dna testing

for those interested in genealogy and breaking down brick walls or confirming or proving a family story wrong DNA  testing can be useful. it wont always provide answers, but sometimes it does. one example is that I knew my great grandfather Harry Dawe, born Henry Hood to Charles Hood and Caroline Parsons, was adopted by Henry Dawe and Mary Jane French of Newfoundland shortly after he was born. his birth record matches that of his date of birth and birth location of later records after his name change, and he even kept in contact with some of his birth siblings after he moved to the United States. I may never know the “why”around the adoption, family has told me that his mother had either been very ill or passed away shortly after he was born so that would make sense.

I had several Newfoundland matches on family tree dna but none knew how they were related. then when ancestry expanded their testing outside of North America, 2 2nd cousin 1-2 times removed matches from Newfoundland show up in my matches. One I had already been in contact with a couple of years prior about the family tree so was awesome to see him as a match, and the other I messaged as his tree was not fully done, but I saw the last name Cave which I knew married a female sibling to my great grandfather-and that yes he shared Charles Hood and Caroline Parsons as ancestors. then a 3rd cousin tested from the same family. one of them is on family tree dna and it helped me sort some of my Newfoundland matches. I possibly might have a Parson’s group of matches. have yet to find any other Hood matches other than the direct descendents of Charles and Caroline.