That my family name is actually Leonard. I was a family member in the first season of Relative Race, and they gave me a DNA test. My Daddy passed away a month before the first episode aired and it wasn't until about June of 2016 that I pieced together the puzzling results that I got from the test. The man who raised him was not his biological father. The man who raised my biological grandfather's father (confused yet?) was not HIS biological father, but his mother's cousin, who she married not long before she died. Imagine having to figure this out on your own without the professional help that you provide to celebrities.

I'm at a road block but I have a document that my great grandfather was an from a different country

I am a descendant of Étienne Brûlé. Not super mind blowing, the family knew we were related, but thought it was through a family member of his not him himself.

@@RacyXue wow interesting point

Learned my ex-husband, father of our five children, is my eleventh cousin on our mothers' sides. I tell people southern Indiana is so inbred I had to go too Michigan to find a cousin distant enough to marry.

I don’t know if Ancestry can dig up most of the secrets in my family. We wouldn’t even know where to start. 😂😂😂😂

not to those who passed thinking - "thank god...no one will ever know now...."

​@@9razzler9you know lol!!😂😂😂

Right, guys are staying single for a reason

​@@CatEyedGoddessgenealogy plus DNA will give you a LOT of answers. You might have to persist. It took me a long time to identify a couple of missing family lines, but they're there in the DNA.

WHOSE it was prob tho

@@YeshuaKingMessiah maybe not to her.

I would ask ... Were you loved? That is all that is important. Family is everything, not simply a tiny drop of blood.

@@judegirl7607 For the most part, yes, but from a fairly young age I felt like I was an outsider in my family. Then finding out about my biological father after both he and my mother had passed made me really angry with my mom. I felt like the least she could've done was leave me a letter to read after her passing. If she had done, I would've still had 2 years to get to know my biological father. I realize she probably had her reasons, but it made me feel very unloved. Fortunately, I've met all four of my half sisters and their mother and they've made me feel very welcome in their family.

@@kindking8009 That is a lot to process . I feel you , was good to read your new family welcomed you with open arms

In her case, it was a few generations ago, not her direct parents, so its less of an issue I think?

@@coolspot18 Probably, yes, but it takes something out of you to find out you're not who you thought you were and people who are supposed to love you have been more self-serving than honest. And to find that out while a camera is on you...I just can't imagine.

He asks "How does that make you feel?" more often than Oprah or Barbara Walters. Let them react their own way.

Right!?

Unless it's Ben Affleck

Not everyone meeds that though, so don't generalize.

@@markbrown7913 Lmao, right)))

How cool!

I am related to Andy Griffith and Trisha Yearwood through my father and Robert Downey Jr. through my mother. Nothing closer than 5th cousin though.

@@peachygal4153 I’ve been building my tree for about five years now. Finding relatives who were famous use to blow my mind. Now, nothing really surprises me that much any more.

@@peachygal4153 So does that mean that Andy Griffith is related to Robert Downey Jr.?

@@peachygal4153 wow amazing

That's very cool that you got to meet each other before she died.

Happy you did get to meet her and your extended family 🙏

I bet meeting you gave her a sense of peace, she just had to see her baby before moving on. I'm glad you found your family, found her.

I'm glad you got to meet her before her passing. I believe she was waiting for you. ❤️

At least you got to reunite one final time. Some people never get to know from whom they came from. Something is better than nothing and I do see how hard that must have been as well. It really is remarkable though, you got that one last shot. 💖🙏💫🌎

@Mark Deaton my family is from Hardin, Tx.

Here in France this private DNA industry is illegal. Only medical professionals can conduct DNA tests. We are only jurisdiction where this is true.

I know a guy whose last name is Busby. He's Korean, though, so I'm sure he was adopted. Either way, he's an amazing person

@@anthonyfuqua6988 I have quite an ancestry tree line that hailed from Nice, and Luceram, FR. I dug through the AGAM and found a good 500 years worth of them. I'm sure they go back further, but 1500's is all that is indexed thus far. It was something else to find. What I wanted to find is written articles of one who was a journalist during the reign of Napoleon - more work required there.

@@lmc2375 Yes I have gone through Catholic Church records to follow my fathers line back to the 1400's. Nicolas Fouquet is an ancestor. My mothers line if French also but comes through a more Germanic line around Strausborg and info doesnt go as far back. I just dont understand why we can't buy the kits. Who would it hurt?

