Genealogy Update

OK, I admit it. One of my interests involves working on my family genealogy. It's been a labor sometimes of love and sometimes not. It was an interest I shared with my Auntie Carol until she passed away last November.

She had the time, ability, and drive to extensively research multiple family lines involving her lineage and her husband's. My duty was to work on the non-Italian side of my lineage and on Roberta's heritage.

For whatever reasons, this has been a daunting task. Facts were scarce or contradictory leaving me with more questions than answers. However, eventually the beauty of the Internet and an increasingly connected technological world are helping me to break through.

A few years ago I made contact with Michael Wortman, a relative of my uncle Benjamin (aka Sigmund), who helped fill in a few blank spots. This past summer I made contact with Jeffery Meyerson who also had information about the Dellhime lineage going back to an "ancestral" hometown in Mutterstadt Germany.

Unexpectedly I've now been in touch with Pam Stemen who is a descendant of Florence's sister, Anita Hall. Pieces on the Dellhime side of the genealogy may finally be falling into place.

The other research frustration involves Roberta's heritage. This time a breakthrough occurred as the unlikely consequence of a DNA test. As some may know, Ancestry.com now offers a DNA profile service. It's new and the database not particularly large. It works by obtaining a collect kit from Ancestry.com, submitting a saliva sample, and waiting for the test results. The results are rather general - they identify regional markers like whether an ancestor was from the British Isles and other locations.

You also get recommendation on possible matches with other Ancestry.com members who also submitted DNA samples. It's all pretty general and a complete shot in the dark. Don't expect Maury to use this service to identify paternity on his show.

Imagine our surprise at getting an email from one of the other DNA test participants, Richard Hartman, who it turns out is in fact a relative of Roberta on the Bain side.

Who knows where anything will lead, but one thing seems certain. 2013 could be a good year for my genealogy research.