At the age of 16, when I originally heard of my dad's adoption, I took it the way I expect most typical teenagers would. I rebelled. I was upset. My grandmother who I'd known and loved and spent much of my childhood with suddenly wasn't my grandmother anymore. I felt betrayed. It hurt, for years, but unfortunately, I didn't get over the shock of it until after my grandmother passed away. That's a regret I have even today. She was and always will be my grandmother, so Nanny, I'm really sorry I treated you so badly after the truth came out. I love and respect you to this day and I'm sorry for ever treating you poorly.
The story of my dad is this. He was the youngest biological son of Ida Martha Breland and Henry Blake Crosby. He had four older biological brothers and sisters. When Daddy was born on June 25, 1940, his mother died from complications in childbirth. His father died about two weeks after in what I've heard was a boating accident, but may have just been an accidental drowning. When the two parents died, the children were divided mostly among family, but my daddy, being the youngest, was separated from the rest and adopted by Mary Augustus Hill and Edgar Moore Salters. These two I came to know as my grandparents. We haven't been able to discover the root of the story yet, but most believe that Mary or Edgar were of some relation to the Crosby's.
Daddy knew of his adoption most of his life. It still baffles me as to why it was kept a secret from the grandchildren. Why I was 16 before I found out, I'll never know. That's besides the point now, however. I'm happy to know of the relationships that Daddy had with his biological siblings. I was even able to meet everyone at a reunion years ago. I'm still in contact with some of my cousins and aunts from Daddy's biological family. It's they who have given me some great insight into my own past.
Just before Christmas last year, I saw that Ancestry.com was running a special on their DNA testing. I had previously done some work on Ancestry, and although my account wasn't active, much of my research and family trees that I had started a few years back had been saved on the site. I ordered the DNA kit, reactivated my account, and patiently waited until I could go home for the Chinese New Year.
As soon as I could get my hands on the kit, which I had had delivered to my sister's house, I sat down and took the test. I had to salivate considerably into a tube and then mail off the sample. I read that it would take 6-8 weeks to get my results. In the meantime, I didn't bother to do much with my family tree.
Two weeks ago, just as I was heading out the door for a weekend trip to Hong Kong, I received an email with a link to my DNA results. I could hardly stand it. I sat at the kitchen table, crying, before I even read anything. My first glance at the results was one that left me in awe, really. I received a breakdown in the form of a pie chart which showed my ethnicity. Now, for a moment I must stop and explain something. I knew I had a lot of German on my mother's side. I suspected there was some Scottish and assumed English too. I believed I had some French and I hoped that I had some Irish. I have always felt extremely connected to Ireland. I only lived there six months, but I promise you that place is about as close to home as it comes.
So back to the ethnicity results...when I saw the estimate, it showed that I was 57% from Western Europe, 26% from Ireland (WHOOHOO) and 5% from Great Britain. The rest was too little to measure really...less than 1% Asian, less than 1% Northern African, etc. I could not believe it. I sat at the computer with tears streaming down my face. It wasn't just the Irish thing, although that was a huge part of it honestly. It was that I finally was getting somewhere with knowing who I am.
Because of the DNA test, I was instantly matched with others on the Ancestry site who had similar DNA. I sent a few emails reaching out to people with whom I was connected and very quickly I got a response from a gentleman (a long lost cousin) named Clarence. Clarence and I instantly became email buddies. He sent me so much information to read over and helped me correct my Crosby family tree. I am by no means finished as I have so much to weed through and as any "genealogy freak" will tell you, I'm addicted to digging deeper. I spent that first weekend (after returning from Hong Kong) glued to my computer. One thing leads to another, then there's double and triple checking, then you go back to the beginning and follow another leaf (Ancestry's tool for hints). I literally could sit on the website for hours doing this, but unfortunately it's been an extremely busy week at work and I haven't had any time in the last few days.
I thought I'd write this blog entry though for a few reasons. A) I really love ancestry and I have discovered so much interesting information that I absolutely have to share it B) I've posted pictures on Instagram and Facebook but I feel I now have to give the back story and C) My dear friend Katy said she was eager to read a blog post about it so here it is, some of it.
The knowledge I've gained and the history I've uncovered is outstanding, in my opinion. On my Dad's biological side, I traced the Breland line back to the late 1700's. That would be my 3rd great grandmother and grandfather. I traced this great grandmother's family back (Kearse) to her grandfather in 1720, Germany. I followed the Crosby line back to Henry E Crosby and wife Mary E Black (my second great grandfather and grandmother) in the 1800's, then continued on with her family as far back as the 1600's in the UK.
I discovered that the Black family came to South Carolina just before the time of the American Revolution. One of the neatest things I read came from an excerpt that Clarence sent me.
"According to family tradition, the Black family of Colleton County is of Scottish descent, being originally a part of Clan Alpine, later of Clan Lamont and Clan MacLean-MacGregor. The first Robert Black came to South Carolina-and America-about the time of the Revolutionary War along with two brothers whose names are unknown. He landed at Georgetown and worked on a plantation to pay for his ship's passage, as did many others at that time. For two days he worked in the field and each day refused to eat the bowl of mush served him along with the other laborers. The lady of the house, seeing that he evidently was a gentleman of refinement, on the third day had his food served on a tray with linen."
If you know me at all, that linen point is absolutely hilarious. I hate paper napkins! Ha.
As previously mentioned, any information discovered leads to other information, so I have been digging, reading, and researching more and more each little bit I get. I looked up the clans to see what I could find about them, and read a little about the Lamonts that put the pep in my step. Apparently, the Lamont clan descended from an Irish prince. Hmmm...royalty in this blood?! Not only this, but we also fought against Robert the Bruce! Wise decision, probably not, but so cool!!
So as you can see, I'm really into this ancestry thing right now. I have pictures, marriage certificates, newspaper articles and more to document my family's past. Can I say it's all 100% accurate, no. Can I say I am absolutely loving what I'm finding and connecting with my past, yes.
As I head back to the states tomorrow, I prepare for my very first niece to be born (my very first anything actually as this is my sister's first born child). One day, I'll be able to tell her stories of my discoveries. Until then, I've got more digging to do...the fun has only just begun!
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