I did my DNA on 23andme many years ago. Through a connection in the online Crohn’s and Colitis community, I received an offer to contribute my DNA, through 23andme, to a genetic study of Crohn’s, colitis, and inflammatory bowel disease. In exchange for contributing, I received my health and ancestry data. An easy sell for this budding genealogist at the time.

It has provided some interesting insights and connections. The genetics hold up with what I have confirmed with my genealogy research. And it’s nice to know, though I never doubted, that my parents are my parents and my sister is my sister. Otherwise, mostly you match with 4th or 5th cousins who don’t provide any family tree information that might help one figure out what your connection is. It’s not often that I get a close cousin match that I don’t know, but back in 2016, I got two! I matched with a father and son who were 2nd and 3rd cousins on my mother’s side and had a surname that made me a little breathless.

Anyway, he became a bit of an obsession. For starters, my grandmother’s generation knew we were related somehow to these Mercer folks, but not so much how. And there was some confusion about Hedda’s marriages and the children from the first marriage. I eventually sorted it out and, this being back in my baby genealogist stage, some of the searches were among my early triumphs over badly transcribed census records (try searching on just the first name in the location where you think they lived and try not to wake up your husband when you holler “I found them! I found them! at 2 o’clock in the morning), as well as my feelings of anxiety over submitting records requests to complete strangers at big intimidating places like the National Archives (I’ve mostly gotten over that).

And he’s still a brick wall! but I digress from my original topic: cousin matches…

So I emailed with these two gentlemen and it turned out that we share Hedda as a great- and/or great-great-grandmother. The son shared some family history and we confirmed the connection. He also shared some info about his dad, just casually mentioning that his dad, Bill Mercer, has his own Wikipedia page. Okay. So I go look…

He was one of the original sportscasters for the Dallas Cowboys!?! He called The Ice Bowl!?! The Texas Rangers!?! Professional Wrestling!?! The JFK assassination!?! He’s written two books! And he’s being portrayed by an almost as cute as him actor in the new movie, The Iron Claw! Plus he’s just really nice. And boy, did he witness some history (Click that link on his name above) Wow!

Dang. Now I’ve got another crush.

He also came to Georgetown another time with his daughter to visit all the cousins at Cousins Day (note to self: do a post about Cousins Day…), but I can’t seem to find those photos (note to self: organize photos…)

Just one final tidbit: This week I was going through an old scrapbook of my grandmother’s (Edwina “Tut” Sandberg Adams) and came across this clipping.

The scrapbook is from the 1930s, ending in 1938, just before my grandparents get married (my grandpa is “Mr. Jack H. Adams” and my grandma is included in “Mr. and Mrs. Ed Sandberg and family”). “Mr. and Mrs. Frank Mercer and son Billy” are Bill and his parents. All the others are Sandberg and Mercer kin of various generations. It’s always fun to see these little mentions in the local newspaper.

Until next week!