Learning about heritage through DNA testing

My father was adopted and never knew much about his heritage. He was told that his parents were Irish and from North Carolina, but that's all he knew. The adoption records had been destroyed in a fire, so that was a dead end. However the price of genealogical DNA testing has been coming down over recent years, so I opted to get tested by 23andme. It cost a whopping $99 and took about five weeks, and I got back information confirming that my father was Irish, and putting me in touch with relatives, some of whom are in North Carolina. I'm still following leads, and it'll take some time, but what was previously a closed book is now a whole new chapter. My dad passed away a few years ago, and I'm only sad that I can't share this with him.

For any of you interested in learning more about your heritage, I can't recommend it enough. There are a number of places that do it, but the big two are 23andme.com and familytreedna.com. Consider having your parents do it if they're still alive, as it can help isolate which side of the family people are related on.

Just thought I'd share!

Careful, that genealogy is like a million piece jigsaw puzzle that never ends :lol: I had looked at the DNA testing a few years back (when it was $250) but never got around to it.