After debating the idea for months and months, I finally decided to take the plunge and buy some DNA kits from Ancestry. I’ve been into genealogy for years. I’ve done way more research than my grandmother did, though to be fair, the research if far, far easier these days than it ever was before. Despite all that, there are still some mysteries in the family that I hope can be cleared up the with Ancestry tests.
I purchased three kits from Ancestry. I got one each for my parents. I could have done the test myself and only purchased one test. However, I wanted to be able to break down my mom’s side and my dad’s side. This is especially pertinent when it comes to my dad’s side. There have been questions there for years, and I hope to be able to solve that mystery.
My dad’s grandfather was adopted, but there have been stories where the possibilities of his natural father being related to the people who adopted him are rampant. Among my grandmother’s papers, I found a note which led to the identity of his natural mother. After some research on that name, I think I found a thread which may untie some of those knots. My hope, by having the test done, there is someone out there that has done the test with ties to the family.
On my mother’s side, I pretty much know most of the family line. I would like to verify what I’ve been researching for most of the last twenty years. Maybe I could also get into touch with some other family members out there. There is just a little bit of the family from Germany on this side that I don’t know too much about. It would be nice to find out some information there, too.
The third test was for Wendy. There are so many rumors regarding her family, that I would like to eliminate or confirm some of them. There is one story about her heritage that has been circulating since I met her. In those early days, I believed the story. It seemed likely. However, as I’ve done more and more research, I have found less and less evidence to support it, and more to disprove it.
My efforts in this endeavor have found me at the wrong end of the argument with several family members. At one point, Wendy’s maternal grandfather refused to talk to me for about two years. One of Wendy’s aunt, and a second-cousin have questioned my integrity when it comes to this subject. I’ve tried to tell them that I can’t add it into the family history as a fact since I have no actual proof. I could add it as part of the lore, but not as a fact. This, or course, has made me the easiest person to hate by that side of the family.
So, I’m really hoping to settle the matter once and for all by having Wendy take the test. If it comes back inconclusive, I guess I’ll be buying another test for Wendy’s mother to take. She would be one more generation closer to the person in question, and maybe that’s all we need
I love family history, and I love the idea of finding other cousins out there that I can correspond with. There could be other stories about the family out there, this time from different points of view. All this comes together to make an ever richer family story.
Have any of you done the Ancestry DNA? Did you learn more about your family? Were there any surprises? I’m hoping for some of those surprises when the results finally come back. Waiting is the hardest part.
Craig Bacon is hoping that the tests prove he is at least partly human.