2024 Genealogy Wish Grants Winner!

2024 Genealogy Wish Grants Winner!

The 2024 Genealogy Wish Grants Winner has just been announced! Congratulations to Mari Knapp of Ohio, who won this year for her double long standing mysteries/brick walls!

About This Year's Winner

Mari Knapp has been researching her family history and genealogy for over 20 years. She has been following Know Who Wears the Genes in Your Family for close to 3 years, while being an active participant. Like many who have been working on their genealogy for decades, she just cannot solve her family mysteries! 

A Tough Choice, Once Again

There were many entries for this year's third Genealogy Wish Grants! It was down to two compelling stories, an emotional journey and struggle with belonging and double long-standing family mysteries, that made it a tough choice. One of these two was a story that is deeply personal, emotional, and filled with struggles, from his adoption to his challenging family dynamics and personal setbacks. His wish to connect with his biological father's family (who he was told was his father) seems rooted in a desire for closure and belonging, which makes it heart-wrenching.        His honesty and sense of hopelessness (“stuff like this just doesn’t happen for me”) added to the emotional weight. Mari’s story spans two significant mysteries on both sides of the family, showing her long-standing passion for genealogy. The maternal mystery (a teenage pregnancy and family cover-up in a small town with intermarrying) is a poignant story rooted in historical context and societal norms, while the paternal mystery involving a surname mismatch revealed by Y-DNA and autosomal testing is intriguing from a genealogical perspective, especially with the additional layer of the surname appearing elsewhere in the family tree. Not only did Mari meet all the criteria to apply, but her mysteries were intriguing as well.

This Year's Story Entry

“I have been researching my family tree since 1999, but more so since retiring in 2020. I have a mystery on both sides of my family and both have me pulling my hair out.
On the maternal side, my grandmother states that her mom at age 13 was impregnated by a certain man who was 19. Her father forced her into marrying someone else. This was in West Virginia, small town, and a lot of intermarrying going on. I would like to find out if her birth father was truly who she said it was.

And/or

On my paternal side, Y-DNA matches showed up an entirely different paternal last name than the one we knew as ours. Autosomal 2-3 cousin matches confirm it as well. I am not sure if the culprit is a grandfather or great-grandfather. To confound the issue, my father's great-grandmother also shares this surname and is tied into the family somewhere. This all takes place in Georgia and Alabama.

Thank you!”

Thank You

Thank you to all of this year's Genealogy Wish Grants applicants! I hope you all continue to follow and participate! Don't forget to apply to Genealogy Wish Grants 2025, details coming soon! The entry start date will be posted on my Facebook Page, my Facebook Group, my blog, and on the Genealogy Wish Grants page, so stay tuned!

P.S.

​I wound up solving the other’s case as well. After all, it is Christmas. 😉