AncestryDNA: Birth name confirmed

After two years, a close match has appeared at AncestryDNA for M.S., who is adopted.  This is simply wonderful!

AncestryDNA

I reached out to this person about a week ago and have not heard back yet.  If I had nothing else to go on, this would be devastating.  This situation is a bit different.

The predicted first to second cousin match has no family tree attached to his DNA results; however, his username is displayed.  From there, I obtained a short family tree he had already uploaded.  His mother's last name matches M.S.'s last name at birth!  We have the correct family, but I still need to confer with this match to figure out which person in his family may be the biological parent of M.S.- if this is possible to do.

If I have the correct birth mother identified, then M.S. and this DNA match are first cousins, once removed.  They may share DNA on their X Chromosome, which would help me further solidify this theory.  Unfortunately, AncestryDNA, unlike 23andMe and FamilyTreeDNA, does not allow you to see where you share DNA with your cousins.

For background, M.S. was born and adopted in New Jersey before 1940.  This year is significant because this is when adoption records and corresponding birth certificates were sealed.  M.S. knew her original name and I viewed the adoption record at the Essex County Courthouse in Newark, New Jersey.  I requested the original birth certificate from the municipality and was told it could not be released.  I requested the original birth certificate from the state and was sent the amended birth certificate, which lists the adoptive parents as the biological parents.  (Only births through 1923 are available to the public at the Archives in Trenton.)

The problem in determining the birth mother and father is that only the "unmarried" mother was listed in the adoption papers with no age.  The surname belonged to a family in Newark of recent immigration from Germany.  This was not a small family.  Most members had multiple children and when a spouse died, the surviving spouse remarried and had more children.  I had no shortage of possible parents, either using the surname as a birth name or a married name.  It was (still is) possible that the birth mother was a visiting cousin from Germany, arrived in Newark in the 1930s, had a baby, and then went on her way- missed entirely in the 1930 and 1940 census.

Finding records on this family in Newark was not too difficult and actually dovetailed my research on my own Germany lines in Newark.  They lived and worked in the same neighborhoods and attended the same churches.  They probably knew one another and many generations later, their descendants also interact by happenstance.

Saint Peter's Catholic Cemetery, Jersey City

I visited Saint Peter's Catholic Cemetery in Jersey City (Hudson County, New Jersey, United States) now that the weather is improving.  (Thank you, R.B., for a lovely trip.)

The other Catholic cemetery in Jersey City is Holy Name, which is much larger.  The records for both cemeteries are available on microfilm through FamilySearch.org.  Saint Peter's listing at FindAGrave includes over one thousand burials.  Given the rather small nature of this cemetery, check FindAGrave to see if a stone still exists.  I did not check every stone, but all the ones that I investigated were already on FindAGrave.  The actual burial records will contain many more names, of course, so you need to view them as well.  Holy Name Cemetery, in comparison, has almost 30,000 burials on FindAGrave.  (You can also look up burials for Catholic cemeteries under the Newark Archdiocese at www.rcancem.org/deceased.  Holy Name Cemetery is listed; Saint Peter's is not.)

To park and access the gates, you turn onto Utica Avenue from US Routes 1 and 9 South (Tonnele Avenue).

Saint Peter's is well-maintained by neighboring Holy Name Cemetery.  The grounds are surrounded by railways, busy highways, and industrial plants, but the cemetery presents beautifully.

Geese grazing at Saint Peter's Catholic Cemetery in Jersey City

Duffy monument at Saint Peter's Catholic Cemetery in Jersey City

These engraved portions of these types of monuments are easily destroyed.

I put the camera inside the monument's missing side and found some pieces of lettering.

Autosomal DNA Testing at AncestryDNA: Kits Purchased

AncestryDNA also had a sale on their autosomal DNA testing kits last weekend:  $79 instead of the regular $99.  I purchased two- one for my father and one for me.

I have one person's atDNA tested at AncestryDNA so far.  M.S. was adopted at birth in New Jersey before 1940, before records were sealed.  (Under a new law, the records sealed as of 1940 will become accessible in 2017.)

Although I viewed M.S.'s adoption papers, I can't accurately determine her biological family for reasons that will be explained in an upcoming post.  Thus, I cannot attach her family tree to her results at AncestryDNA.  One of the great features of AncestryDNA is the (suggested) Most Recent Common Ancestor as identified in the family trees of the DNA matches.  (See this blog post for an illustration.)  I can't use this feature without a family tree, so my father's test and mine will enable me to participate in this feature.

The other reason for testing at a third company (FamilyTreeDNA and 23andMe already done) is to locate more close relatives and solve (and create) more family mysteries.  You can upload results from these three companies for free to GedMatch to meet everyone, but most people don't do this.  The link you need to solve your family mystery may be quietly ensconced at one testing site, unaware that he or she is your missing link.

Testing kit.  Spit into vial.
Return in postage-paid package.