Family connects through Ancestry test
A Marysville family became whole recently when Henry Hernandez was reconnected with his long-lost eldest birth son, James Cabrales, through a DNA saliva test as part of an Ancestry kit.
Cabrales took the test at the request of his sister, Lisa Cabrales, and girlfriend, Fran Florio, while living in New York.
“They influenced me to go through Ancestry,” Cabrales said. Ancestry is a company that sells DNA tracing kits and analysis.
Cabrales said he first realized that the man he grew up with wasn’t his biological father when he was 15 and a half years old and looking to get a driver’s license.
“I needed to get my birth certificate,” Cabrales said.
At that point he hadn’t yet been told about Henry Hernandez, now 81, who had fathered a child with his girlfriend while living in Marysville.
Eventually, Cabrales took the test, which he said is essentially donating a sample of his saliva through the kit and awaiting the results. It’s a fairly simple process outside of having to wait, he said.
The results finally came through in an email as Cabrales was preparing to visit California to see his parents. Most of his family, including his mother Imogene Newton, live in California.
Newton, 78, was diagnosed with dementia and wasn’t able to inform Cabrales of his roots – one of the many reasons why he was convinced to go through Ancestry.com.
He remembers telling his family and girlfriend that “Maybe he should find some stuff out.”
Upon arrival out West, James and Lisa Cabrales went through the email results from Ancestry to get the specifics.
“Oh that’s your father,” James recalled Lisa saying.
Soon thereafter, James received a text message from Lisa Hernandez – his half sister – that read in part, “It looks like we have a lot to talk about please call me.”
Cabrales headed to the Hernandez house, which was overflowing with relatives awaiting his arrival.
Immediately after pulling up, James remembers first asking, “Is this the Hernandez family?”
He said everyone was extremely welcoming and opened their hearts to him.
He recalls Henry Hernandez saying, “I’m sorry James, I didn’t know.”
For Hernandez, the reunion with his eldest son was a huge relief.
“I had the feeling in the back of my mind,” Hernandez said. “The last time I had seen his mom she was pregnant … Been over 50 years.”
Hernandez said James fit right into the family.
“It brought us closer together, I accepted him and the kids accepted him,” Hernandez said. “I apologized to him for not being there (early on).”
Hernandez hopes to make it up to his first born with a big blowout reunion as soon as state COVID guidelines on large gatherings allow for it.
“We’re going to introduce him,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez’s six children in order of age are James, Henry Jr., Irene, Nancy, Lisa and John.
After meeting, James remembers telling Hank
Jr., “You’re no longer the oldest.”
Hank Jr. responded by saying, “Yeah, you’re my older brother,” James recalled. “It was so heartfelt and surreal. This (Hernandez) family is amazing ... they’re so kind, loving and make me realize what I missed. It’s probably the best Christmas gift I have ever gotten.”