Piercy, PhD
