Hi

Harking back to 1998 when my father told me our family name was not our 'true' family name, that is what started me on the family history trail (FH). A 'rumoured' name was told to me by the Grandaughter of said name-changer! (I'm a Great Grandaughter of said man). Nothing of note found in twenty years or so!

Then DNA testing arrived. I bit the bullet a couple of years ago and got mine done, then my father's and a niece late 2017. Cousins in Australia have done theirs, so am able to compare results, all descendants of said man.

BINGO! On 24th December 2018 (a nice Christmas present!), I was staring at a 'match' I'd looked at before but not seen any common surnames, but is a match for the above group of family persons. I 'looked' at him again and saw he'd now had his father done. Put their family name in one of the popular FH websites and it brings up a tree. OMG, staring back at me is this 'rumoured' family name but with a couple of letters transposed!

I spent Christmas looking at the tree and tracking the family lines forward of new found surname.

BINGO big time! It falls into place quite nicely. I have a REAL name. It disappears after 1901 census, where my 'false' name appears on the 1911 census but cannot be found on the 1901. They lived in the same area!

Certificates sent for to 'prove' lines of this new found guy. He even 'deserted' his first wife according to her census record of 1911. We had the rumour he had 'deserted' - believed to have been the army - perhaps not the army! Unfortunately there are no living descendants of his first family to see if the connection is there!

But I have looked at surnames involved in the new line and checked the DNA matches for these surnames. Yes we have 'matches' to descendants of these lines too.

I'm pretty convinced I have hit the jackpot! FINALLY!

SP