You couldn't make this up!

How brilliant, no wonder you were thrilled. I had no idea I had an older sister until I was 18 or that my father had a previous marriage. The internet + Ancestry has been great for putting my tree together. I did the Ancestry DNA test too and would love it if an 'unknown ' relative got in touch

Anya how lovely, I have traced my family tree on my mother's side back to late 1700s. Intriguingly both my maternal DGPs families originally came from Barrow in Furness area & ended up in East Lancashire totally different routes but still ended up in same area.

My DM has filled in a lot of detail of people & places, explained a lot more about relations & places we visited when I was a child.

I would love to go further with my late DH's family tree as his parents were Austrian, his F was born on Poland/Russian border. I have obtained records from National Archieves which are fascinating & have filled in more detail.

How absolutely intriguing and lovely for you. The rest of your family must be curious too.

Ancestry certainly brings people together. I found someone in the USA who had my father's details in her family tree. I contacted her, and it turns out we are second cousins, and she had come over to this Country (her mother was a GI bride taken to the States) in the '60s and visited my grandmother, she described the back garden perfectly! As we were 'crossing the pond' on holiday, we arranged to visit her. We got on really well, have remained friends since. She had the family Bible, with my father's name in it, and as she has no children, insisted we brought it home with us. I had problems trying to persuade the airlines that this was my flight reading matter!

Lovely story Anya, and remarkable timing.

For any of you considering this be aware that this can bring circumstances into your life you or others may not be prepared for.

A bit of fun can take some dramatic turns which throws family life into heartbreak and uproar.

My family was shrouded in secrets lies and all was veneered with respectability. Mine is a story Hollywood and script writer would love. They aren't getting cos I own the copyright.

It didn't come out until I was 36, 20 years ago. Suffice to say I had to have some really specialised therapy on my Family of Origin work. It took many years and alot of pain to put the jigsaw together properly know myself again and my place in the family ancestry.

I also worked through a book by John Bradshaw called "Family Secrets-what you don't know can hurt you" available through Amazon.

Don't go into this unless you are prepared that there maybe some family secrets lurking that may throw everything you ever knew into disarray.

Strangely a friend of ours posted a thread today on FB about his own journey of discovery which hasn't had any horrible turn ups in it. He posted a link to people who have had nasty shocks and how they had dealt. I'll find the link and post it back here later.

I am not trying to be a prophet of doom. Just a prewarning that once the can of worms is open you can't shut it again

I think I must do the DNA test. I wasn't sure about it but it's another possible aid in my search. I found out last year, at the age of 65, that I was adopted.

To cut a long story short my husband wanted to do his family tree and so I bought him a subscription to Ancestry.co.uk at Christmas 2015. Through that I discovered the secret that turned my life upside down.

It's been a long, hard road so far but I have been lucky enough to find out so much information. Astonishing considering how long ago all this happened.

My birth mother died almost 30 years ago but I have contact with 4 uncles, 28 first cousins and their children all over the world who have warmly welcomed me.

Sadly there are no half brothers or sisters so I am still an 'only child'. And that's one of the reasons I would love to trace my birth father but that hasn't been possible so far.

Does the DNA cover both sides of the family? I'm with ancestry and I located a second cousin very unusual name but they didn't want to know, claimed to come from the opposite end of the country. So not true as he's in my grandfathers will. I was upset to be rejected in this way. It's not all honey and roses so I'm very happy for Any.

Ancestry DNA often has special offers. I'd be interested to hear any other experiences gransnet members may have had.
Do tell!!

How amazing and lovely Anya

It is always very interesting to find 'long-lost' family and we have had one visit from Canada - one of DH's second cousins who traced us through Ancestry and got quite emotional when she saw how much DH resembled her uncles.

I was just reading an article from the Washington Post about a lady who had her DNA tested and found totally unexpected and unexplained results. She did it again with a different company with the same result. To cut a rather long story short she eventually discovered that her father had been swapped with another baby in the hospital. The two families are now in touch, with the other family also undergoing DNA testing to confirm the results, and are trying to get their respective fathers' birth certificates amended.
What a result!!

A few years ago my husband had a free 14 days trial with Ancestry. A short while after he had an e-mail saying that someone in the USA was looking for anyone that was a relative of and then it gave his fathers name. His father's Christian name was unusual but quite a common surname for this area. My husband thought it was some sort of scam and just deleted it. My husband has never really known his paternal side of the family although they were local. He knows his father was one of 12 and one son died as a child by choking on a blade of grass. We knew one uncle as he used to drive a local bus and was the spitting image of my father in law. We knew two of his aunties and a couple of cousins but that was it. All my husband knows it that at some time in the past there was a falling out in the family but does not know why or what.

Our town has a Facebook page that is just for old photographs of the surrounding area. I had posted a couple of comments on the site and then I received a PM from someone who lived in Canada who also used the site and was looking for relatives that originated from a local village and wondered if I could be related. I asked a few questions and he gave details of his mum and dad and that he had found a cousin of his dads that also lived in Canada. With the details he gave I knew that his dad was my DH's cousin.

He has given me other info that I can look into relating to one uncle that died in WW1.

We have also met a second cousin who worked in the local supermarket as she picked up the name on our credit card. She is actually the daughter of one cousin my husband knew quite well but has not seen since the 60's.

I would love to see his family tree completed as I am sure there must be many relatives in the area.

I myself am from a very small family and would love to know my family history.

Anya how fantastic!

All the comments on this thread are pushing me to pick up where I stopped a few years ago. My father's family were Scottish through and through I thought, till I found a reference to Birkenhead which took me to Irish ancestors emigrating. Trying to go further back was stopped by the loss of records in the Dublin Post Office fire (think I've got that right). Memo to self - Must Try Harder!

Lovely news for you Anya and what a coincidence of timing!

Lovely to read all the posts, so many positive and what fascinating stories and thank you for all your good wishes.

What a wonderful story and amazing coincidence Anya, hope you have a long and rewarding relationship with your newly found relative. I've had an Ancestry DNA testing kit lying around for months, your story has encouraged me to get spitting into the tube!

How lovely for you! I found a long lost cousin once removed through Friends Reunited. When I was 16 my first cousin, who I was very close to, died from cancer leaving two young children. Families lose touch as you do, and I often wondered what had happened to my two little cousins. It was lovely to find her after nearly 50 years later, and we have since met and are still in contact.

Family trees are fascinating, I have recently been in touch with a second cousin who I have not seen for 60 years.
He told me that we are direct descendants of Lord Gilbert Fitz De Clare born in 1065 and also Elizabeth Woodville 1437-1492 who was married to Edward IV. I have always joked to DH that I was a princess stolen at birth

Brilliant for you and your family Anya (and their family too)

I am a professional genealogist and have come across this situation many times - it never fails to move me. I have one gentleman whose mother was adopted, and after her death, he decided to ask me to look into it.
All he had was his adoptive grandfather's will, which he brought to me.
The grandfather died in 1939 and left a sum of money to the NCH ( as it was) - that was the clue! It took a few months, but I managed to get his mothers records from what was the National Children's Homes, including photos of her, and from that I was able to trace his mother's birth family.

I also have an adopted daughter - and her full blood sister found her a few years ago, it was very emotional and wonderful. At my daughters wedding I caught my son, saying to her sister, " I can't believe that my sister has a sister who isn't my sister!" How amazing....

BUT - in my work I often uncover secrets that should have remained hidden.....

How nice for you Anya do you think you will stay in touch?