OMG another wonderful story. I hope someone is keeping track of all these. What a wonderful book it would make.
Sent from my iPhone > On Feb 25, 2016, at 4:39 PM, Dave Worman <[email protected]> wrote: > > Laura, > You and the other members of this wonderful group are what makes it so great! > I was adopted and found my birth mother and her family through the efforts > of the very special members of this Azores group. Thank you for helping > Jeannie. > > Dave > >> On Wed, Feb 24, 2016 at 9:55 PM, Laura Flanagan <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> I wanted to take a moment and share with all of you, my Portuguese genealogy >> family, a heartwarming beautiful story that I was blessed to be involved in >> over the past few days. As many of you know, I am adopted, and I have been >> searching for my biological father for many years now. 5 years ago, my >> husband bought me the Ancestry dna test. I then tested with FTDna and with >> 23andme, hoping to find dna cousins who would share their lineage with me. >> I learned to read Portuguese, and began researching on the Azorean gov't >> website to build a large tree with all the genealogy of my Portuguese >> cousins, looking for common ancestors between them. I have created a Master >> DNA tree which now contains over 10,000 people, and I have indeed found >> common ancestors. I am waiting the results of a dna test for a woman I >> believe is my aunt or 2nd cousin. Expected date of discovery: March 21st! >> Along this journey, I have been richly blessed me with so many new friends >> and Portuguese cousins. I have learned much about my ancestors, the Island >> of Sao Miguel, from which they came, and the struggles my ancestors endured, >> making my life possible. >> >> About 3 years ago, I was working off a list of all of the men who bore my >> biological father's name, Robert Moniz, and lived in the Fall River area at >> the time of my birth. One man in particular had a son, Cory, that I located >> on Facebook. I messaged him there, with my story, and he agreed to take the >> Ancestry DNA test for me. As it turns out, we are only 5th to 8th cousins. >> Not close enough to provide any clues, but I added his family lines to my >> DNA Cousin Tree anyhow, thinking sometime in the future, it may be helpful. >> I also added his mother's lines, even though she was French Canadian. That >> was about 2 years ago. My search continues and I have not really looked at >> this family in quite some time. >> >> Saturday morning I received a benign message from a 70 year old woman on >> Ancestry. Her husband had purchased the test kit for her as a Christmas >> gift. She had received her results and was showing a 3rd to 4th cousin >> match to Cory and was reaching out to me because I am the administrator of >> his dna profile. She was given up for adoption in 1945 in NY, and has been >> searching for her biological family for 50 years. Her husband had bought >> her the Ancestry DNA test kit for Christmas. She wondered if I had some >> small piece of information that could help her learn something about her >> family. Due to her age, she suspected her parents would have passed away >> by now. The only thing she knew about her birth parents is that she had >> been told her mom was 17 when she was born, and she believed her father may >> have been a married man. I responded and explained that the test she was >> matching did not belong to me, but if she would share her dna results with >> me, I would take a look, as I did have quite a bit of information on Cory's >> family. >> >> Then the whirlwind began. It was readily apparent to me that this adoptee >> was related to Cory through his mother. I could see this due to the common >> matches they shared. I started to identify common ancestors between her dna >> matches. And I just couldn't stop. I traced the lines down and then found >> yet another common ancestor between unrelated 3rd cousins, and again started >> to trace that line down and bang.... I found a marriage between the two >> lines.... 5 dna cousins connecting to the wife and 6 unrelated dna cousins >> connecting to the husband. I had identified this adoptees grandparents! I >> nearly fell off my chair. This couple had 14 children...... which one was >> her parent? Upon closer examination it was clear it could only be one of >> two girls. I went onto Facebook and found the children of these two woman >> and sent them a message with this adoption story. Yesterday, one of the >> children called me letting me know that the woman we are looking for is >> indeed her aunt, a daughter of the grandparents I had identified. She is 90 >> years, alive and well, and had been searching for the past 50 years for her >> daughter. She had even hired 2 private investigators, all without success. >> >> We quickly identified her birth father, and learned it is suspected he >> descends from Amerigo Vespucci.... he is a Vespucci from Brooklyn! How >> amazing is that?!?!? >> >> Late yesterday Betty Belle, 90, and Jeannie, 70, a mother and daughter >> separated in 1945 by adoption, spoke on the telephone for the first time in >> their lives! They cried, they laughed and they planned to talk again today. >> Jeannie was able to tell the woman who gave her life how much she loved >> her, and how long she has wanted to know her. I cried my eyes out and could >> not believe that my search for my Portuguese father had inadvertently led to >> this. I have no words - in fact I do not think there is an English word >> that could do justice to this. Maybe there is a Portuguese word? >> >> I felt compelled to share this story with you all, who have been so gracious >> to me, and helpful, as I continue with my journey. I will continue to >> search for my father, but even if I never do find him, I will be a happy >> woman. God is good and He has a plan for everything; the good, the bad and >> the ugly. It all works the way it is meant to. >> >> Please know that dna works... it really does! This reunion was made >> possible with only 11 3rd-4th cousins.... and perhaps a few stars lining up >> just right! Just incredible! >> -- >> For options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail >> (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right >> that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership." >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Azores Genealogy" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/azores. > > -- > For options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail > (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right > that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership." > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Azores Genealogy" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/azores. -- For options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership." --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/azores.
