Family Found

I apologize to my readers for not posting in such a long time, but life has a matter of getting in the way sometimes.

Since my last post, I have made contact with quite a few relatives that I did not previously know existed. In one case, a DNA match lead me on a somewhat short but ultimately successful journey to help one particular person discover who their biological father was. I have to say that my sleuthing skills were working well, and the person who I had a pretty strong idea was the father, turned out to be this person's father.

This isn't the first time that I've used a combination of DNA test results combined with my family tree to identify unknown parentage, but in all but one case, I'm glad to say that I (often with the help of others), have been able to determine the identity of the unknown father. For the most part, the parties involved have been happy to make the connection, although in a couple of cases, relatives of the person seeking their paternal lineage have been less than thrilled, and in my own personal case, one such person (who is a close DNA match, proving that we are related), outright denied the scientific results. Oh well, I know enough "complicated" people already, so not knowing another one hasn't cost me any sleep!

I'm still at a dead end when it comes to finding and being able to communicate with family members from my maternal grandmother's grandfather though, even after more than 20 years searching for them. The ones that do show as a match tend not to answer, or disappear once I mention the topic that I am researching. It's odd, but there is clearly a story in there somewhere that people want to keep secret.

Ultimately DNA will provide the answers that I am looking for, but until that day comes along, I still have a huge hole in my family history.