What a lovely story

[Redneck]

What a lovely story!

I have done the Ancestry DNA test myself to look for family tree connections etc but this is great.


Best friends discover they are really brothers

Two Hawaii men who grew up as best friends recently learned that they're actually brothers and revealed the surprise to family and friends over the holidays.

Robinson and Macfarlane, of Oahu, told their story this week to local television stations in Honolulu, after hosting a party on Saturday to tell their families.

Recreational DNA tests have grown in popularity in recent years as the price of testing kits offered by services like 23andMe, Ancestry.com and Family Tree DNA, have dropped to around $100 or less, despite some lingering privacy concerns. The results can turn up information about distant or unknown relatives.
Alan Robinson and Walter Macfarlane are interviewed in Honolulu on television news station KHON.
Alan Robinson and Walter Macfarlane are interviewed in Honolulu on television news station KHON. Photo: KHON

The men both met as teenagers decades ago and went on to play football together at the Punahou School, a prestigious private high school on the island that counts former President Barack Obama among its alumni.

"When we played for Punahou, we were both first string," Macfarlane said, in a video posted by KITV 4. "We're brothers, playing side by side."

Even though the two had similar interests, and, looked alike, according to some people who knew them, they said they never considered the possibility that they were related, the station reported.

"It never crossed my mind," Robinson said. "That's what's really amazing."

Robinson was adopted by his family, while Macfarlane never knew his father, another local television station in Hawaii, KHON 2 reported.

"This guy was like an older brother all along," Robinson said. "We'd go skin diving, I'd be making noise in the water, splashing around, he'd be teaching me how to do it right. He always came out of the water with a bigger string of fish. And I had the smallest."

"As it should be," Macfarlane chimed in. "You're my younger brother."

Macfarlane took a DNA test after trying to seek out more information about his family online.

"So then we started digging into all the matches he started getting," Cindy Macfarlane-Flores, his daughter, told KHON 2.

A username Robi737 came back atop the list of DNA matches. "Robi," was one of Robinson's nicknames; he used to fly 737 airplanes for Aloha Airlines, Macfarlane's daughter said. Robinson had also taken a DNA test, the results of which had been uploaded to Ancestry.com.

Marfarlane and Robinson had identical X chromosomes; the men did some research and learned they had the same biological mother, KHON 2 reported.

DNA tests can sometimes lead to uncomfortable surprises; finding out that a parent or close relative is not actually related, for example. 23andMe no longer provides data on these types of results, but in 2014, estimated that 7,000 users of its service had discovered unexpected paternity results or learned about previously unknown siblings.

Both Robinson and Macfarlane described their surprise finding in positive terms.

"Yeah, it was shock," Robinson said. "It was an overwhelming experience, it's still overwhelming. I don't know how long it's going to take for me to get over this feeling."

The two, both retired, plan to do some traveling together, KHON 2 reported.

"This is the best Christmas present I could ever imagine having," Robinson said.

The Washington Post

http://www.smh.com.au/world/lifelong-fr ... 0aqt1.html

[Neferti]

Nice story, good to read at this time of the year! My sister has had the Ancestry DNA test, didn't find any long lost siblings though.

[Black Orchid]

I wish I could find a nice brother. I would trade my sister in

Did you find anyone Red? Not likely to here until more and more people actually do the test I guess.

[Redneck]

I wish I could find a nice brother. I would trade my sister in

Did you find anyone Red? Not likely to here until more and more people actually do the test I guess.

They send you a list of ones that are related although some are far back generations wise

I found a first cousin that I sort of knew of but had never met.

I have mostly just looked up their family trees in the areas that coincided with mine but had more information.

[Neferti]

I wish I could find a nice brother. I would trade my sister in

Did you find anyone Red? Not likely to here until more and more people actually do the test I guess.

They send you a list of ones that are related although some are far back generations wise

I found a first cousin that I sort of knew of but had never met.

I have mostly just looked up their family trees in the areas that coincided with mine but had more information.

Be careful with those Ancestry Family Trees! I was Googling the other day and came across one tree that had my late MOTHER with a son and my late sister as this bloke's sister! Nope, wrong. My Mother had 4 daughters, no sons, not even hidden ones. The "son" was actually the son-in-law of my Mother's much older step-sister! So really no relation except "step" by marriage or something ... 42nd cousin.

I think some people find a "name" that "fits" and add it to their Family Tree, without making sure it is actually their rellie. I did my Family History the old way, before Ancestry and shared trees .... I paid for many, many birth, death and marriage certificates to make sure I had the right ancestor. Sometimes I was sure someone was "ours" but when the certificate arrived ... wrong parents or something.

I have never used Ancestry and never will. My sister uses Ancestry but she only started researching about 7 years ago (I started in 1990). I gave her a few clues to get her started (wasn't about to hand over ALL my files in one go ) but she was way too anxious and hired a Genealogist in Scotland, at great expense, and got EXACTLY the same result as I did ... only faster. She found nothing new, although she is now plugging on and finding out a few "twigs" of 42nd cousins and the like. I didn't want to get all that useless stuff. IF you try hard enough you will end up being related to everyone.

[Black Orchid]

I wish I could find a nice brother. I would trade my sister in

Did you find anyone Red? Not likely to here until more and more people actually do the test I guess.

They send you a list of ones that are related although some are far back generations wise

I found a first cousin that I sort of knew of but had never met.

I have mostly just looked up their family trees in the areas that coincided with mine but had more information.

Yes but can't they only find those who already have their DNA on a database?

[Black Orchid]

I did most of mine years ago when I could just photocopy original documents without having to send away for them and before they were just typed in to microfiche. I went back a long long way but then stopped.

I haven't found the incentive to take it up again.

I would be happy to find a brother though

[Neferti]

I did most of mine years ago when I could just photocopy original documents without having to send away for them and before they were just typed in to microfiche. I went back a long long way but then stopped.

I haven't found the incentive to take it up again.

I would be happy to find a brother though

Sorry, dear, haven't a brother to offer you. Nice BIL though (my late sister's hubby). Lives in Victoria though.

[Black Orchid]

I hate to say it but anything would be an improvement on my 'sister'. I put that in inverted commas because I disowned her and I have no sister now.

A feral rabid dog would do?

[Neferti]

I hate to say it but anything would be an improvement on my 'sister'. I put that in inverted commas because I disowned her and I have no sister now.

A feral rabid dog would do?

I've sent you a PM about this.