We Have Contact!

Just so everyone is in the loop: I have officially made contact with our biological family in San Francisco. Specifically, I was able to speak with the daughter of Ben Garcia Sr. and his first wife (Connie). She is a very nice woman by the name of Geri Garcia (no not that Jerry Garcia) and has two daughters that I also spoke with. They were VERY excited to hear from me and surprisingly Mrs. Garcia knew quite a bit about the adoption of the kids from our side. She is in her 70's and said she had been trying to find out what happened to our side but couldn't find any information on what happened to the kids after losing contact. She remembered Glenna as a "very sweet woman" and understood the medical problems she had, resulting in having to give the kids up. She even remembered that Ben and Glenna lived on Hayes Street in SF. I will continue to post updates as I learn more.

Genealogy: Benjamin Garcia Sr.

As most of you know I have been working the last several years on collecting genealogical information on our biological family. I would like to thank all of you for the information you have provided to me in various ways. It has ALL been helpful in piecing together the story of our family's wonderfully mysterious history.

Please click on the slideshow (above) to a collection of genealogical records that I have obtained on Benjamin Garcia Sr.

Following Up on Relative Finder

I thought I would follow up my previous post regarding 23andMe "Relative Finder" with a link to a very interesting blog entry about a man using this tool to trace some unknown aspects of his family history. Here is the link to the blog entry.

I know that some have said the test is too expensive. If you are really interested in having the test done send me an email and I may be able to get a good deal on a test. This company is very good to work and they may be able to get us a deal. Here is a link to send me an email if you are interested.

-Randy

Relative Finder at 23andMe

(THIS IS JIM'S SON RANDY POSTING)

As most of you know I have been doing quite a bit of genealogical research on our family over the last several years. I have found out many cool and exciting things I was totally unaware of before I started.

One of the ways that I have been able to confirm my research has been with the relatively new tool of DNA testing. Recently, one of the DNA testing companies that I have been testing with (23andMe) released a new tool broadening our ability to use DNA to locate our relatives. The tool is called Relative Finder. I am including a link to 23andMe's blog entry about this new tool so you can all read about it and see what the future holds for genealogical research. Click below or on the title of this blog entry to read about Relative Finder on 23andMe's blog, "The Spittoon."

http://spittoon.23andme.com/2009/11/19/introducing-relative-finder-the-newest-feature-from-23andme/

I encourage all the family members to get tested if possible.