A very interesting article about searching for answers through DNA and trying to come to terms with the trauma of past history: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/virginiahughes/dna-test-rape-family-tree
That’s quite a story, @fireflyscout.
@MaineLonghorn wrote:
This is not uncommon in people with Irish ancestry, particularly from the west of Ireland. It comes from the hundreds of years of back and forth between the two regions.
@greenwitch, interesting.
This is a bit old, but interesting:
On Wednesday and Thursday this week ( June 5 and 6), the subject of the NYTimes podcast–The Daily–was genetic genealogy and crime solving. Lots of legal and ethical issues–really interesting.
The posted story was heartrending when you think about the life of woman who endured it but heartwarming when you think about the two men who made a lifetime connection.
My H is 2% Iberian and 67% Irish.
That posted story makes me think. What would I do if I submitted my DNA to one of the services and discovered that I had a bunch of second cousins because my great-uncle was a repeat rapist, as happened to the white guy in the story? That might not be so bad; at least it wasn’t my direct ancestor. But what if I found out I had a lot of mixed-race cousins because my grandfather was in a position of power over a lot of women of another race, and raped some of them? That could be hard to accept. I can understand why that one woman cut off contact with the protagonist of the story.
I agree that it would be very hard to find out that my direct ancestor was a rapist. It would also be very difficult to discover that my ancestors had earned profits on the backs of their slaves. What would that mean about any inherited money? And what would be a reasonable and responsible way to make restitution?
I don’t have a dramatic story, but I did recently find a second cousin. And through my conversations with her, we were able to reunite my aunt and my second cousin’s father, who are first cousins and who had lost track of each other. They had a lovely visit recently for the first time in decades. It was nice to bring joy into the lives of people in their 80s.
Here’s a story you may have missed. Man, Andre, finds his American Service member father from WW2.
American brother says, "“You know, Andre actually looks more like my dad than I do,” Henderson says. “Your mannerisms, your smile, your face, I feel almost like I’m talking to my dad.”
A new story about a couple of women discovering their bio-fathers using online DNA testing services.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-death-of-the-family-secret_n_5ced846de4b0793c23466ca3?6u
Dateline on Wed was a DNA search story. Woman was hoping to find info about her mother (adopted as a baby, didn’t have any info) but instead found that her father had fathered a child in Vietnam when he was about 20. He had no idea. He went to VN to meet the daughter and her family, and brought them to the US to live.
My assistant’s husband (age 53) just found his biological dad.
Dad had tried to find him when he was a baby, but the mom had given the dad a bunch of false info about names and hometown. He was looking in the wrong place with the wrong name, and he eventually gave up. The mom knew who he was, but would never tell her son. She died a few years ago.
I think they found a cluster of first cousins and figured it out from that. Some Facebook stalking was involved to figure out who was who and who to contact Eventually they found and emailed dad, and he emailed back. They have been talking on the phone for a couple months.
They are flying out to meet him for the first time in a few weeks. Both father and son seen pretty excited from what I can tell.
The 23andMe kit which is normally $199 is on sale for $99 today for Amazon Prine members.