When I look back on my 2016 accomplishments, helping my DNA match find her birth family will be at the top of the list. Fortune smiled upon her. The brothers I helped identify from public records were correct. Carefully penned letters were sent and received. A few days later a phone call from one of the brothers united the siblings for the first time. Both he and his brother were delighted to learn of a sister they never knew they had. I’m told an introduction of spouses, nephews and nieces will soon follow in a face-to-face meeting later this month.

Here’s to happy endings and happier beginnings.

I’ve taken a bit of a hiatus from genealogy. A bout with food poisoning, allergies and an ulcer (ouch) kept me preoccupied. But it’s back to work now… there are more ancestors to discover and cousins to find.

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: 4th cousin
Common ancestors: William Barnett Sims and Clarinda Susan Rust