An Unexpected Discovery
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  • Blog

My Sweet Grandma 

8/22/2016

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Heather Wylie and Dot Cobb White
My sweet grandmother left this earth six years ago today. 

I saw a graphic that Ancestry.com posed earlier that started a conversation in the comment chain about oral history and narrative. What I do as a family historian is tell a human story. Every tiny baby born into a family and every old person that dies is part of that human story. And our interactions with each other connect us - one family tree connecting with another. It's really beautiful. 

This time of year is never easy for any of the members of my family, who loved my grandmother so very much. I think this year might be a little harder than the others because my grandfather is now in the hospital with health problems of his own. 

With this post I wanted to really talk a little bit about her story. I've already made a short video about her life (which we show at her funeral and has been listed before on this site as a blog post). So, with this post I'm going to tell two of my favorite stories about my grandmother so that whoever is reading this post can remember her life with me. 
My grandmother was a Southern woman. She was born and raised in Northern Alabama. She never met a stranger, and she loved talking on the phone. When I was a kid she would talk on the phone for HOURS. I remember her sitting in the kitchen rocking chair (because every kitchen needs a rocking chair) by the rotary phone talking to neighbors, friends, fellow church members, and family members. My first real job was working an evening shift at a local hospital. When I would get off work I would call and talk to her on my drive home. She never minded and I loved it because it was time that I got to spend with just her. I would ask her questions about her life, her marriage, and her children. She would tell me wonderful stories. Every now and then I think "Oh I'll call Grandma" still - just out of habit - because she always had time and she was always interested. Perhaps one of the greatest gifts she ever gave was her time (and not just to her family). 

My second favorite memory of her involves the church garden. It isn't there anymore.  When I was little we were all very involved in church. On Sunday mornings my sister and I would leave Sunday School and run into the Fellowship Hall where the adults were just finishing up their own lessons. My grandparents would be there, drinking coffee and visiting (I can still smell the coffee when I think about this story and see them in my mind's eye in their Sunday clothes...a room full of people I loved, a lot of them aren't living anymore). During the week, my grandparents helped to keep the garden at the church. There was a small garden to the right of the building (it's now got a new building over that spot). Grandma and Grandma kept the weeds low and the wildflowers high. I remember them loading the trunk of their old Buick full of gardening tools and taking us grandkids with them to work at the church. It's a simple memory, but it is one of my favorites. 

It's been six years and I still miss the way she would hug - strongly hugging you and and rubbing your back. I can still hear her giggle (and every now and then when I laugh it comes out of my mouth). A lot has changed in six years, but that's the way that life is. Time just keeps marching on. It's up to us, the family story tellers, to keep our loved ones legacies alive. 
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Networking and DNA

8/14/2016

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So. Ancestry.com offers DNA testing. I know, I know. You're thinking "How is this news?" And I guess it isn't really because they have been doing DNA testing for...YEARS now. If you haven't tested your DNA you really should. The results are awesome. Not only do you get to know about the regions your family came from, you also can run your raw DNA and see the amazing gene mutations in YOUR body and try to determine what that means for your current health and your future (terrifying and fun right?). Ancestry.com has a great networking tool set up, and they keep updating and building on it. You can make circles. You can look for people who are related to you - and the DNA even tells you how closely you're related and it's even pretty accurate (which is EVEN MORE AWESOME!). Now that I've done my Ancestry.com DNA plug (which is sooo, sooo, sooo cool) here are some pictures just in case you aren't sold on it: 

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 On the left you can see the DNA matches that Ancestry.com has found. It even suggests common ancestors - WHAT! 

On the right you can see a breakdown of my DNA background. The different regions around the world that I came from (Which I've shared before). I would like to point out here that there is no Native American DNA. But that is a blog post that has been written before...and is going to make a reappearance. Now, back to topic: 
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I have a good friend who is also a family historian/ genealogist for her family. Last night she FaceTimed me around midnight to tell me some amazing news. An unexpected discovery, if you will. She started talking to a cousin that she became aware of through the Ancestry.com DNA program. This cousin had a picture of a group photo - featuring at least 30 people in the picture. My friend asked this newly found, distant cousin to please identify as many people in the picture as she could... AND DO YOU KNOW WHO WAS IN THE PICTURE?? My friend's fourth great-grandmother. Her never before seen fourth-great grandmother. Y'all. This is why the DNA networking aspect of Ancestry.com is so awesome. You get to make connections with other researchers that you are related to and you didn't even know it! 

It's kind of easy to ignore the DNA hints. The site doesn't remind you about it all the time. But, it really is a great resource. Through this section of the site, you can network and make a human connection based on your DNA. You never know the information that other researchers have! You might just be given a copy of a picture you've never seen before and see the face of an ancestor that you never thought you'd find. 
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    The Blogger

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    I love family history and the various ways that it can be approached by researchers! I hope that this blog is interesting and inspiring! 

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