Is an Ancestry DNA kit worth it?
Yes, it absolutely is.
To be transparent, this post is NOT sponsored by Ancestry and is based purely on my personal experiences with the incredible information this online database provided about my family history.
While developing the early research for this blog, I dusted off a gift a dear friend had given me years ago.
An Ancestry DNA kit.
This friend and I used to talk all the time about how she knew her families lineage, and how while we knew my dad’s side fairly well, my mother’s side was a little fuzzy. I’ve had this kit for years, having received it right around the time I moved in with my romantic partner and now husband, but I finally dug it out from its nest on my bookshelf.
I activated my membership, spit in the tube, and began the journey of researching my ancestors.
And oh my goodness, what I found!
While it takes several weeks for the DNA results to come back (around eight weeks, if I’m not mistaken), I was able to use that time to start digging in my familial lines, kicking me off on an emotional roller coaster.
On my mom's side...
The first information that touched my heart was the naturalization record of my mother’s father’s mom from 1957. Tears swelled in my eyes as I read this document; I only have one memory of meeting this great-grandma when I was very little. I remember being in her casita looking out the white blinds or curtains, I’m not sure which they were now, in to the backyard.
Though my mom’s family is very tight, I was raised in San Diego, miles and miles away from my mother’s family. At that time, I believe my grandparents, her parents were in Arizona, and the rest of their family was in El Paso, Texas, a solid twelve to thirteen hour drive away. We didn’t have the opportunity to travel that far very often, and this was the pre-social media/cell phone days, so I really didn’t get to know my grandpa’s side of the tree very well. So seeing this record, her beautiful signature, and learning where she was from originally, really hit me. I felt so close to her in that moment, having a window through time into her life, into her story.
Her name was Maria Del Socorro Nevarez and she arrived in the United States in 1916. She was born in September of 1912 and was a tiny little thing, coming in at four feet ten inches, weighing only 120 pounds. According to the records, my great-grandfather was born in Smeltertown, in 1909. It was incredible seeing these details of their lives, imagining what Maria had been through and what she’d seen, endured, overcome. To think that if one of those moments in time, when those pieces of paper were being filled out or signed, had been missed or altered, would I be here writing this post today?
On my dad's side...
While waiting on confirmation of information from my mom about dates and names, I started to click around Ancestry on my dad’s side. At first, it was easy building the family tree with all of the stories I’ve heard over the years about my dad’s family. I’ve spent much of my life listening to stories from my dad and his mother, my dear grandmother, about their sides of the family. And though we’ve disproved one or two of the good ol’ “family legend says” stories, including one extraordinary one about a little jar we’ve had for a few generations, there was one story we didn’t have any idea about.
My dad’s father had a sister.
And we didn’t know about her.
This rather large detail was something my dad and I had not been aware of.
When I saw her name listed next to my grandfather’s as his sister in a census, my jaw actually dropped. I don’t think I’ve ever called my dad faster than I did that day.
I had a LOT of questions.
And so did my dad.
He couldn’t remember his dad mentioning a sister. I’ve reached out to other family members to see if they remember, but my dad did say that maybe his father had mentioned a sister when he was really little and he’d just forgotten, but we both agreed that this was an intriguing mystery!
I started to investigate.
Her name was Pearl and she was born in 1908. She was on the 1920 census but then disappeared by the 1930 one. At first, my dad and I thought she might have passed away and that might have answered why my grandpa never mentioned her to his son, perhaps the pain had been too much.
But then, after a little bit of digging, I found some more jaw-dropping details.
She married at the age of 24, but then the records show she had a divorce, which was a pretty big deal at that time. But then the most shocking detail of them all…
She was listed as an INMATE and institutionalized at what was called, “A hospital for the insane.”
I couldn’t believe it.
My dad couldn’t believe it.
We’re still gobsmacked with the idea that one of our family members was put away in an asylum and never heard from again or so much as mentioned. We were both conscientious of the fact that this was a very different time and that our family would handle the situation completely differently today. Our hearts ached to wonder if Pearl had been alone all of that time.
What happened to her? Why was she there? Why did she stay there for so long? I found a different census listing her as an inmate at the same facility in the 1940 census and then the 1950 one as well.
Twenty-years. I still can’t wrap my mind around this.
The records show that she lived all the way until the ripe age of 92, passing away in 2002. But those are really the only records I can find of her.
I started to wonder, and still am wondering – was she alone that entire time? Cut from society and family connections? I have to know what happened to her.
I’m still searching for answers and will share updates along the way. I do have the name of the hospital in which Pearl was an inmate, but I’m at a bit of a halt as to where or how to start inquiring about why she was there. Is it even possible to reach out to a hospital, which does still stand today, to ask about why an inmate was institutionalized for fifty years, twenty years after they have passed?
If you have any ideas, please leave those in the comments below so we may get some answers for our family. And stay tuned for more family legend updates by signing up for my newsletter here.
