I regret that everyone is much more cautious about #DNA testing now. I used to get swamped with new DNA matches in mid to late January after tests had been given as Christmas presents. #Genealogy
@poemblaze DNA testing is a brilliant tool for genealogy. A few years ago I finally broke through a brick wall that had baffled my family for over a century. One of my direct ancestors abandoned his family, back around 1860. Several branches of the family tried to find him for decades. No luck.
Until I got a note through Ancestry from a 'cousin'. We couldn't link trees at all. As far as we knew our ancestors never got within 2 states of each other. (1/2)
@poemblaze So I asked her, "I don't suppose you've got any family stories about a New England Yankee showing up around 1860?"
And she did! Family legend said that a Yankee soldier got her 16 year old ancestor pregnant and left. Together we managed to find a third DNA-linked family (where he settled down with another 16 year old... 😞 )
Mystery solved, thanks to DNA testing. I visited his grave last year. (2/2)