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My Mother Meets Her Sister Maria

Brick Walls

Tim Firkowski

Wednesday, 08 July 2015

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As you read in my last Blog Post, my mother finally was able to connect with family from her biological father! You may be wondering why I had not written a post when this happened before Memorial Day. There is a good reason for that as you will soon learn.

I sent a copy of the Navy Personal records for my grandfather to Maria and although she was VERY convinced that, from the documentation, that she did have a half sister, she decided that because I had my mother take an autosomal DNA test from Family Tree DNA, she would also have a DNA test done to get scientific confirmation of the relationship.

Maria requested that I postpone any announcement of the contact with my mother's new family, until she got back the DNA test results and would have the final piece of evidence prior to her informing her siblings, that they all had another sister. So now you know the reason I waited to make a Blog Post about this amazing event.

My mother was recently living in Austin, TX, but after my father passed away last year, she went to stay with my sister in Fort Worth until she found a place of her own, but as luck would have it, my sister got a job offer near Orlando, FL that she just could not pass up. They both packed up and moved down to FL on Memorial Day weekend (what a weekend to pick for a move). It turned out that Maria and her husband were going to have to make a trip from Georgia to Miami, FL a few weeks after the "sister discovery". My mother and Maria decided that it was the perfect opportunity for them to meet. It must be noted here that the results of the DNA test had not come through yet.

Although Maria had located a photo of my mother, my mother did not know what Maria looked like, but it was not needed. They each instinctively knew they were the right people. They met at a restaurant so they could eat and chat at the same time. As you see in the photo above, they do look like sisters. I told my mother that after seeing their photo I knew there was no question from the facial features, although my mother herself did not see a resemblance. Maria knew immediately that the DNA test was just a formality because my mother looked very much like many of the female family members.

Their visit may not have been long, but at least the first physical meeting had taken place! They both had a wonderful time learning more about each other.

STAY TUNED for my next Blog Post for the final post of solving the Brick Wall mystery of my mother's biological father.

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About the author

Tim Firkowski

I have been doing genealogy research since 2002 & have worked full time as a Professional Genealogist since 2008. I specialize in Polish and American-Canadian Genealogy. As a member of APG, I was the 2010/2011 President of the New England Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists (NEAPG). I have Certificates of Completion for studies in "Foundations of Forensic Genealogy" and "Advanced Forensic Genealogy Techniques". I have been a volunteer librarian at the local Family History Center, and a genealogy research consultant at “Ask the Expert” Ancestry Road Shows. I have traveled to Poland numerous times & researched in churches and archives. At conferences and special events, you may find me dressed up in my Sherlock Holmes outfit, or my Kujawy (the folk costume from the region in Poland where my ancestors came from).