Nolie's Place

Fluttering my way through life!

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Contact Me
You are here: Home / Nolie's Life / Give the Gift of Ancestry this Christmas

Nolie's Life

Give the Gift of Ancestry this Christmas

Four years ago my mom asked me if I could try to find out if her grandmother was still alive. Neither of us knew what rabbit hole that would open. I signed up for ancestry.ca and my life was never the same. I would spend hours researching my family history and discovering new things about my family. Then for my birthday two years ago my mom bought me Ancestry DNA for my birthday. The doors it opened were unimaginable.

Unknown Siblings

The first major discovery in my journey into geneology with Ancestry was finding my moms other sisters and brother. My mom had been told in her early 20’s that her father was not her biological father. She had found her biologicial father but he had no interest in meeting her. She closed that painful door and went on with her life.

Through Ancestry, I found one of her half brothers. Upon contacting him we found out my mom had a total of 6 half-siblings from her biological father. Within 24 hours we were talking with one of the sisters and a few weeks later we got to visit her in her home. We met her, her husband and her 2 daughters. We later met her mom and another sister and that summer my mom attended their annual family reunion with my kids. Sadly I had to work.

My mom and her half sister meeting for the first time thanks to Ancestry.
My mom meeting her sister for the first time and going through family photo albums.

Secrets From the Grave

My next major discovery was a secret my grandfather (my dad’s dad) took to his grave with him. My grandfather never talked about his time in WWII. Through genealogy and Ancestry, I found out my grandfather had married a Dutch lady during his time in the war and had two children with her. I reached out to one of my newly found uncles. He answered a few questions I had but ultimately he did not want to have further contact with myself or to have any contact with my dad or my aunt. After hearing his story I 100% understood and respected his decision. Some cans of worms don’t want to be opened.

Ancestry DNA Logo
Image Courtesy of Ancestry®️

Breaking Down Brick Walls

The one brick wall I still had was my Grandmas family (my dads mom). No one knew a single thing about her except where she was born. Due to privacy laws it is still too early for her birth records to be available to the public. Thanks to Ancestry DNA I found a second cousin. My brick wall came smashing down and I was able to learn so much more about her family.

Understanding Your Relatives

The one other discovery that sticks with me to this day and why I love genealogy so much is that it helps you understand where you came from and can help you understand why your family is how it is. I was able to discover things about my great grandmothers upbringing with helped me understand my Nana’s upbringing and how my mom was raised. Family trauma really does last for generations but with no one talking about it those skeletons stay in the closet. I like dragging them out and learning so much about my family history.

Know any genealogy Buffs?

Do you have someone in your family who is into learning about their history? Do you want to learn more about your history and maybe find some interesting skeletons? I highly recommend getting or gifting an Ancestry subscription or even their Ancestry DNA test. Just make sure you keep track of the time when you start researching?

Give the Gift of Ancestry

Disclosure: As someone who already uses and loves Ancestry I was happy to share why I think it would make a great gift. I did receive a 1-year subscription to Ancestry.ca in exchange for this post.

Ancestry Logo
Image Courtesy of Ancestry®️

AncestryDNA ($129)

Give the gift of self-discovery with AncestryDNA, a consumer DNA test where you can uncover your ethnic mix, discover distant relatives, and find new details about your unique family history. More than 18 million people have uncovered something new about themselves: from their ethnic origins in more than 1000 regions to the migration journeys of their ancestors. The ‘DNA Matches’ feature offers the potential to connect with family members you never knew about or have lost touch with.

AncestryDNA continues to evolve every year with ethnicity estimates continually being updated. This year reference panels were expanded to deliver more precise results in regions in West Africa, northwestern Europe, the Americas, Oceania, and Southeast Asia. Family and friends will be ecstatic to receive a gift that gives them the opportunity to learn more about themselves while creating lasting and memorable experiences.

Ancestry.ca Subscription (starting at $14.99 per month)

Gift your family and friends a subscription to Ancestry.ca, a family history site where they can  build their family tree and search through billions of historical records worldwide, to discover the stories of their ancestors’ lives: where they lived, how and when they arrived in Canada, if they served in the military, the achievements they reached and challenges they overcame. And best of all, it’s an activity that families can do together, sharing discoveries and stories along the way.

Did we find my great grandma?

Sadly I have yet to discover when my moms Grandma passed away. Through some inaccessible breadcrumbs I believe she passed between 2006 and 2008. The search is never over though.

Spread the love!


Leave a Comment

Previous Post: « 5 Ways to Celebrate Halloween During COVID-19
Next Post: Christmas Tradition Ideas »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS feed

The Archives

Nolie's Place - The Archives.
Go back in time and check out the thousands of posts from pre bloggy retirement.

Categories

What’s New on Insta

noliesplace2.0

🇨🇦 - Kingston, Ontario
👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 - Mom to 2 boys.
👩‍💻 - Occasional Blogger

Nolie | Canadian Mom Blogger
So I did a thing.⁣ ⁣ First time since childhoo So I did a thing.⁣
⁣
First time since childhood that I have bangs. I am totally loving it. ⁣
⁣
Thanks @crystals_fine_cuts for coming to our home to clean us all up after the latest lockdown.
Today we celebrate Valentine's Day in a pandemic. Today we celebrate Valentine's Day in a pandemic. Our city had everything lifted and we are ina green zone. However our hotels are booked solid and our stores are full of people who have traveled here from areas still under a stay at home order.⁣
⁣
We will not risk our family. We are not remote learning and keeping our kids home for over a year to catch covid all for a meal.⁣
⁣
We put mom in charge of babysitting. Ya know since she lives with. Set up a folding table in our room. Locked our bedroom door. Ordered in steak dinner.⁣
⁣
How did you spend valentine's day?
321⁣ ⁣ That is how many days it has been since 321⁣
⁣
That is how many days it has been since we entered our first lockdown.⁣
⁣
Life has yet to return to normal. My children are doing remote learning. My husband has been home more than he has been at work. I have had more depression days than I care to admit. ⁣
⁣
5 months into the pandemic we had to move to another city due to my husband's work. That means not only are my children not going to physical school but they have not been able to make any new friends here.⁣
⁣
Thankfully we have technology. My youngest son and his best friend from Ottawa spend countless hours playing together thanks to the internet. They set up their tablets and play together. Lego, imagination, it doesn't matter, they just enjoy hanging out. ⁣
⁣
It has been so good for R's mental health. Is it perfect no, but it works during these crazy times that we live in.
Need help!⁣ ⁣ Lockdown problems. Decided to tr Need help!⁣
⁣
Lockdown problems. Decided to try waxing my own legs. Big fat fail.⁣
⁣
Before I have to go old school and break out the razor and shaving cream, I am asking for your help.⁣
⁣
I tried the @naircanada wax ready strips. Are they all the same or is there a better at home waxing you can recommend?
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2021 · Divine theme by Restored 316

Nolies Place © 2021 Privacy Policy