You never know what you’ll uncover in the quest to trace your family roots – yet millions of us take the plunge anyway. From family tree research to at-home DNA testing companies, that desire to find out more about ourselves is so strong that the DNA testing market is estimated to make a mammoth $3.5bn (£2.6bn) by 2027.
The implications of stumbling on unsettling revelations are well documented: criminals have been identified using public genealogical databases, blood relatives have been revealed to be anything but, and deep, dark family secrets have been thrust into the light. Never in a million years did I anticipate that anything like that would happen to me.
I’ve been looking into the history of my maternal family name – Shand – for a few years now. The rarity of that surname in Jamaica, where my mother is from, pointed to potential slave-owning ancestors from Scotland.
On a trip to Aberdeen, I discovered there were three plantation owners in Jamaica with the surname Shand, two owning up to 20,000 enslaved people at plantations very close to where my family is historically based. The other owned 36 enslaved people on a plantation on the opposite side of the island.
This inspired me to do some more digging. I contacted the Jamaican Government’s registrar department, which offers a service for those seeking more information about their Jamaican roots.
They sent me a report that explained since at least 1890, 55 years after the abolition of slavery, my ancestors have lived in Resource, Manchester, a rural, red-dust-laden farming community in Jamaica, confirming stories I’d heard growing up.
I found files detailing information about my great-great-great grandfather, who is listed as a witness at my great-great grandfather’s wedding, which could potentially take me a step closer to figuring out just how plausible the connection between my lineage and that of the Scottish Shands really is.
However I also uncovered a surprise that came much further down the family line by way of a death record for a teenage girl in 1949.
In among the pages of convoluted text, was the name Emilene Shand, who died age 14, who appeared to be my mother’s half-sister. I scanned the document several times to make sure I hadn’t missed a crucial detail; there had never been mention of an Emilene to me or my mother. If there had been, I’m sure I would have remembered because her name was so similar to my mother’s, Everine.
My mother’s puzzled expression when I shared the news told me all I needed to know. This was a revelation. Yet rather than delivering a world-crumbling blow, it provided welcome context about a father she’d desperately wanted a stronger connection to after losing him at a young age.
This 60-word entry, with details as sparse as they were illuminating, offered small clues about the lost years in my grandfather’s life. This was, thankfully, a welcome “secret” to both of us – but it might not have been.
Every year millions of us trace our family roots. From family tree research to at-home DNA testing companies, the desire to find out more about ourselves is so strong that the DNA testing market is estimated to make a mammoth $3.5bn (£2.6bn) by 2027. But what might be done out of fun or curiosity, comes with real risks as family secrets are revealed.
In fact one in 10 people doing a DNA test, will find what genealogists refer to as non-paternity events or “not parent expected” discoveries (NPE) – meaning they will discover biological parents that they did not know about prior to testing.
Dallas-based author and freelance journalist, Leeanne Hay, who wrote A story guide for unexpected DNA discoveries, was first drawn to investigating her ancestry during the 2017 home DNA testing boom. Enticed by sentimental ad campaigns from companies like 23 and Me and Ancestry, she found herself yearning for more knowledge about her family history.
“A commercial came on TV while I was watching the news and you know, they had this beautiful multicultural young lady swimming in fjords and beating drums in Morocco and having pastries in France. And I was just like, I wonder what other little pieces are within me.”
She took the test, waited a few weeks and eagerly opened her results.
“I was devastated because I recognised the name on the top of the list… my mother’s former boss was my dad. He was my mentor through high school and college. I was very close with him. It was shocking and traumatic. My dad who raised me, his entire family is Slovenian. And now there was no connection to any of that. I thought, ‘what am I? Where do I come from?’”
Leeanne who describes herself as a “tall, very fair-skinned white woman with blue eyes and blonde hair”, discovered that she had Scottish DNA through her biological father, as well as 2.9 per cent North African DNA, heritage she calls “a mixture of Gaelic and garlic”.
Along with revelations about her father, she realised she now had five new siblings – some of whom she’d already met. But any questions she had for her parents would have to remain unanswered – her mother, biological father and the father who had raised her had all died by the time she found out.
She has since connected with her brother and they see each other once or twice a year. Not everyone in the family has been as accepting, however. “[One person] was very angry and he tried to fill me with a lot of shame and not provide any information. I said to him: ‘I’m not trying to upset anybody’s concept of family – I just want my medical information. I’m a grown woman, I have children. For all of my life and theirs, I have been telling doctors the wrong medical history.”
Leeanne sought support in online groups and forums. It led her on a quest to provide information for others like her. Her book was released in 2021, and has since become a vital resource for those seeking more information about the impact of not parent-expected/non-paternity events.
Yet criticism remains about the perceived dearth of information for consumers. While companies like AncestryDNA and 23 and Me have terms and conditions warnings about potentially uncovering unexpected information, some believe they should do more to provide information about NPEs in addition to the services they offer.
“I think the DNA test companies, particularly Ancestry, do a disservice to all their clients. As recently as this week when I checked it, if you go into Ancestry.com and search for the genealogical terms “non-paternity event” or “not parent expected” nothing comes up. Why isn’t it there?” Says Leeanne.
Citing a major 2022 study from the Baylor University Medical School Ethics and Policy Department’s, which showed that among over 20,000 Americans, one in 10 found an unknown relative through these tests, Leeanne adds: “The DNA testing companies know this. So my question to them is, is it ethical that in emails to confirm that the test has been received and that ask if we want to proceed, there is not some mention that one in 10 people will find an unexpected discovery.
“If I had that warning, I still would have gone ahead and taken the test. But the difference is this, I would have been forewarned. It would not have come as a crashing blow.”
Data breaches too are a rising concern. Last year, 23 And Me was impacted by one that hit a whopping 6.9m customers (it has since introduced two-step verification and informed all those affected). It meant customers’ details were sold to third parties by hackers, leaving personal information such as addresses and genetic information up for grabs on the dark web.
In the UK, legislation pushes these companies to provide informed consent, but academics have pushed for more regulation in recent years.
In the meantime, Leeanne urges anyone who discovers unexpected results from DNA tests to reject the notion that they’ve lost a part of who they are, even if revelations are somewhat darker than discovering your parent had an affair, as she believed to be the case with her mother and biological father.
“You can embrace something more without subtracting something – and that’s what I’ve done. My Slovenian cooking of old-world dishes beats any of my cousins who are Slovenian. I know a great deal more about my family history than my new siblings do. And, you know, I believe that it’s better to have more love than less love.”
