What family reseach DNA tests can lead to.

[Jimbob]

The Saliva trail.

I often wondered what a DNA test could reveal about my family background given how many DNA files are now on record.

My daughter pushed me to do a family history DNA test. Dad, she said, ‘I want to know my grandfather is or was. Have I got family in America?’

As a birthday present I was given the DNA swab kit and as she is a nurse she made sure I did it properly. All she knew when she was growing up was that my mother’s maternity hospital papers cited an American service man as the father but it was never recorded on the British birth certificate. I was parted from my mother when two years old and shipped off the Australia as child migrant and eventually adopted there. That was a good outcome giving me a chance for family life and a good education.

After four weeks the family history company emailed back with a detailed ethnic profile, shockingly accurate, even detailing my mother’s home county as being in Northern Ireland. No way could the company have fudged that. The second shock was to be advised that I had a 99% match to ‘somebody’ in New Jersey. My daughter was ecstatic but I was apprehensive of what I would find out.

I collated what facts I knew and what my English godmother had told me later in life about my father and sent this information via the family history site to that ‘somebody’. That somebody quizzed his mother, soon to be my half-sister, about the information and she confirmed all the facts and of course was stunned about this history. Our father married her mum after returning to the states but nothing was said about his time in the UK midlands where he met my mother in Birmingham while he was waiting to be shipped to the USA. Sadly I found out our father died at 36, when she was seven years old, of a heart attack. She was born and raised a native of Chelsea, Manhattan: an only child.

I was planning to go to the states to see her but then the pandemic hit and any idea of travel was impossible although digital phone calls and video chats were done over the next two Christmas’s. My daughter’s mother in law quoted the truism that ‘fish smells after three days’. This advice was used on this first trip to see how meeting my sister would be like.

In October after a stay in Bangkok and then a few days in London I flew on United Airlines ‘basic economy’ from Heathrow to Newark. This was definitely an accurate description for an aging 767 aircraft. (On the return leg I upgraded myself to a better seat.) On arrival I was quickly herded (‘move along please’) through Immigration via the ESTA visa system to be greeted by my newly discovered family.

My sister lives a typical suburban house in Bergin County New Jersey that you see on many sitcoms and in easy commuting distance to Manhattan.

On my first full day, a Saturday, in the USA we drove from New Jersey across the George Washington Bridge down into Manhattan. Everywhere I looked seemed to be familiar as seen on numerous TV shows and movies. We wandered around Chelsea on foot to various buildings she knew well when growing up but we were mainly centered on 20th street. My sister pointed out places such as ‘that where the actor Anthony Perkins used to live. ‘As a teenager I baby sat his kids’. There was a block party in full swing on 20th street. People now take great pride in their neighbourhood. Locals were out with tongs to pick cigarette butts and loose rubbish from sidewalk gardens. I paid homage at the door of the Chelsea Hotel adorned with plaques to literary greats such as Leonard Cohen, Dylan Thomas. At times it was home lowlifes such as to Sid Vicious. This once dodgy hotel, newly renovated, is yours for $US 450 a night low season

I had a stopover many years ago in New York and my lasting impression had been of dirty snow piled up and not very clean city. What a revelation to see Manhattan clean, tidy, plenty of bike lanes and in particular to see the Highline Park. This disused elevated railway 3 kilometres long has been converted to a elevated garden and a walking path now crammed with tourists. My sister insisted on buying me a New York hotdog from a street vendor. After street food in Bangkok this was an unfair and unpleasant comparison.

The second day as a family we drove up the beautiful Hudson river valley and into Westchester County N.Y. to the Gates of Heaven cemetery and our father’s grave for a solemn moment. This is also where Baseball greats Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig are interned. Alas no time to pay respects. On the way back to Bergin County we called into Hyde Park estate which was the home of Franklin Roosevelt. These days it is run by the National Parks and includes the first presidential Library. That was worth a visit. At least I did not experience the traffic jams going back to New Jersey that were moving in the opposite direction to NYC (but nothing like Bangkok).

While waiting to board at Newark airport to return to Heathrow I was surprised to find every restaurant seat and gate waiting area seat was equipped with an iPad so customers could order food and drinks on-line and it would be delivered to your seat. It seems an interesting way of dispersing queues.

I was about to board when a brother texted me to get an Antigen test before I could see him in the west country. He was due to go into hospital in a couple of days and needed some assurance his procedure would not be cancelled if I was positive. Arriving in the UK you see the stark Brexit result. One immigration line was called ‘Others, had no one the other line was basically for the UK, USA and mostly commonwealth countries. This queueing area was full with many Brits around muttering about disastrous Brexit changes. At least the electronic visa gate system worked well.

I then scrambled around Heathrow terminals finally paying £40 for a test whose certified results could be forwarded on by email to my brother. Everything for the test was done by smart phone but not a very smart app. One young staff member finally left the lab to help me register on line, request a test appointment, confirm the appointment, then be called into for a test. No smart phone, no email service, nothing can happen. I travelled on to Cheltenham by National Express Coach (pre-booked). This was cheap (£20), comfortable with Wi-Fi an hour quicker than the train having to travel via Reading and Gloucester.

DNA files family research is a competitive business and I doubt that they share files. Was I lucky that I used the right company first up to get a match? My daughter is making plans to visit her Aunt and her American family.

[Pagey]

Nice story, thanks for sharing.

[PeteC]

Good one Jimbob, and very interesting.

[Nereus]

Brilliant story and experince there Jimbob. I have read many reports about dodgy DNA testing services, so could you please post where you had the test done?

[Jimbob]

Nereus: Actually I paid more than I posted as the walkup' price is 55 pound, 40 pound if you book ahead,
So the company is Express Test and I have been told by English family members its about right price
DEBIT CARD PURCHASE ExpressTest Farnborough GBR GBP 55.00 incl. Foreign Transaction Fee AUD $2.98
The actual covid test site is on the forecourt of and outside 'e athrowterminal 3
website www.expresstest.co.uk › heathrow-terminal-3Heathrow Terminal 3 | PCR COVID-19 Testing | ExpressTest
Heathrow Terminal 3 | PCR COVID-19 Testing | ExpressTest Heathrow Terminal 3 If your preferred test date or time is not available please check our other Heathrow test centres

[Nereus]

Ah, ok. I was thinking that you had it done in Australia. What about the "family history company", where was that?

[Jimbob]

Not one to promote a firm but it was Ancestry.com. The test was done in 2019 at home. Once Ancestry have your email address expect a flood of promotion stuff. Finding my late mother was just as difficult until the Catholic church paid for a researcher to trace thousands of child migrants records. In the end it just required getting my godmothers name (with an unusual first name) from my baptismal certificate and then checking census records. She knew my brothers and the answers flowed from there in 2003.
I have been told by my local pathology lab it was around$A100 for a PSA test to be certified.

[Nereus]

Ok, thanks for that.

[caller]

Excellent read Jimbob, very interesting and thanks for posting.