What's Your Family Story?

Hunting for Your Biological Family

It might be me but I’ve seen an increase in people searching for other biological family members. Whether it's children looking for their parents or even siblings looking for their siblings. Thanks to shows like “Long Lost Family” and “Who Do You Think You Are?” they struck a chord in the hearts of many. Let’s not forget the largest aid in assisting those in their search. That would be those DNA kits we hear advertised on the television and read in print. I’m not posting this to discuss any one kit, they all have their pluses. Don’t worry I’ll share more DNA testing choices in another post.

DNA Father and Daughter Match

For many years those on a quest like this found it extremely difficult. You would have to interview family, friends, and neighbors. If it was a family secret you weren’t getting far. Then you have court records, churches, hospitals, and even adoption records. Now we all know that could lead to another one of those research brick walls, most of the time. Some states won’t open the adoption records, it’s like pulling teeth. 

Then DNA kits came onto the research scene. Imagine this, you’ve just received your DNA results and the matches just don’t make sense. The matches for your 1st, 2nd, and even 3rd cousins don’t even share the same surname. You don’t even recognize their surnames. But the DNA shows a match, how can that be. Better yet you have been searching for your biological mother and you might have an answer in those results. What do you do next? How do you know if you’re even reading this correctly? Don’t worry you’re not alone there are many who have the same questions and concerns.

Your Ethnic Background

Sixty Percent Match

DNA testing isn’t all about the search for your biological family connection. Some decide to take the test for other reasons. Another common goal is finding out about your ethnic background, looking for their ancestor's country, religious and social backgrounds. I can’t help but always smile when someone tells me they don’t need to take a test for that reason. They know for a fact there are Native Americans or over 60% German. Only to find out after I go over the results with them they had it wrong. An article that appeared in the New York Times is a good example of surprise ethnic findings, “DNA Tests, and Sometimes Surprising Results“.

• What’s your family story?
• Have you ordered your DNA test kit yet?
• If so why, what are you wanting to discover?
• Better yet if you got your results back what do you think?

 

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