A couple of weeks ago, I received a friend invitation on Facebook from a woman in Mission, Texas. I added her and figured she was interested in reading about my research. Five days ago, she messaged me and asked if I was the Kathleen Hill on her matches list. I don’t use my name on my DNA, so I knew she was referring to someone other than me. She explained that she was looking for her biological father. Her mother had passed and could no longer provide information. This woman had spent the past thirty years wondering who her father was.
Coincidence, perhaps, but I have become adept at solving similar mysteries. I asked her if she would like me to help, and she accepted. I reviewed her DNA matches. The closest match on her father’s side was a man with the last name of Reynoso. She shared 1500 centimorgans of DNA with him. My first guess was; he is her half-brother. I questioned her about him and any communication she has had. She messaged him but never received a response.
One of the frustrating things about DNA research is the fact that many people submit their DNA to discover their ethnicity. They are not researching their family tree, nor do they pay a subscription to Ancestry to use all of the resources offered. Mr. Reynoso likely tested and has not logged back into his account for many months.
I sorted her DNA matches and looked at the few people she matched via her father. I believed her father’s last name was Reynoso, but there wasn’t enough evidence to make any additional connections.
My client’s mother, Edna was raised in Tennessee and lived in with her husband and children. Edna became pregnant with another man’s child and her husband raised the child as his own. My client was told that her father was of Peurto Rican descent, however, her ethnicity estimate shows otherwise.
The second closest match on my client’s paternal line was a first cousin, or a first cousin, once removed. Given the closeness of this relationship, I narrowed my focus to the grandparents of this match; Albert Pedin Ennis and Estela Grandison Gastanza.
Albert Ennis was an Engineer. He worked for Electric Bond and Share Company in the early 1900’s. His job required him to travel to Jaimaca, Central & South America, and the West Indies to examine electric properties in various countries. His wife was Estella Grandison Ennis. She was born in Oaxico, Mexico. She and her children traveled with Mr. Ennis for his job.
Two things jumped out at me while researching Mr. Ennis. His wife, Estella was born in Oaxaca, Mexico (note the mention of Oaxaca, Mexico in my client’s Ethnicity Estimate.) Mr. Ennis was born in Illinois. If both great grandparents were from Mexico, my client’s DNA should show 15-20% Central America. Thus, only one of her great-grandparents was from Mexico. Mr. Ennis was from Illinois and his wife was from Mexico.
The next step was to research all of the children of Mr. Ennis and Ms. Grandison Gastanza to see if I could find a connection to the Reynoso line. I found two sons and three daughters. I researched each of these children and their spouses. One daughter, Jean Margareta Elizabeth Ennis y Grandison, “Betty”, married a man named Pedro Reynoso. Pedro’s father was from Vera Cruz, Mexico (another city listed in my client’s DNA Ethnicity results.) Additionally, his grandparents were from the United States; Kentucky, and Wisconsin. Again, supporting my client’s 9% DNA connection to Central America. I believe Betty and Pedro Reynoso are my client’s grandparents. One of their two sons is likely her father.
Mr. Reynoso and Ms. Ennis y Grandison had three girls and two boys. They lived in Browning, Texas where my client’s family lived in when her mother became pregnant.
I have meticulously constructed my client’s family tree on Ancestry.com and have uncovered photographs and documents dating back to the early 1800s. Proudly, I can say she has the most well-established tree on both her Reynoso and Ennis lines. Hopefully, she will be able to establish a relationship with her biological half-siblings and they can discover their rich family history together.
