SNGF - Best 2009 Genealogy Moment

This past Saturday at Genea-Musings, Randy Seaver posed the question of what was our best Genealogy Moment of 2009.

After some contemplation, I have decided my best moment of 2009 was confirmation through Y-DNA that my paternal grandfather, Lee McNeill, is without a doubt, a McNeill. In early postings on this blog, I described how my grandfather changed his name some time during the 1930s. About 25 years ago, my grandmother began to search for his ancestry based upon the scarce facts he had told her before this death in 1971. While she laid the research groundwork, Y-DNA testing proved that my father and the man we believed to be Lee's brother are indeed closely related; in this case, it is nephew and uncle.

I remember waiting for my father's results, which came first. I was worried that we would have no McNeill or similar surnames that were a match. Much to my delight, there were several similar names: Neil, Neely, McNeil and McNeal. I think I was even more worried while waiting for the uncle's test results. I was terrified that a decade of research was all for naught. It was a victory for my family research and was so very thankful that I had a close living relative willing and able to take the test.