Family has a new meaning for those of us that dove into the world of Genealogy. We’re not alone out there. The funny thing is that there are surprises and secrets that get uncovered that make the research that much more interesting. I feel like a private investigator. Tracking the connection of people through my family tree. There have been several a-ha moments like… I have a half brother?!?!?? What!?! How did I end up with a DNA match with a Vietnamese person? I had no idea how many adoptive relatives I had who are searching for family. But there is such a sense of satisfaction in connecting the dots and the people in your life with a family tree. And even more so when you have the opportunity to actually connect with them.
Genealogy has always been of interest for me and maybe because I am an only child and did not grow up with much family around. I had a desire to feel like I was part of something bigger. Both my parents came from big families, but non of them communicate anymore. It actually started for me when I was still in high school I wanted to research my ancestry because if I could prove my Cherokee lineage perhaps I could’ve gotten some financial aid for college. However, back then there was not as many resources as there are now, and with the DNA testing there are a world of people that I have found.
Researching: Ancestry.com is where I started about 10 years ago when I was introduced to it through one of my husband’s great aunts. She had tracked their family back to a village in Italy and had found the stories and people that linked their migration to San Diego. I thought it was very fascinating and once I started, I was hooked. It really is very addictive because there are so many people participating on this site that as you add people there are little green leaves that pop up with hints that have information connected with that person. Historical documents, pictures, draft cards, grave sites, and links to other people to add to your tree. I’ve tracked back my genealogy back to the 1500s!! That’s crazy. And the funnier thing is that I found out that I do not have any Cherokee or any other native American in me at all! What was always thought to be the Cherokee side of me due to my great, great grandmother’s name being “Whiteleather” was actually just their name being mistaken and transcribed as that on Ellis Island when the person documenting them couldn’t spell “Weissleder”. Really?! Question answered.
DNA TESTS… I had joined 23 and Me (this is an affiliate link that will give you a discount and may reward me as well) and did a DNA test that had originally disappointed me. There was not that much information or connections to me that were closer than 3rd/4th generation cousins and when it comes the medical results, there was no new information. So I had found the information shared with Ancestry.com DNA test to be much more interesting as it showed the migration across the world and there were more family connections and access to other family trees from those connections. HOWEVER…the results say active with both those accounts and if there is a match they notify you.
A CLOSE MATCH: So… just recently I got a text from a stranger telling me her dad had a DNA match with me. I waited until I got home and sure enough, I had an email from 23andMe that I had a DNA match and I had a Half brother!! Remember I said I was an only child? This kind of rocked my world. So after the course of the next few days of texting with him and his daughter, I found out that long before my dad met my mom, he met a woman who he dated for a while and things happened and he fled the scene when he found out she was pregnant. Oh my! (Back then he would’ve been a disgrace to his mom that was 60 years ago). It’s just so sad that it took him this long to find me since my dad died just a couple years ago and he never new he had the son he always wanted. And this guy is so much like him. It’s a strange thing.
SECRETS and SCANDAL: So I haven’t uncovered too much drama yet, but there have been a couple interesting ones… The connection with a Vietnamese person is still not completed yet since I’m shy about approaching this uncle to see if he’ll admit it… but they were looking for information on their unknown grandfather. He was supposedly an American Soldier during the Vietnam war. Hmm… I only tracked one person down that served in that war and ironically we’re supposed to be having dinner soon… not sure how to ask. What I’m finding is there is not as much shame today (esp. after 40 years in this case) as there were back then in accepting the truths. So I just need to ask him if he would want to know if he had other family out there. Easier said that done. To be continued.
Another strange story was a connection I had with a guy that I tracked down in my tree to be my 3rd cousin 1x removed…my great-grandfather’s brother’s great grandson. He was adopted and found out it was by someone within the family, but he doesn’t know who his real parents are (he said it’s a family secret not to tell him- that must be frustrating!). Through our DNA match we are connected on my father’s side by the last name that would only be one person in his family that he has only known as “uncle”. They have other kids and so he’s trying to see if they will agree to do a 23andMe DNA test as well so if it comes back he might be there true brother or maybe half-brother. He doesn’t know why it’s a family secret but for now he’s accepting the truth as he thinks it is and keeping the secret until he gets the nerve ask the “uncle” that he thinks is his dad or the kids to get a match. So weird…
SATISFACTION is what I have found mostly in my Genealogy research and it has become a rewarding hobby, not with just expanding my family tree, but with helping people find their families and in turn mine as well. Those that were adopted out for numerous reasons have come to find their family and get questions answered. And finding out where you are from is always cool…I knew I had a lot of English and German in me, but it appears some of that is Swiss German and then I too have a little Italian and other stuff….but still no Native American (unless it’s the 1% that is unidentified…that’s what I’m pretending it is. Ha Ha)
So even if you don’t know where to start, it’s worth doing. Genealogy research is a real family adventure through history and time. Have you done a DNA test and found any surprises? I’d love to hear about it. Here’s to family…the good, scandalous and surprising!
