A New Cousin, Out of the Blue!
Many of us have mixed feelings about sharing our DNA findings.
It can feel strangely invasive to have someone reach out and tell you they are your cousin. Media stories abound of unearthed family secrets. But, unearthed secrets can lead to new connections and discoveries, and to new family stories and shared understandings, as was the recent case with Pixorium team member, Lilly.
Last month, Lilly discovered a first cousin she didn’t know existed! It began with a Facebook message from Tracy, a woman Lilly had never met. It read, “Hello. I recently did a DNA test, and you came up as a first cousin.”
After some back and forth, this story emerged:
Tracy’s mother had gotten pregnant in college. Tracy explained, “My mom was in her first year of college when I was born. I have one picture of Bill (Tracy’s biological father.) The person I call ‘Dad’ adopted me when I was three. I was not supposed to know about Bill, but when I was about eight, I found my original birth announcement in my grandmother’s photo album. I had questions, but my mom would never talk about it. Mom passed away in 2012 of brain cancer.”
Tracy has four children of her own. She and a few of her children have some health issues; for this and other reasons, Tracy wanted to learn more about her biological father’s side of the family. One of her daughters convinced her to use Ancestry.com for DNA testing, which is how she discovered her first cousin, Lilly.
Tracy and Lilly’s fathers were brothers. Unfortunately, both are now deceased. Tracy never met her father or knew anything about his family. Lilly has now been digging up old family photos to share with Tracy, as well as letting Tracy know about other first cousins and an aunt who are still living. Below is a photograph from the 1940s of Lilly and Tracy’s fathers with their sister, Joyce, and aunt.
As a lover of family history, Lilly has been thrilled to be able to share photos and stories with her previously unknown first cousin. And, she has a new family story to tell!
The brothers, sister and beloved aunt.