Family Finder Fun

When FTDNA had a sale at the end of last year, I decided to take the plunge into DNA testing. Since I received my Family Finder results on February 10, I’ve had difficulty tearing myself away from my computer where I slavishly and obsessively chase obscure family relationships.


Getting off to a deceptively easy start, one of the first matches I resolved was in my Reeves line. A descendant of Jordan Reeves Jr was a fifth cousin match. We both had uploaded gedcoms to FTDNA and had good paper trails. The second match was even easier as he was a known cousin of the first Jordan Reeves match.

About six out of my 220 matches have been this straightforward -- the other 214, not so much. But that’s ok. Finding and connecting with cousins is fun, but solving mysteries is even more so; in fact, it's highly addictive.

What a lot of new surnames to research! Who the heck are all those Kirklands, Peacocks, and Flowers, anyway? Why do I have cousins in Norway when only one ancester (ok - known ancestor) has immigrated to the US since the revolution? Who knew that half of Carroll County, Arkansas is related to me?

Perhaps all those unidentified sisters and daughters are making their presence known.

Consanguinity chart from FTDNA.com.