Here’s one! 🎉

Yes to genetics! I too am adopted and found my biological family. I've met my biological Father, my Poppa he is now 92 years old. We talk everyday and see each other when it's warm,he lives in Minnesota...brrr ! My Mother had already passed away. But I have 2 half siblings on her side. And my Grandmother was one of 15, so you do the math on cousins,Aunts etc! Lol ! It's been such an amazing journey finding them. Spending time with them and mostly being accepted and welcomed with open arms.

@@KrissiCreates your story sounds so much like mine! Except I missed meeting both biological parents. I too have two half siblings, one from my mother and one from my father. I was brought up so much differently than them. I never really fit in and now I really know why. Genetics plays a huge roll in who you are along with upbringing. But your story is awesome!! I’ve come away with a few relatives and this year I’m hoping to meet more. My mother’s side knew about me, my father’s side had no idea and either did he. So I was a surprise. I just lost my adoptive father at 90 last month. So at 54 I really feel like an orphan. I’m so glad to have welcoming biological family.

@@sugar2th173 Your situation is much like mine. Father knew nothing about me, but accepted me. I had 4 half siblings on his side. My sister just under me in age and I could be twins, accept she got the curly blonde hair and I have board straight blonde hair! Lol ! Sadly we lost her 2 years ago the 15th of this month. My great Aunt on my Mother's side, is the only one left that knew the truth about my birth and adoption and verified it all at the huge family reunion. My Aunt was in denial until Great Aunt spoke up. Plus DNA doesn't lie ! Lol !

@@KrissiCreates oh wow!! I’m sorry you lost your sister. Yes!! On my dad’s side there was some denial, but when they saw the DNA connections nobody could deny it. Amazing! Awesome your great aunt spoke up for you!! DNA doesn’t lie!! Enjoy your new relations! I waited so many years and finally!! I’m happy for us both and so happy you still have your biological father! That is wonderful.

@@sugar2th173 Yes ! We are so lucky. I was 60 when I found my family. 5 years later I'm still learning and being passed down some of my Norwegian roots traditions ! I'm trying to help my BFF find her Bio family. Closest so far are 4th and 5th cousins. Enjoy your journey !!!

wow! I wonder if your grandfather knew. I feel back in the day couples would keep things like that a secret to keep the family together and avoid a scandalous situation.

these mothers are trifling, maury should make everyone get a test

Reminds me of a saying from the elders…Mama’s baby, Pappa’s maybe. No judgement as we have no idea what was endured in a union.

@@Armed-Forever not just the mothers. My grandfather had a outside kid as do others in my family

@@anndeecosita3586 the issue isn’t having a kid with someone else, it’s lying about who the parent is, men don’t do this because the kid knows who the mother is cuz they birthed them, only women do this

DECEPTION of the masses. She is a male. Study anatomy. Most of the "elite" are flipped.

I have an ancestor that was a foster child (found from a newspaper clipping) and identified as adopted in the 1900 census. However, I haven't found any formal adoption papers and he wasn't listed in the will, yet he took the family name. I also haven't found paperwork linking him to the biological relatives I've discovered, but I'm confident I've found his family via DNA cousins. I'm curious on your journey. Did you find any records that helped you with the adoption information or did you rely solely on DNA matches?

What country are you from? My grandfather, born in 1919, was adopted, but there was no such thing as legal adoption in the UK back then. The law wasn't introduced until 1930 in my country (Scotland).

@@Naisavrein Minnesota in the USA. My grandfather was legally adopted in 1894. They had legal adoption in 1889 in North Dakota when my grandmother was adopted, but I can find no record of legal adoption, so I suspect they may have bought her from the birth mother. I had my 96 year old mother take a DNA test, and thanks to a lot of 2nd and 3rd cousin matches coupled with a search of divorce records I was able to determine who both of her birth parents were.

And?????????

Guys, you can't leave us with such cliffhangers!!!

Can't wait to watch it! I wait for new episodes of this show like the DNA/genealogy addict that I am. Haha! I need my fix.

@@VeganSemihCyprus33 I’ll look it up. Thanks!

