Cousins Living 11,000 Miles Apart Unite Thanks to MyHeritage DNA

by Esther ·
October 3, 2019
· User Stories

Linda Reardon of Wales began researching her family history to help her 3 daughters learn about their heritage. Their father was of an Italian background, and they wanted to know more about where they came from. As her interest in family history research grew, she found her journey leading her in an unexpected direction.

Linda got frustrated after following a number of incorrect leads regarding her own family history. She decided to take a MyHeritage DNA test to help her narrow down her research. Once her results came in, she got a message from a DNA Match named Noeline Hewitt.

Noeline, of New Zealand, had been trying to trace her own roots back to the U.K.. She saw that she and Linda were distant cousins and wanted to know how they might be related. After a little detective work, they discovered that Noeline’s fifth-great-grandmother was the sister of Linda’s fifth-great-grandfather, Armistead Fielden.

“I knew my grandfather had emigrated to Nova Scotia, and his grandson, William Henry Fielden, had returned to the U.K.,” says Linda. “William Henry is my great-great-grandfather. I had been trying to find out what happened to Armistead’s siblings, as we knew we had links to New Zealand, Australia, and the U.S., but weren’t sure how. This was a wonderful breakthrough.”

Recently, Noeline and her husband Graeme decided to travel to the U.K. for a heritage trip. She and Linda seized the opportunity and arranged to meet.

Linda and Noeline (center) surrounded by Linda’s daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren

“It was exciting,” says Linda. “Both Noeline and I didn’t feel like it was the first time we had met. We felt like we had known each other for ages, and we talked non-stop.”

Linda hopes to have breakthroughs like this for her daughters, as well as her grandson, whose father is of Jamaican heritage and is not in contact with him.

“Thank you, MyHeritage, for bringing us together,” she says.

Linda’s story is a great example of how MyHeritage DNA can enhance your genealogical research and lead to valuable new connections with family members across the globe.