Genealogy: How I Found My DNA Relatives, Part 1

Genealogy: How I Found My DNA Relatives, Part 1

Psalm 139:13 For You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

I haven’t posted to my blog in quite some time but since so many have asked how it all happened, I decided to reactivate my blog to tell the story. This is the first in a series of blog posts that I’ll write outlining the steps, some of the stories and tips for doing this yourself.  It’s a risk but one that I am certainly glad that I took. Much prayer went into the decision and into each step as well because there were many roadblocks along the way…  I will try to post 2x per week. This is my personal story which incredibly, sounds like a Hallmark movie…

August 2022: I just returned from a week out West with my family to meet my newly discovered DNA relatives.  It was a truly remarkable time.  We all felt so warm and welcomed and loved by everyone we met.  Lots of family activities and special events were planned with both sides of my DNA family.  Even thinking back now, I can hardly believe it. 

I was adopted when I was 2 weeks old and never knew my biological family. The only information I had was my mother's maiden name.  I grew up with a wonderful family of four in the South and wouldn’t change a thing, but still, the feelings when I spent time with so many WHO LOOK LIKE ME were unquestionable. It made me feel like the circle of my life was now complete.  I know that all searches do not turn out like mine did, and I really do feel for those that do not.  I believe that God plans the details in everyone's lives, so whether your search turns out like mine or differently, just trust Him with the results. And by all means, go for it!

Step 1:  Do a DNA test 

There are many kits out there.  One of our sons gave us DNA tests for Christmas in 2021.  He chose 23andMe which is good for what we initially wanted— background and ancestry.  If I had it to do over, I would probably have chosen ancestry.com simply because once you join, you have access to a multitude of documents and records and it seems to be the most popular.   In my case, some relatives chose 23andMe and some chose ancestry.com.  Of course, records are not merged from one DNA company to the other. If all you want is family origin and health (I opted out of health— no need in having a dark shadow over my life), 23andMe is perfect.  I am thankful that my son gave me this exceptional gift to start me on the path.

Most tests are either cheek swab or saliva.  Ours was saliva.  We were all together when we did it (you have to spit into a tube, a LOT).  We were all laughing so hard that we had to go in different rooms to finish.  Took about 15 minutes to complete, then we packaged them all together and shipped them at the same time (end of December 2021).

DNA is one area of science which has been determined to be quite accurate (I don’t always follow the science) but we all felt very comfortable doing this together.  Then we waited for about 4 weeks for the test results…