Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I've done both Ancestry (which is absolutely more accurate for heritage background) and 23 and Me. The reason I had my dad do 23 and Me was entirely due to the likely half cousin who is likely the son of the child of a 3rd woman. There are also more cousins on that side on 23 and Me than Ancestry, though I also have half aunts from both my dad's mother AND father there for comparison points. My dad's half sister on his dad's side built out her whole family tree publicly before she passed, which is a great gift. We can go back to the 1600s in France via Quebec and the 1500s in England and Scotland via Vermont, NH, and Mass.
The DNA test for my father is almost superfluous - he's been talking to his half brother on a pretty regular basis and has gotten a ton of photos of his bio dad. My dad looks more like his father than any of his 7 half siblings who were raised by him. We have a photo of my grandfather at the same age as my dad and they could be twins. My uncle reported that one of my aunts saw a photo of my dad and said that if she saw him on the street, she'd think she was dying and her father was there to drag her to hell. He sounds like a horrendous person, but all the children seem to be great!
As an update - we're having a family gathering next month! Of the 6 living half-siblings, at least 3, hopefully 4 will be there with their spouses and kids/grandkids. One is a snowbird and already had plans to come back in May so she can't swing the trip but will Zoom in, and the maybe is hoping to make the 10 hour drive each way as long as the weather holds out. The other lives with their 92 year old mother who has not and will not be told. This sister bears my father no ill-will but currently does not want to meet him, likely because their birthdays are pretty close so it's particularly upsetting that my grandfather was involved with both her mother (his wife) and my grandmother while both were pregnant at the same time. I have 6 new half cousins and they have 7 or 8 kids between them. It's going to be a huge gathering, but thankfully my dad has carved out some time to meet some of them in smaller settings beforehand.
I've done both Ancestry (which is absolutely more accurate for heritage background) and 23 and Me. The reason I had my dad do 23 and Me was entirely due to the likely half cousin who is likely the son of the child of a 3rd woman. There are also more cousins on that side on 23 and Me than Ancestry, though I also have half aunts from both my dad's mother AND father there for comparison points. My dad's half sister on his dad's side built out her whole family tree publicly before she passed, which is a great gift. We can go back to the 1600s in France via Quebec and the 1500s in England and Scotland via Vermont, NH, and Mass.
The DNA test for my father is almost superfluous - he's been talking to his half brother on a pretty regular basis and has gotten a ton of photos of his bio dad. My dad looks more like his father than any of his 7 half siblings who were raised by him. We have a photo of my grandfather at the same age as my dad and they could be twins. My uncle reported that one of my aunts saw a photo of my dad and said that if she saw him on the street, she'd think she was dying and her father was there to drag her to hell. He sounds like a horrendous person, but all the children seem to be great!
As an update - we're having a family gathering next month! Of the 6 living half-siblings, at least 3, hopefully 4 will be there with their spouses and kids/grandkids. One is a snowbird and already had plans to come back in May so she can't swing the trip but will Zoom in, and the maybe is hoping to make the 10 hour drive each way as long as the weather holds out. The other lives with their 92 year old mother who has not and will not be told. This sister bears my father no ill-will but currently does not want to meet him, likely because their birthdays are pretty close so it's particularly upsetting that my grandfather was involved with both her mother (his wife) and my grandmother while both were pregnant at the same time. I have 6 new half cousins and they have 7 or 8 kids between them. It's going to be a huge gathering, but thankfully my dad has carved out some time to meet some of them in smaller settings beforehand.
That all sounds wonderful. Would be nice if they all brought pictures.
An elderly friend of mine found out recently that she has a half sibling on her father's side. My friend's son was contacted via one of the online genealogy websites (where he had put his DNA results) by the daughter of a woman who had been adopted as a child (who seems to be my friend's half sister). My friend is interested but my friend's much younger sister has absolutely interested in getting to know this person who was simply looking for their roots.
My son found a half-sibling on ancestry (and also has a pretty large tree from both sides which I researched for him, which is private). The half-sib has a very small public tree only from his mothers side. They are DNA related through the paternal side.
Neither have contacted each other.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
