Finding Out Close Relatives (🧬 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦)

I did both the 23andMe & AncestryDNA tests back in 2016, & I found out about some close matches (some of them I already knew about & some I just found out through the test).

On 23andMe:

- On my mother's side, I found a 2nd cousin, once removed, his family also is from Brisenas, Michoacan (where most of my mother's side is from), & we share two surnames Zaragoza & Cervantes, which my great-grandmothers (maternam grandfather's mother) last name was Zaragoza, & my mother said that Cervantes is also another surname on that branch of her family, his biogeographical ancestry is mostly Spanish & Purepecha (around half & half), with a smaller amount of Afro-Mexican, with a trace amount of Sephardic Jewish.

- On my father's side, I found several close relatives, including a 2nd cousin, who I didn't know about, her last name is also Chavez (also my paternal grandmother's surname), so I assumed it came from her side of the family, turns out I was correct, my father (who also did the 23andMe) contacted her, & it turns out she is the biological daughter of one of my fathers maternal cousins, making her my legit 2nd cousin, as her father is my 1st cousin, once removed, & his parent is either my great-uncle or great-aunt, & her & I both share two of the same great-grandparents, her biogeographical ancestry is mostly Spanish & Indigenous Mexican (including Purepecha), with a smaller amount of African, & trace amounts of Romani & possibly Sephardic Jewish.

- Another relative from my father's side, is my 1st cousin, once removed (actually 2nd cousin, or something like that), she is related to both my paternal grandfather & my paternal grandmother, she is the daughter of my fathers maternal cousin & paternal cousin, my paternal grandfather's brother & my maternal grandmother's brother are her grandfather's, so we share four of the same the same great-grandparents, her biogeographical ancestry is slightly over half Spanish, with 3/8 Indigenous (including Purepecha), with smaller amounts of Sephardic Jewish & Afro-Mexican, & possibly very remote Romani ancestry, as well.

- Another relative on my father's side, is my 2nd cousin, her mother is my father's paternal cousin, she also has roots from Puebla & Mexico City, her biogeographical ancestry is mostly Spanish & Indigenous (including Purepecha & Nahua), with smaller amounts of Afro-Mexican & possibly Italian, with possibly a trace amount of Sephardic Jewish & possibly very remote Romani ancestry as well.

On AncestryDNA:

- On my fathers side, My 1st cousin, once (My fathers paternal cousin), she is the sister of my godfather (who is also my fathers paternal cousin), her biogeographical ancestry is around 5/8 European (mainly Spanish, with smaller amounts of Basque & Sephardic Jewish, & possibly Moorish) & 3/8 Indigenous American (including Purepecha), with a small amount of Sub-Saharan African (Afro-Mexican).

- Another relative on my father's side, is my 2nd cousin (her parent is my father's paternal cousin), her biogeographical ancestry is around 1/2 European (mainly Spanish, with smaller amounts of Basque, Sephardic Jewish & Moorish) & 1/2 Indigenous American (including Purepecha), with a smaller amount of Sub-Saharan African.

- Another relative on my father's side, is my 2nd cousin (despite being listed as my 3rd cousin on AncestryDNA), she is the daughter of my godparents (my father's paternal cousin & his wife), her biogeographical ancestry is around 1/2 European (mainly Spanish, with smaller amounts of Basque, Sephardic Jewish, & French) & 1/2 Indigenous American (including Purepecha), with a smaller amount of Sub-Saharan African.