I tell people all the time you may think you know what your lineage is, but you don't really know until you see the DNA. Both my brother and I found out through DNA testing that the man we thought was our father, wasn't, and we each have different fathers. So we're only half siblings. Explains a lot!

The young master “having his way” with a maid who couldn’t refuse him? It was very, very common.

Westerner problems 😂😂😂

@@td2222 Maybe not, if there was coercion or abuse of power, then it's a universal problem

@@yevgeniyaleshchenko849 Nope. Still western behavior.

Cool, but in some cases, like Julia’s and mine, and maybe yours, some secrets! My family name turns out to actually be the name of my paternal great-grandmother’s second husband, who is not related to any of us. And, my actual paternal great-grandfather may have been a traveling salesman, because there’s no record of marriage or even co-habitation. Thanks to Ancestry, I know who he was, where his home was, (a different state), and that he (at some point) had a wife and kids. Just not with Grandma.

Yes, and genetics medical research will one day soon find cures for diseases.

That’s another thing. Be expected to be mind-blown. It’s an emotional roller-coaster ride that can also take you into some dark places - just like life in general. But I would rather know than be left in the dark. Some things were challenging, but with perseverance, I developed the muscle to deal with it.

Myself and friends have discovered some interesting things about our families, and we've all concluded there's no point in hiding anything. It all comes out in the end.

This is more prevalent than we know. Often children would take on the last name of the man who helped the mother raise the kids. It was a different time back then. They didn't have "time" to sort through lineage details. _"Kid, you're now a 'Roberts'"_ _"Yes'm"_ And that's how it starts.

Martha Mitchell was a Beall before she became a Mitchell, but I also thought this coincidence was noteworthy!

Hello, how are you?

I think, she nearly cried...

I feel bad for her.😢

But it isn’t just a name, as records reveal.

@@monstermcboo7282 hmmm it is just a name. Doesn’t change who she or who parents are. Rose by any other name is still a Rose. It didn’t appear that she had any attachment to the person she was told was her ancestor. If had, that might make her second-guess her lineage… but not apparently in this case and again… it’s simply a name. Many people change their own names… it happened a lot with people who arrived to the Americas from non-Anglo countries. They Anglicized their names so as not to stand out. Doesn’t change who there truly were at that time. :)

She is here because the Mitchells lived

It isn’t just a name. My surname is precious to me. I know exactly where I come from because of it, and it is as heritable as the physical family traits we can trace back over 250 years. I will never relinquish my surname to take the name of my husband, though I love and respect him beyond measure. It is more than a name and always has been. Your adoptive parents gave you their name, I’m assuming, which is an act exemplary in itself of how very important NAME is to humanity.

@@monstermcboo7282 Different opinions and I respect yours. Cheers ~

Wow

That was quite common even a couple of generations ago. One of my dad's aunts passed away shortly after the birth of her third child. The father already had two kids under 5 and didn't feel he could cope with a baby. A family meeting was held and the aunt's brother and his wife who were childless took him at about one month old and raised him as their child. It was no secret he regularly saw his siblings at family gatherings and knew they weren't cousins but siblings

Confront your mother. She knows who your biological father is, and owes it to you to tell you. After you know your paternal circumstances, you can decide what next steps, if any, to take. But first find out how you were conceived, under what circumstances.

Yes, talk to your mother. Even if she gets upset over her "secret", you need and have the right to know the truth. I had to do the same. Don't hold a grudge, parents are human, but you do need to know the truth, for medical reasons if nothing else. You may or may not be able to connect with bio-paternal family, some do and some don't. I have never found out whether bio-dad knew about me; was he a deadbeat dad and just walked away or was he not told??? Idk and probably never will know, but his family is completely unaccepting so... good riddance. I did find out that bio-dad died of cancer, Idk what kind, and have researched his family and know other medical issues. That is enough b/c I will never connect with them, they are not open and THEY are the ones missing out!! I have a shirt that says, "I did a DNA test and God is my Father" ❤ and He will never walk away and He will never be a deadbeat dad and He will never hide the truth ❤ Like Julia, I discovered that my son is named after this unknown descendant, and I also discovered that I have a smidge of Ashkenazi Jewish DNA, which I LOVE!!

If your "family father" lives, do not tell him about your Bio father!

