DNA messages

DNA results are being spit out from various genealogy banks every day.  Recently, I received a message from a woman who thinks we must be related because her data bank told her so.  Since I received my own DNA results early last year, I have contacted every person who was listed as a "cousin" of some degree.  I've checked every surname in their family tree and found 2 out of 15 who were related.  Some might say, that's not very good odds, but wait!  Those 2 "cousins" were people I never knew existed before I trusted my spit...to run the test in the first place.

Sometimes, it is a trust issue and we have to just do it as Nike would say.  In this day and age, I know it is difficult to trust strangers and we should be cautious.  However, I am willing to look for my relatives in this way.  I am not concerned about who might find me in the hopes I'm their cousin only to find no links to our families.  What I am concerned about is having anyone using my DNA for a tracking device or other unconventional use.

Until I'm proved wrong, I will continue to look for, research in databases and strive for connections.

I hope you do too.  It's an amazing journey.