Expansion of the Blog
In having my DNA done, one of things that I discovered is how my tree is nowhere near the size it should be. Although my family tree currently contains over 6,600 relatives, it is a far cry from what it should be displaying. The family tree I have is from many years of researching and digging through documents and receiving assistance from family members. So yes it is a family effort to create such a large tree. It also allows me to look beyond those who are living by finding more on those ancestors that have gone, and those that I knew about during my lifetime. Having my DNA done has given me another opportunity to connect with our living extended families. I’ve met some really amazing cousins along the way.
With the DNA results, I have discovered a multitude of cousins from many different islands in the Caribbean. What has taken me by surprise is that I have cousins from every single Central and South American country! And yes I do mean every single country! Many of these matches have family trees going back generations within these countries. Some are showing up as 4th to 6th cousins while others are appearing as 5th to 8th cousins. Currently I have 653 4th cousins or closer that match me via DNA and it isn’t a little bit of DNA, it is quite a lot with extremely high accuracy based on the amount of DNA we share together. In total via Ancestry, I have 6,593 DNA cousins, enough to find answers to missing links in the family tree and getting to know more family members. I was expecting connections to Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, and Mexico. However I was completely taken by surprised how I have relatives in every nation in South America; traveling family.
What was more surprising and a great plus is that Ancestry announced today that they now have 2 million DNA kits in their database. I look forward to watch their database continually increase in size.
So since I have so many relatives from the different Caribbean, Central America, and South American countries, I plan to post for each island and or country where you can find resources for these countries. This will take time but don’t be surprised when you see more menu options at the top of this blog. Happy hunting!
I have had similar surprises. I have 69 full Azhkenasi DNA relatives from all over, including Poland, Romania, Israel, and Germany. They are 6 or 7 generations back. I have contacted a few to fully ascertain whether they knew of the Spanish connection. I know we must share ancestors who left Spain during the inquisition, while my direct ancestors became conversos.