@emmaschulze It's possible he already knows, mine did, but yeah, talk to mother first.

I'm going through the same thing. Found out a couple weeks ago. Good luck to you

We wish you all the best in your search, Dawn! Thanks for sharing with us!

I experienced ur situation. Dna testing solved the almost century old mystery within a week. It blew my mind. Good luck

@Hello James how are you doing?

@@lydiaader781 How are you Lydia?

@@jamesmaness6308 Good I was snuffing trough my KZfaq Chanel when I came across your comment in a reply. Hope you don’t mind?

I am surprised a GA gal from close to Atlanta would not have wondered or asked if she was related to the famous GA writer Margaret Mitchell who wrote GONE with the WIND?

As Julia matures, what are conventionally acknowledged/accepted in America as her more “Jewish” features are coming to the fore. My Jewish (and beautiful) SIL bears a very striking resemblance to Julia as a younger lady. Your friend may have another rabbit trail to chase in that info.

I don't know why I have stumbled across this thread... cos I was searching for something else... but... I am based in the UK. The name "Mitchells" where I am living in the North of England.. is a family firm of lawyers. Irwin Mitchells. :) There is also the big name in a BBC TV Soap as well.. with the surname "Mitchells" as the family that stayed in the Eastend of London.

I know a girl who looks a lot like her lol

Indeed. It changes nothing, people tell you, but yet it changes EVERYTHING.

We're so glad to hear you've enjoyed watching him, Mo! Are you interested in learning more about your own family tree? The article below will address what you can expect from Ancestry. Please let us know if you have any questions and we'd be happy to help! support.ancestry.com/s/article/Why-Use-Ancestry

@Hello there, how are you doing this blessed day?

Are you related to Kim Cattral? That’s exactly what happened in her family. One of the early episodes of Who Do You Think You Are.

A several greats uncle emigrated to Adelaide. In England all the genealogies presume him dead as a teen. He married a German emigrant who was a three time widow with many children and she bore him a son and daughter, the daughter went on to marry and have many children, a couple of their descendants had DNA tests done and the link was discovered at that time. His last name was also carried by a wealthy family there, I think he took advantage of that.

@@schoolingdiana9086 Prior to independence thousands of British people were sent to the America's. Convicts and the disposessed. They were referred to as Bond servants or Bondsmen. Basically they were sold to landholders for labourers. The Bond was the period of their sentence or contract. It was disguised slavery, and is not aknowleged by many Americans. Australians know this as after American indepenance the British chose another place to send convicts, Australia.

@@jessiec1194 there was a large German immigrant population in South Australia. And place names and wine culture reflect that.

@Hello Dennis how are you doing?

I have something similar going on! I have also had my (male) cousin take a DNA test but still have a hard time determining who the father (of my great great grandfather) was. I have suspicions that it could be a cousin considering how difficult it is to find.

That's not really surprising cause up until the latter part of the 1940s Poland had a significant German population and not to mention the Germanic Teutons who lived in northern Poland and the Baltic countries. Do you mean your family genetically were Polish or just that they lived in Poland?

@@adamoneil5317 genetically Eastern European, but also they lived in Poland, then to Russia (current Ukraine) when Catherine the great invited immigration, then to Canada.

My mother's family thought they were from Spain before winding up in France. Well we were originally Italian!

Many others feel the same way. My husband does not want to know, I do. I am not concerned about what others who lived befor me may or may not have done. It’s all interesting.

Are you from a population where endogamy is the norm? I’m Norwegian and a LDS descendant, I feel your pain. 😂 but it’s great fun for me. And I help others now as well.

@@Seashellsbytheseashore21 I did not come from an endogamous group. Even from a young age of 10-12 years old, I observed the family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and naturally, parents and siblings, and concluded that a chromosome took a permanent vacation somewhere. Mind you, no one inside or outside of the family circle assigned us such negativity. I was/am the self-induced alien of the family. Many of my friends have some fascinating family histories that I have loved to hear and they have loved to research. It gives them great joy seeing their ancestral foundation and their personal sense of belonging to their family and their communities.

@@TheTibetyak oh I see. Well my immediate family are all nuts or estranged or dead. but I’ve made great friendships with my 2nd cousins all the way to 4th cousins!! Really wonderful people. You might be surprised how things pan out! My cousin friends are nothing like my immediate family and first cousins at all. Good luck!!

