Having had several positive outcomes using DNA to solve genealogical questions, I felt empowered, but I knew I needed more experience using it. Enter my friend Tracy. She was adopted. She “met” her birth mother’s family many years earlier, but did not know any thing about her birth father’s family…. and her birth mom was not giving up the information. It was a question she pondered about, but had no burning desire to know more. When I asked her if she was willing to take a DNA test for me so I could figure out this question, she graciously accepted.
I asked Tracy not to give me any information about her birth family. Knowing that many adoptees do not have any information on their birth families, I thought having empty slate, would be an excellent challenge for me. Now, I have known Tracy for approximately twenty years now; our children grew up together. So I remembered a few bits of information, like she had occasional phone visits with a half-sister named Rhoda, who lived in another state…but that was all I basically recalled, and it was not enough information to attempt a Google search.
It took a while for the results to come in, as the first test failed and Tracy had to send another sample. When she received the results, she shared them to my Ancestry account…and I was off and running! I thought I would resolve familial questions quickly, but that was not the case. The very first thing I did was to make a Leeds Chart. This technique should yield the surnames of the grandparents of the test taker, which ultimately it did…but it also created a few questions for me!
Who was Tracy’s birth father? Well seeing as his brother and daughter had taken Ancestry DNA tests, I figured out who he was very quickly. In fact, it was so quick, that I actually second-guessed myself and dug a little deeper. I spent a few more hours on this question, and confirmed the bio-dad’s identity to my satisfaction. Tracy’s birth mom told Tracy stories about him, and the only thing that appeared to be true, was he had served in the military.
OK, now on to the identity of Tracy’s bio-mom. For some reason, I thought this would be the easiest question for me to answer. I don’t know why. Perhaps it was because I had the notion that Tracy already knew the answer. I know that doesn’t make sense, because not knowing, is not knowing, even if some else has the answer. Tracy had a lot of DNA test takers on her maternal side. So I started building a family tree based on the trees these test takers had started to build, carefully linking everyone together. As the tree grew and grew, I did not feel I was getting any closer to figuring out her bio-mom’s identity. It was SO frustrating!
The paper trail was not leading me to a bio-trail. I posted questions on a Facebook genealogical DNA site I belong to, hoping for guidance. I was certainly given feedback, which I took to heart. Taking these suggestions, I worked the tree, referring back to the DNA results, but I was not getting any closer to an answer. Finally, I had to call “uncle” and ask Tracy for the answer. She told me the name of her bio-mom. Turns out I had her in the tree, but I was nowhere near discovering she was the bio-mom.
This is where Tracy’s DNA branches get all twisty (hence my confusion). Turns out, Tracy’s bio-maternal grandfather was illegitimate and was raised by his grandparents. So he carried his mother’s maiden name. She went on to marry and have more nine children, and both her maiden name and her married name were in my Leeds Chart. I should be note that discovering “just” the four surnames of grandparent is the Leeds Chart is not a given…. usually you end up with several more surnames, but if you look carefully for commonalities, your results can be narrowed down to four surnames. In this case, many descendants of bio-grandpa’s half-siblings, as well as his aunts & uncles had taken DNA tests, but by looking carefully at the family tree, I saw how I got confused as these families all twisted together!
So the lesson I learned here was to look more closely at the documents. In the 1920 census, bio-grandpa was just a year old and living with his grandparents. This is the only time he is listed as their “grandson” in other censuses; he is listed as their son. These grandparents also raised another grandson as their “son,” after his mother (their daughter) died. Interestingly, this grandson’s known father appears to be (possibly) the brother of bio-grandpa’s dad…just to add further confusion to this family! As I dug deeper into bio-grandpa’s records, I found an image of his birth certificate online, and the name of his mother is listed…but not the dad.
This gave me a new DNA question of answer! Who was bio-grandpa’s birthfather? I knew who his family was, but candidates of the appropriate age were not indicating they were the father. Many descendants of these possible candidates had taken DNA tests. I expected to see a close-ish match…. like a first or second cousin (possibly or actually once removed). But the DNA numbers were showing a slightly more distant relationship. Rats! Once again, I turn for some guidance on a Facebook genealogical DNA page. There some one suggested I try WATO…. what? Turns out this is a new feature on the DNA Painter site, where you can build a scaled back tree to see if your familial hypothesis is correct. WATO, or What Are The Odds, is an interesting tool. After I gave it a try, it was clear I needed to learn more about how to use this tool.
So Tracy graciously allowed me to use her DNA as a learning experience. And boy did I learn a few things! And now I have more to learn!!! Tracy’s gift is definitely a gift that keeps on giving!!
Thank you Tracy!
Laurie L. Kearney 