{"id":74956,"date":"2018-07-30T14:34:27","date_gmt":"2018-07-30T19:34:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/?p=74956"},"modified":"2025-04-17T13:45:38","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T18:45:38","slug":"vanessas-dna-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/es\/vanessas-dna-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"Ken’s FamilyTreeDNA Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”547547″]<\/p>\n

Ken Searches For His Father<\/h2>\n

Ken, a former Marine chaplain, discovered at age 18 that the man his mother was married to was not his actual father. When he confronted her, the only thing his mother told him was that his biological father was a jazz musician named \u201cHarold Smith.\u201d For the remainder of her life, that was all she would reveal about him. But he wanted more.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image media=”74957″ caption=”yes” media_lightbox=”yes” media_width_percent=”37″ lbox_caption=”yes” lbox_social=”yes” uncode_shortcode_id=”419213″][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”136333″]He had been searching for his father ever since he found out the truth, but his pursuit hit a brick wall. Several years ago, Ken\u2019s children gave him a DNA test kit for Father\u2019s Day. Weeks later when he received his test results, he got the shock of his life. He was 40% Caucasian. Ken thought this was clearly a mistake, so he took another DNA test from a different company. But the results were the same. He started reaching out to some of the family matches he had found through DNA testing, but couldn\u2019t determine how exactly they were related, or how he was almost half Caucasian<\/p>\n

Then, Ken uploaded his test results<\/a> to FamilyTreeDNA\u2019s database. Once he did that, he found exactly what he\u2019d been searching for all these years: his father. Harold Smith was still alive and living in a nursing home in Georgia. His father also had other children who had previously uploaded his DNA to the database. It turns out that Harold, also a veteran, was a touring musician who once played for James Brown.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image media=”74958″ caption=”yes” media_lightbox=”yes” media_width_percent=”38″ lbox_caption=”yes” lbox_social=”yes” uncode_shortcode_id=”236648″][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”745932″]<\/p>\n

The Search Continues<\/h2>\n

But the search still wasn\u2019t over. Harold, too, had never known his own father\u2013but Harold\u2019s children had found a half-sibling of his through several DNA databases. They also had a picture of a man they believed to be their grandfather. He was a Caucasian Marine who had fallen in love with an African-American woman in 1930s Georgia, but due to that time in history, they could not be in an open bi-racial relationship. However, they did have a child together, and that child was Harold.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image media=”74959″ caption=”yes” media_lightbox=”yes” media_width_percent=”37″ lbox_caption=”yes” lbox_social=”yes” uncode_shortcode_id=”905447″][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”184470″]<\/p>\n

Ken\u2019s FamilyTreeDNA Story<\/h2>\n

Ken\u2019s entire extended family\u2019s DNA results have been moved to FamilyTreeDNA\u2019s database to keep track of everyone. They\u2019re still searching military records to find out more about this man they believe to be their grandfather. The more matches they find, the more clues they have to their discover their origins, and the more Ken\u2019s children will know about their family history as well. For Ken, who continues to minister to those in need, Ken\u2019s FamilyTreeDNA story revealed a long-awaited answer to his lifelong prayer.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ken’s children gave him a DNA kit for Father\u2019s Day. He had been searching for his father. When he received the test results, he got the shock of his life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":78477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[121,562,1208],"tags":[1232,1234,1239,1277],"yoast_head":"\nKen's FamilyTreeDNA Story - FamilyTreeDNA Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When Ken's wife Vanessa and their children gave him a DNA kit for Father\u2019s Day, he got the shock of his life. 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