Coincidence? Perhaps, or Sheer Luck!

Three weeks ago, I received a Facebook message from a young lady asking if I managed a kit for someone on My Heritage. The person she was looking for shared my name, but It was not me. As we discussed her situation, I learned she had been adopted and was searching for her biological family. Was it a coincidence that she stumbled upon a woman who shared my name and unknowingly emailed me, a DNA enthusiast? Little did she know, her luck would soon pay off.

It took me about a week to research her DNA. She had made many contacts and had communicated with her DNA matches. She had some ideas about how she was related to the people on her list, but I was not familiar enough with her DNA to give an informed opinion.

When I help adoptees, it is more difficult because we don’t have any information about the maternal side or paternal side. When a familial connection is discovered, I am never sure which side of the tree it belongs. The challenge is to figure out how eight people divide into pairs. The next complication becomes figuring out which pair relates to the paternal side and which pair belongs on the maternal side.

I began my research by using the LEEDS method. This method helps to identify the great-grandparents (eight people at the top of the diagram.) Unfortunately, I was only able to identify six of the eight great-grandparents. With this information, I was able to determine one set of grandparents and one more undetermined branch. I narrowed my focus and looked closely at the grandparents. I found they had a daughter but was not sure she was an only child. I began with this woman. She (or a sister or a brother) were likely the parent of the woman I was helping. The woman I was helping took this information and began corresponding with people in search of her biological family.