Same.....same. things just don't add up and I don't think I want to know the truth either.

That's what people used to do in ancient days as an hommage to the deceased husband who had no offspring

I have been working with genetic genealogy for over a decade. This is very common. Especially during or after a war. There was something going on that has been lost to time imo. Neither the mom or children were ostracized. I have found in some cases unique naming happened - and some families have carried particular names in their lines with no idea why. DNA tests are done and then the fog clears.

We're delighted to hear that you're such a fan of the show, Patricia. Thanks for sharing! 🙂

Do it sooner than "someday" as that day has a tendency to never arrive & family research without team such as Henry Louis Gates has, can be very time consuming, frustrating & too easily dead-end because on doesn't know where to go from there. There's a whole beautiful family tree for a branch of my family, (paternal grandfather) that turns out to be not our bloodline also. But we didn't discover that by research. It was a terrible bomb of info dropped on my father by letters he was given by his "step" father who raised him...in the form of a batch of letters from his Aunt, who he always thought was his mother. The actual mother was portrayed as the Aunt + the biological father he thinks he might be familiar with, in a man who extorted money from his step-father, presumably to keep him quiet. It's weird and besides the difficult fallout for my father, who was planning on going to his grave hiding those secrets & more (re: his mother) It's a terrible shame that his aunt never was able to divulge her secret and therefore never had peace that she was loved and more beloved for her 2 years working with the system fighting for custody of my father. There's more, but all this to say, it's not always a happy, nor comical as Julia's 1st joking reactions. Sometimes, one can spend years, decades believing they know now their family history & here's the family tree as proof, only ifnthey are "lucky" to discover that's not their biological family at all! The good part is very good, in that my father's aunt and step father were wonderful devoted & loving parents for their short lives

I wouldn't get anywhere near a DNA test.

We're so glad you enjoyed it, Rhonda! We wish you all the best in your own search. Please let us know if you ever have any questions and we'd be more than happy to help.

Keep at it . I started my moms, true biological family. She was adopted in 1930. My mom never knew her true mom and dad. I did the research , started over 20 years ago. Before DNA and all were good. Found her biological family, flew up to Colorado to meet my cousin. Was mind blowing!!! My mom( who passed away in 1986). Would of loved to meet them. There was 10 brothers and sisters. The last 4 youngest children, were given up for adoption. Keep in this was during the depression. Her mom, abandoned them. And her father couldn’t take care of them all. State of Colorado , intervened. Made a promise to my mom, would find them. And I did. ❤️

Best of luck to you! I found my paternal side through Ancestry DNA and genealogy research. Unfortunately, since my dad is black, it is harder to trace that family back too far. Really hope to be able to hire a geneticist to help me.

We're thrilled to hear you enjoy it so much, Carl! Do you have a favorite episode?

That’d be cool

my grandparent mums side were second cousins

SBS have a show about genealogy. "Who do you think you are?" There are many versions - English, Australian and US.

Same on KZfaq

We're so glad you've been enjoying your own research, Marion! Thanks for taking the time to share with us!

I get told the same a lot too ! I also feel flattered every single time : )

Excellent advice!! I tell people if you're going to do DNA testing be prepared for a lot of secrets being uncovered and realizing that your meemaw made not have been telling the whole truth about some stuff...case in point Julia Roberts finding out that her whole family are not Robert(s). My biological father's family goes back to the 1600's from Europe and looking at his family tree there were a few slave owners from Virginia that popped out. As a biracial individual whose great great grandparents were slaves in Texas on my mother's side, all I could say is "what in the Sam Hill kinda hot mess crazy butt blood do I have flowing through me?" DNA tells some interesting stories.

@@marinecorpswarrior915 My surprise happened when an "Uncle" sent me some documents. It turns out my grandma had an affair with a Greek man and my dad was created. I shrugged my shoulders, picked up the cat and danced in the kitchen, singing "Grandma had an affair!". I loved both Daddy (USN) and Grandma dearly, it didn't matter to me.

@@nancyhammons3594 that's a hilarious story about dancing with the 🐈 😂 I'm just glad that after everybody that got together the two right people got together and got me😁 Pray that you and your Big Greek Family plus the cat have a wonderful 2023.