Whit Johnson Found The Origin of His Father Through a 23andMe DNA test
What Prompted Whit Johnson to Go For the DNA Test?
Johnson was convinced by his mother to take this DNA test on 23andMe because she wanted to know more about his ethnic background and nationality. They were aware that his father was adopted in Salt Lake City in 1950, but they had no information about his biological family. They posed some odd questions over the years, but his dad was never interested in finding out
He feared that finding out more about his biological family would cause friction between him and his adoptive family because they were so important to him. Years after his (dad’s) parents’ divorce, Johnson’s mother started to become deeply interested in his heritage.
The two of them were just seated around a breakfast table at her home when his mother informed him (Johnson) that she had purchased a DNA test for him because she was curious.
So in July 2018, Whit took a DNA test. He wasn’t really sure what he was doing and wasn’t looking specifically for anything. But he was able to re-establish a blood relationship that he never knew existed, and it totally changed both his life and, more importantly, the life of his father.
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Whit Johnson Ethnicity: What Were The Results of The DNA Test on His Mother’s Side?
About four weeks after doing the DNA test, Johnson received an email from 23andMe that read, “We have your results.” He opened the email, looked at his profile, and discovered some surprising information, especially about his origin and ethnicity.
Considering that his mother had previously submitted her test to 23andMe, it was obvious that the results were from her mom’s side. They could clearly see all the Western European, British, Irish, and Scottish ancestry but there was also this other section that revealed he is Basque Spanish and has a small percentage of Native American ancestry.
Johnson knew instantly that it had to be from his father’s side but didn’t give it any thought. He began exploring the website a little more and discovered the “Your DNA Relatives” tab that appears.
He clicked on the tab without knowing what he was doing, and a list of relatives appeared, but they were all distant cousins third, fourth, and fifth in terms of their relationship with one another. But there were also so many unusual Spanish names that appeared. However, a ton of intriguing Spanish names appeared and he was fascinated by that.
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What Were The Results of The DNA Test on His Father’s Side?
(Story Continues): The name “Johnson” that he grew up with came from his dad’s adoptive parents. He looked at this profile and clicked on this possible first cousin even without checking the name, and a photo with a name appeared.
To his surprise, he saw a picture of a man who looked exactly like his father, and it blew his mind. He knew right away that this had to be his dad’s brother. And yes it was. They decided that they were going to meet.
He discovered that for years, his uncle in Salt Lake City watched him on TV as an anchor and reporter without realizing that Johnson was his nephew because his dad’s brother, who resides in Utah, used to work there as a reporter.
You could call it a reunion, but it wasn’t a reunion when Johnson, his father, and the just-discovered uncle met in Utah. They had never met before, therefore it was their first union. It’s surprising how many similar characteristics they share, such as their interest in home renovations, their routines, the way they walk, the way their hands are shaped, and the way their dimples appear.
They remained in touch, started going through other court documents, and discovered that they had another brother. As a result, they now have three brothers, all of whom share the same mother but have three separate fathers, as shown by their DNA profiles.
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How Did Johnson’s Family React After The DNA Test?
His father wrote a letter to the other sibling who resides in Wyoming to seal this relationship. He explained to him how everything came about and the events that led up to the current situation. This brother responded with a letter, telling his side of the story.
So all of these children were given up for adoption by the same mother, but the twist here is that this brother was raised by his biological grandparents, and his mother had a somewhat sporadic presence in his life. So, he was aware of her and also had some of her pictures.
Johnson’s dad knew the identity of his mother within a short period. They compared childhood photos one after the other, placing his dad’s high school photo next to her mom’s one from around the same age, and they could see the stunning similarities.
Every stage of the process brought about a fresh surge of feelings. It had to be a special moment for his father since, for years, he had been so reluctant to embark on this journey. But the search continues because his father and his brother in Utah have kept the process going by exploring further public records and documents. There are still a lot of amazing moments in store for this family story.