Birth Family Search

02/16/2026

Why Test the Oldest Person?

🧬 They carry more ancestral DNA.
Each generation loses about 50% of the previous generation’s DNA. A grandparent carries DNA that you may not have inherited.

📜 They have firsthand knowledge.
They may remember names, places, family stories, and relationships that aren’t written anywhere.

🔍 Better match quality.
Their DNA will generate stronger and closer matches, making it easier to identify shared ancestors.

How to Build the Tree After Testing

Once the DNA results are in:

Review the DNA matches
Look at close matches first (1st–3rd cousins).

Study shared matches
If Match A and Match B both match your tested relative and match each other, they likely descend from the same ancestral line.

Use shared surnames & locations
Compare:

Surnames

Locations

Migration patterns

Census records

Build the family tree gradually
Start with what you know for sure and work backward using:

Birth & death records

Marriage records

Census data

Obituaries

Cluster matches by family line
Over time, DNA clusters will begin to separate into:

Maternal grandfather’s line

Maternal grandmother’s line

Paternal grandfather’s line

Paternal grandmother’s line

And yes — as you said — the pieces really do start to come together.

Bonus Tip

If possible:

Test both oldest relatives on each side

Upload raw DNA data to other platforms for additional matches

Keep detailed notes so you don’t lose track of connections

Send a message to learn more

11/27/2025

09/18/2025

UNIDENTIFIED IN

An child was found on August 8, 1989 in Barren County, Kentucky. The body was found inside a blue suitcase on the shore along Barren River Lake in Glasgow. The child had been deceased for several months.

An anthropological assessment suggests that the remains are a young child, 2-3 years old. The gender cannot be determined.

The image featured is a facial reconstruction completed by a NCMEC Forensic Artist and depict what the child may have looked like in life. Since the child's s*x could not be determined, one image depicts the child as male and the other image as female.

Please contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST with any information that could help identify them.

Additional information can be found at their poster: https://www.missingkids.org/poster/NCMU/1184273

10/18/2024

In 1793, the Virginia General Assembly passed a law requiring that all free Black people “be registered and numbered in a book to be kept by the town clerk, which shall specify age, name, color, status and by whom, and in what court emancipated.” The process was extended to localities in 1803. In 1834, the General Assembly added a requirement that each person be specified by marks or scars and the instrument of emancipation, whether by deed or will, be recorded. Registration language and process varied across the localities, thus the information in each register may differ, but generally speaking these registers document both free born and formerly enslaved people throughout Virginia.

The Library of Virginia, through a grant from the NHPRC, provides digital access to records that document some of the lived experiences of enslaved and free Black people in the Library of Virginia’s collections. Please help improve the discoverability of these sources by transcribing one of the project's many record types, registers of free Black people.

You can sign up to transcribe documents or build an index of names via the Virginia Untold project at https://fromthepage.com/lva/virginia-untold-free-registers-indexing-set

10/18/2024

Pamela Ferreyra has been charged with one count of murder in the death of an infant boy discovered in 1994 in Monterey County, California.

10/17/2024

Andersen received an email from 23andMe asking if she wanted to know more about her health background.

10/14/2024

Hello, a raffle fundraiser is being held to support the continued operation of our birth family search efforts, allowing us to maintain the distribution of free kits to those who need them.

07/20/2024

Unlock Your Ancestry: Win a Free DNA Kit! 🔓 Are you an adoptee searching for your biological mother or father? Have you always been curious about your family history? This could be your chance to discover your roots! To support those who may not have the means to purchase a kit, we're giving away an AncestryDNA Kit to one lucky winner. 💥 Share your story in the comments below to enter. Random selection on 08/10/2024! Good luck! 🤞

02/27/2024

Closed a case and successfully reconnected an adoptee with their family members, including biological parents and siblings, cases that makes me proud when they get a chance to meet both of their parents.