Testing a half-sibling might seem like you’re only getting half the story,
Well… not quite!
First, let’s talk about what a half-sibling is. Half-siblings share one parent. So, for example, if two people have the same mom but different dads, they’re called maternal half-siblings. If it’s the same dad but different moms, they’re called paternal half-siblings. (Full siblings share both parents.)
Now, here’s a cool family story from my own tree. My grandma lost her first husband in WWII. When the war ended, she was left as a widow with her son, whom we’ll call David. Then, she met my grandpa, and although it wasn’t exactly love at first sight for her, he fell head over heels and asked her to marry him. Thankfully, she said yes!
They went on to have three daughters: Shyla, Emily, and Beatrice. These girls, my mom and her sisters, were half-siblings to David because they had only one parent in common. My grandma
When I was growing up, I never paid much attention to whether they were half or full siblings. David was just my beloved uncle, and his sons were the first cousins I grew up with. The “half” part didn’t matter to me nor was I aware of it.
Years later, I got interested in genetic genealogy, and suddenly, it became a big deal. Having half-siblings in our family tree turned out to be a genetic genealogy goldmine.
You see, as the family history keeper, I was building our family tree and testing people from all branches. Having half-first cousins (1C) was like winning a jackpot.
Testing my half-1C would help me sort through my mom’s DNA matches. It would let me tell which matches were connected to our family tree through my grandma’s side and which were connected through my grandpa’s side
For instance, if a DNA match, let’s call them MATCH1, matched both Shyla and Brian (one of David’s sons), that would mean MATCH1 comes from Grandma’s side because she’s the only one connecting both Shyla and Brian.
Imagine how thrilled I was! I just needed my half-1C’s DNA.
Sounds easy, right? Well, not so fast! Some folks have their reasons for not wanting to get their DNA tested. No matter how I tried to convince them or what creative excuses I came up with, none of my uncle David’s three sons agreed. Unfortunately, they didn’t share my excitement for genetic genealogy.
It was a real bummer for me, but I hope this story helps you understand how having half-siblings in your family tree can be a real treasure, especially if you’re a curious family researcher like me.
