Ancestry DNA provides the missing pieces to my family puzzle!
Disclaimer: This is a longer read than normal; but it's a great one!
I'm going to go out on a limb here and just assume we've all worked a puzzle at some point in our lives. Puzzles tend to range in size with as many or as few oddly shaped pieces imaginable.
Connecting smaller pieces together in order to create a larger masterpiece is the goal when working any puzzle. Like most, I start with the border; because in fact, that's the easiest part.
From there I begin to concentrate on certain areas of the puzzle and I begin filling in the center by gently pressing two pieces together. I can sit in silence for hours focusing on matching one correct piece with another, and another, and another. For weeks, one puzzle can consume most of my time.
Without a doubt, puzzles can be challenging. Especially when the puzzle pieces get smaller and the number of pieces in the box are quadrupled. However, this is what I typically enjoy most about working puzzles. I enjoy the challenge.
A puzzle that took all of my attention for over a month.
My latest puzzle has not been any different. In fact, this puzzle has been my biggest challenge yet. This would be the puzzle of getting to the bottom of my ethnicity! An 80-year-old mystery!
I've had many pieces in front of me but after years and years of sitting, and of course, migrating, I knew that some pieces of the puzzle had been misplaced. When I'm working a puzzle there is nothing I hate more than realizing I've lost a piece.
Yours truly in the 2nd or 3rd grade!
The puzzle of trying to piece together my ethnicity, and the people related to me was just sitting there. Left for days, months, and many years. At this point, our only option was to put all the pieces back in the box to return to it later. Every blue moon I would get curious again and start to do minor research but I was still coming up short. I would stare at the information I had in front of me trying to force a match; still nothing. I searched high and low for birth certificates, marriage certificates, and death certificates. Nothing with my grandmothers father information was popping up because as stated earlier, we didn't have defining information to narrow down the odds. It was like looking for a needle in a hay stack.
I knew I needed more pieces to this puzzle and I was determined to find something. I had told myself that I would order an Ancestry DNA kit and perhaps this would offer me more pieces to my puzzle. As life became busier and busier I never got around to ordering the kit. Then one day, I was blogging and reading other blogs in between and ran across Afrobella's blog about her family and how Ancestry DNA helped her make sense of her family's history. She was giving away 10 kits to random people once they posted on her blog how an Ancestry DNA kit would benefit them. Like always, I shared my story and your's truly was a lucky ducky! I had won a kit!
I was beyond excited to see what journey my DNA test results would take me on. I waited about two weeks for the kit to arrive in the mail. When the kit arrived it took me another week before I would even complete my saliva sample to send in. I was really nervous! What if it didn't say what I wanted it to say? What if I didn't understand it? What if it didn't provide me the necessary pieces that I was looking for? All of those questions plus more ran through my mind. Being that I knew it took about 5-6 weeks for the results to come back, I knew I didn't have time to waste. Therefore, I had to put my procrastinating behaviors behind me so that I could complete the DNA sample.
My personal DNA test results.
Asian, Scandinavian, Spain (Spain was listed under the +14 other smaller regions tab)…these were all surprising to me. Just for the record, Ancestry.com doesn't break down your DNA by parent. So upon reviewing this chart I had no clue as to which percentage was coming from which side of my family. Ancestry.com also breaks your DNA down by region and not down by specific countries (except for Africa), or nationalities. Just by looking at my DNA chart I admit, I was still confused. Upon research, I've discovered that in order to produce a more selective and concrete estimate of DNA, the Ancestry team has been able to separate West Africa into six groups based on the genetic data, which is why you'll see the African countries separated.
With all the information or new puzzle pieces, (if you will) that I had just received, I almost felt as if I had taken two steps backwards. At this very moment I was more unsure as to who my grandmothers father was or under what nationality I would be categorized under.
The truth of the matter is, our DNA is passed down and decreases per generation. It is possible that certain ethnicities could not show up at all even when we have always been told that we were a part of a certain group. I was starting to believe this was my case.
After sitting for a few weeks and just trying to mentally piece some of the pieces together I finally gained some momentum. One of the greatest elements of Ancestry.com's DNA testing is their ability to match your DNA with others who have also taken the DNA test. If you have a match(s) they will show you all of those who match your DNA and at what percentage and the possible relationship you may share.
With that being said, someone whom I matched closely with reached out to me and wanted to try to figure out how we may be related. Initial conversations were held on Ancestry.com using their messaging system. His basic message to me was "Our DNA has a very strong match, we need to find the missing pieces!" From there he told me some basic information, I asked him question based off of the little information my grandmother knew. Suddenly, all of the pieces of the puzzle were going into place one by one! Every question I asked he was able to give confirmation to them.
I believe the matching of the DNA amongst others is perhaps the best part about the DNA test, especially if you're trying to find people within your family and not just where your ancestors may be from.
I began telling the family and as you can imagine, they were in shock. When I told my grandmother she immediately decided to do an Ancestry DNA test as well. Her goal when doing her DNA was to see how much DNA her and my match also shared. We went through the entire process of ordering her a kit and completing the sample to mail back in.
What we had discovered from my DNA test, conversations with my match, and also the results from my grandmothers DNA test, we had found my grandmothers half-brother!! Yes, her half brother!! Once she received her results, my grandmother had a stronger match with her half-brother than she did with me–her granddaughter.
After many emails back and forth along with pictures we set up a day and time to meet. None of us really knew what to expect. At now, 80 years old, my grandmother wasn't sure how she would react upon meeting her new family member. While she's never known her father she also never knew she had other brothers and sisters literally in her backyard. Although they are in different States they are also very close in proximity.
We settled for a common place; Starbucks (and we made sure we made purchases while there–just saying). Because I had been the point of contact throughout all of the conversations with my grandmothers newly found brother our first face-to-face initiation was left to me. I introduced myself to the now familiar face and then introduced everyone we had with us that day.
Immediately we could see the resemblance between my grandmother and her brother. Tears of joy flowed from both sides of the family as the connections started to form. Although my grandmother never thought about who her extended family was, at THAT moment, knowing that she belonged to someone and having the opportunity to learn about her family left her in a state of pure happiness. I honestly cannot tell you the last time I've seen my grandmother exude in happiness. The tears that were shed that day has become the glue that will forever hold the puzzle pieces of our family together.
Our Starbucks meet-up! My grandmother meets her brother!
Ladies and Gents, Ancestry.com can provide you too, the missing pieces to your puzzle. Here's a special link just for you to get 15% off your next Ancestry DNA kit! Don't be surprised if you get information that you weren't expecting. Your DNA never changes while the past is the past. All we can do is embrace the information in order to allow the pieces to connect. Quite often, people will change locations, records are lost, the will culture change, technology improves, but our DNA will always remain the same.
In the mean time, feel free to share with me why you would want to have your DNA tested or ask any burning questions that you may have. I truly recommend everyone to take on the journey of your families history. Technology is powerful these days and knowing your history is even more powerful and liberating!
Grandma learns from her younger brother; who's 18 years his senior!
I want to give a HUGE shout out to Afrobella (please go check out her blog) and I also hope that I've inspire those of you who have made it to the end of this post that it's never too late to start a puzzle – of any kind!
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