Family

So you think we might be related? It's possible. My family tree and DNA are complicated. Messy. Disruptive. People you think you're related to, you're not. People you didn't know before, turns out, they're family!

Allow me to explain:

The last name I was born with (the one on my birth certificate) was, like everyone else's, passed to me by my "dad." Mom and he went through a divorce and I was told by mom that "dad" wasn't my "real" dad and my "real" dad was someone else. Even as a small child, I was skeptical. Over the years the "rumors" persisted. I actually lived with this other fellow for a few years. It wasn't until I was married and we were expecting our first child that I decided to dig in and find the truth.

So, I talked to my (then) wife and explained that I needed to resolve this because I wanted my kids to be born and raised with the correct name. She said "Go for it!" so, $1,500 later, I had a full paternity test done and that test proved that the man named on my birth certificate was not my biological "dad" but the rumored father (his 1st cousin) was. See, I told you it was messy!

If, at this point, you feel like you need a whiteboard and one of those football play diagrams to follow all that, welcome to my world! What's worse is that I've seen this in several generations and multiple branches of my family both up and down the tree. Whew!

Did you know that, statistically, one in four children don't belong to the man on the birth certificate and that inside family courts where paternity is questioned, tests show it's one in three? Did you also know that manipulated estrangement is how many moms hide this?

Tracing My Lineage:

Growing up with all the rumors and conflicting stories about our lineage, I'd always wanted to trace my roots so, back in 2017, I had a DNA test done using FamilyTreeDNA and much more current technology than was used in the original paternity test. Again, the results confirmed that, indeed, I am a Petree. So, if you're a Petree (or descendent) we may well be related (I'll tell you how to find out in a minute) and if you're not a Petree by name then well, hell, we may still be related!

New Siblings:

My biological father was a confirmed bachelor and playboy. While, so far (and quite surprisingly), I have found no sibling matches, that doesn't mean one doesn't exist. Honestly, I think it would be fun to find a new sibling.

New Offspring:

If you think you might be one of my children, well, it's possible. When I was a younger man, I did "get around" a bit and I wasn't very cautious with birth control. (Yeah, it was foolish but, times were different back then.) In the past several years I've had two adults surface, a boy and a girl. One (the boy), we did a DNA test very early on and it was an absolute match. The other, after a month or two of emails and 3-4 VERY long phone calls, things just didn't add up for me so I suggested she get a DNA test and, sadly, there was no match. The good news is that her DNA results did lead her straight to her father and they're very happily connected. The lesson in that encounter is the one I've already learned: rumors or parental statements aren't always the accurate fact we should base our beliefs or decisions on.

How To Compare DNA:

So, how do you find out if we're related? If you were born after 1972 and before I got my vasectomy in 1993, get your DNA test done and upload it to one of the public databases! The two I use are My Heritage and GED Match. Why use a public DNA database? Simple. If you test on a different service (i.e. Ancestry) while I tested on FamilyTreeDNA then our DNA would never get compared. The public databases are an easy way to bring everyone together. Just so you know, GED is the one police are using to solve crimes and my DNA is "open to law enforcement use" so if you're a criminal and wanted for a crime and we're related, be warned! ;-)

If you've already found me on a DNA site and you're just checking me out, go ahead and reach out through the DNA site. I'm looking forward to meeting you!

Good luck in your search!