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Halina Frederick's avatar

Jan I would love to find my ancestry on my polish side as my name is Halina Zielinski but my sister tried and unfortunately the Nazis had burned everything of my fathers heritage 🥲 oh and I was always behind the Ws in school 😂

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Jan Stoneburner's avatar

Oh, Halina ~ I wonder if 23&Me could help since paperwork isn't necessary to match DNA? I knew I was drawn to your classic posts for some reason -- we are soul sisters from Northern Europe who understand sitting in the back of the room. Ha ha! {{Hugs}} Halina Z.

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Halina Frederick's avatar

😂😂😂 I’m laughing so funny and guess what I wore glasses lol 😂😂

I will check out 23&me thanks Jan ❤️

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Karen Howells's avatar

Fascinating and as always fun to read. My Mom taught us how to figure out the whole cousin thing. Children of first cousins are second cousins to each other and 1st cousins once removed to their parent's first cousins. We had to figure that put as we have not just plain ordinary first cousins. Great read. 👍

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Jan Stoneburner's avatar

Thanks for the tip and support, Karen. I only have two first cousins. Hard to believe. So everyone else is "on the spectrum" somewhere. Ha! Loving all your writings on Substack too! xoxo

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Juli Warner's avatar

What a great name with a great history. My family name is Fortuna from the Italian word for fortune but I was teased as Tuna Fish

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Jan Stoneburner's avatar

Oh, how fun, Juliann. How did you feel about being called "Tuna Fish"? I was Zippy Zischkau because I could run fast. I hated that nickname back then, but now I use it for my Character 3 in Dr. Taylor's book. It describe the playful, fun side of me perfectly. 23&Me says I have a tiny bit of Italian in me. I so hope so. I absolutely loved Italy when I visited in 2019. xoxo

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Juli Warner's avatar

Sometimes it was funny but others not so much. Zippy! What a great name. Italy has to be my favorite country.

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a.c.tomasulo's avatar

what a wonderful read. I love your humor. searching for a sense of belonging can take decades. even longer.As first generation Italian,it was extremely difficult at times. My parents wanted me to understand my roots, my beginnings, my culture, all while they were busy assimilating into and American culture. It made sense to them, but to me, it often felt like a tug of war. The best thing about growing up with parents and grandparents form another culture, was the natural and daily practice of story telling. Thank you for sharing yours. And don't get me started on names...

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Jan Stoneburner's avatar

Welcome to That's Good To Know, a.c. ~ I love your name. And I loved my visit to Italy in 2019 with my girlfriends. You must have a wonderful story. Going to check out your blog. Thanks for commenting. {{Hugs}}

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Diane Ritterspach's avatar

Jan, I’ll have to tell you what a medical life saving event it turned out to be when was able to get some medical history. We could have lost her!

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Jan Stoneburner's avatar

OMG from 23andMe?

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Diane Ritterspach's avatar

I’ll send you an email.

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Patti Petersen's avatar

I'm going to dig out that 23&Me report again. It didn't do what I wanted it to do when my husband gifted me with it a number of years ago. It might be the gift that keeps on giving now that I'll read it from a different perspective.

I was thinking of writing something this week about needing a sense of belonging, so you beat me to it, haha. I may still write it but mine will be from the social media aspect and being a senior.

Great article - loved the pictures, especially your golf buddy one!

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Jan Stoneburner's avatar

Can't wait to read your blog on a sense of belonging, Patti. Mine wandered off in several different directions. Ha! I think you should go back & look at your 23andMe report. It's just fun. I can see why you were disappointed before. xoxo

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Patti Petersen's avatar

Haha, the next time I read the report it'll be for fun! I'm glad you brought it up! xoxo

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Cathey Cone's avatar

I keep telling myself that one of these days I will dive more into my ancestry. I know some, but only a few generations back. Whenever I meet a Jones (my maiden name) with Welsh ancestry, I wonder if we are related. I so appreciate your ability to bring out the humor in all of life's situations. I thought it was funny to go from Jones to Cone, but Zischkau to Stoneburner? Wow. 😊

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Jan Stoneburner's avatar

Like you don't already have enough to do. I'm hoping to join in when you have the Tuesday Creations' Substack Chat. xoxo If I run into someone with the Zischkau name, I know we're related somehow. Ha! I'm just glad my cousin did all the research. My head spins just looking at the 125 page report. I only had one aunt & uncle and 2 cousins growing up so finding all these family members (even though distant) has been fun.

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Diane Ritterspach's avatar

My daughter -in-law, Ann did find her birth mother through 23 and me. She and her 3 siblings were all adopted. After entering her DNA she received an email from a guy who said he was her first cousin. They connected and sure enough their mothers were sisters. She has now connected with her birth mother who gave her up for adoption when she was 17, unable to give her the life she deserved. They now Zoom call and will hopefully meet in person some day if she’s able. Ann sends her flowers on her own birthday for the wonderful life she has had.

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Jan Stoneburner's avatar

Oh, that's awesome. They tell you they can't find your biological parents, but through DNA connections it must be able to happen. Ann must have checked the box to be connected to living relatives. Thanks for sharing that, Diane. xoxo

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Laura Baumeister's avatar

I love it, Jan!! I got a good laugh, especially about the Neanderthal DNA - I was shocked when I saw that pop up in my DNA results, too! :-)

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Jan Stoneburner's avatar

Hi Laura — I was hoping you’d see this. I’ve had so much fun pouring over your report again. I can’t believe how much work that was!!! Thanks for keeping our history. ❤️

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Laura Baumeister's avatar

You're welcome! I'm always trying to keep it updated. Next week (Monday, the 10th) my nephew Eric and his wife Laura will be welcoming their first child - a boy! Another Zischkau relative to add!

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Jan Stoneburner's avatar

Awesome! My brother’s son Todd Zischkau has had two boys in the last couple of years. I will have to DM you the info.

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Laura Baumeister's avatar

Absolutely!!

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Laura Baumeister's avatar

Oh, we're 2nd cousins actually, but that's OK. I have to stop and try to figure things out after 1st cousin connections.

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Jan Stoneburner's avatar

Yea!

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Rose's avatar

I am just recently finding out more about my father's relatives in Norway. I sent a doll to my cousin's daughter for her baby girl, and it turned out to open the doors for a wonderful friendship which is just starting. I think it helps that her, my cousin, who is her mother, and myself look a bit like three peas in a pod. It was been a wonderful experience, and not one I had ever hoped or longed for.

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Jan Stoneburner's avatar

OMG, Rose ~ that sounds wonderful. I have met some more Zischkau cousins on FB now. It is wonderful. Good luck with your new adventure. xoxo

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