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)
Wow! That’s amazing to have had family information like that passed down thru the generations.
@see_the_sus @poemblaze It was an even greater breakthrough for the other woman because she had no idea who the father of her ancestor's illegitimate son was. No name, no clues to work on.
I had a name but it was too common. Previously I spotted a Civil War vet with the 'right' name and 'wrong' life history (no mention of Maine at all). So when she said her ancestor lived on the east shore of Chesapeake Bay (where that soldier was stationed), I knew we were onto something!