Colleen's Surnames Archives

My Favorite Photo, the Only Photo of Me with My Great-Grandmother Maria (Nieto) Robledo

April 16, 2015

My favorite photo is the only photo I have with my great-grandmother, Maria (Nieto) Robledo, who died when I was just over three years old. I thought I had lost this. I was overjoyed to find it again! Not just because it’s the only photo of the two of us, but because of the memories I have from just after this photo was taken.

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My Family HistoryColleen's family

My Bio Family: Confirming the Maternal-Line via AncestryDNA

April 7, 2015

AncestryDNA made a liar out of me last night by processing my autosomal DNA results much faster than they quoted. I struck gold last night with my top two AncestryDNA matches, providing DNA confirmation of a maternal-line connection to my Bio Mom Candidate.

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My Family History Research MethodsColleen's family, DNA, my genetic family

Different DNA, but Same Family History — My Parents

April 1, 2015

Since my last two posts have focused on the new search for my biological family, I thought it appropriate to focus on my parents (my real parents). This is the story of my adoption, and what family and family history mean to me.

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My Family Historyadoption, Colleen's family, DNA, my genetic family

Adoption Search Angels Help Me Find My Original Birth Name & Birth Parent Surnames Overnight

March 29, 2015

Less than 24 hours after blogging about beginning to search for my birth parents, through analysis of my autosomal DNA, adoption Search Angel volunteers identified my original birth name and the surnames of my birth parents. Just a few hours later, we identified my leading Birth Mom Candidate. Here I explain the process and my next steps.

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My Family History Research Methodsadoption, birth records, Colleen's family, my genetic family