Woman finds out about ancestry later in life

DEAR AMY » Iam in my 60s. I just learned from Ancestry.com DNA that I’m 30 percent Jewish. I had no idea! My parents are deceased and I have no siblings. The only family member that would also have the Jewish DNA is my cousin.

I wrote to her to see if she knew about this. It’s not that I’m not proud, but I’m freaking out that no one in my family told me this.

Am I overreacting? — Wondering

DEAR WONDERING » With increasingly complex and accurate DNA testing available commercially, many people are discovering a lot of things about their family origin that was either deliberately concealed or simply lost to time. One article I read on this pointed out that many American Hispanics are discovering Jewish DNA based on deep roots in Spain, when Jews were expelled from the Iberian Peninsula in 1492. You might not have been told about this because your parents might not have been aware of their own ethnic roots.

Certainly, if you have any European family roots, there is some likelihood that you would discover a Jewish DNA link. This DNA does not make you Jewish, but it is significant, and fascinating. Unfortunately, without living elders, it will be more challenging for you to trace back your own heritage via oral history, but I encourage you to continue to climb your family tree. This information might also be fascinating to your cousin, and it is generous of you to share it, but don’t push her if she’s not particularly interested.

DEAR AMY » Thank you for your compassionate response to “Adopted in CO,” who said her “real” parentage was sometimes challenged. I was adopted as a baby, and am the mother of an adopted child. Of course, my daughter and I are both fully members of our family. Adopted in CO should ignore or correct anyone who questions her true parentage. — Proud

DEAR PROUD » The flood of responses in support of “Adopted in CO” has been beautiful and inspiring. I’ll run responses in future columns.