The stories

Three mysteries. Three trails followed.

Nashville, Tennessee

The secrets Jessie kept

Born into the bustling Nashville of the late 1800s. Part of the Nashville social scene. Her three sons adored her. A century later, DNA revealed the rest of her story — and what an enigma she was. Read the story →

Scotland · Quebec · Michigan · Kansas City

The man who called himself Mike

Finding the thread backwards from Kansas City to Aberdeen, Scotland — and the moment Robeson was revealed to be Robertson. Read the story →

Colonial Virginia

Now we are Bennetts

A surprising DNA result, a change in surname, and the discovery of seven generations traced to colonial Virginia instead of Baden-Baden, Germany. Read the story →

And after any of them: What a DNA surprise means — and how I handle them →