Non Parental Events – Can be 100% Devastating

Non Parental Events – Can be 100% Devastating

A Non Parental Event is when people take DNA tests and discover the unexpected, an NPE. “NPE” is a genetic genealogy term that means a mother, a father, or both, are not the biological birth parents. This is a DNA Surprise. While this can be devastating, it’s far more common than you might think. Then the search for birth parents begins. It’s not the end of the world, just the beginning of a new one.

LL Cool J’s Astounding Discovery

In the popular show on PBS.org called Finding Your Roots hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr, there is an episode on the family of LL Cool J, an African American actor, Hip-Hop legend, record producer, and entrepreneur. It’s from Season 3, Episode 7, entitled Family Reunions. You can watch it here.

Henry Louis Gates Jr and LL Cool J sat facing each other as they reviewed the information that the army of genealogists had discovered for LL’s family lines. They were able to trace his family trees on his maternal and paternal sides, much to the delight of LL. Everything was going as the show usually goes, which is an exciting insight into the history of LL’s ancestors.

Then LL Cool J took an Ancestry DNA test, and the connections revealed a Non Parental Event (NPE). LL discovered that his grandfather was not his biological grandfather. Neither LL Cool J nor his mother knew this. In fact, it was so surprising that Henry Louis Gates Jr did something he hadn’t done. He had his cameramen turn off the cameras and informed LL Cool J off camera. When filming resumed, Gates presented LL Cool J with his DNA results.

At this revelation, the word LL used was “Devastating” and further elaborated that “You couldn’t have told me in a thousand, or a million years that this was the case in my life.” When LL Cool J’s informed his mother, Ondrea Griffith, she stated that “it’s also the end of one chapter in your life and the beginning of a new one.”

DNA Truth – Double Whammy

That would have been enough for the average person, but they decided to test Ondrea’s mother’s side while they were at it. The results were again potentially devastating. Another NPE. This meant that neither of Ondrea’s parents was biological, and in fact, she was adopted. The camera didn’t capture the moment Ondrea found out. Here is a woman born in 1946 and is 70 years old when she discovers the truth. If this is your story and doesn’t stop your life in its tracts, you’re not human. The good news is that all is not as hopeless as it seems. It simply means that you have more family than you thought.

DNA Encoded Traits

They discovered that his grandfather Nathaniel Cristy Lewis and his brother John Henry Lewis were famous Boxing athletes. In fact, in 1935, John Henry Lewis was crowned Lightweight Heavy Weight Champion of the World. As it turns out, the brothers were trained how to fight by their father, John Edward Lewis, LL’s great grandfather, born in 1870.

John Lewis ran a boxing gym in Phoenix, Az, that drew fighters across the west. LL Cool J was amazed that they excelled at a sport that he and his mother have always loved. In fact, he mentioned that on the back of one of his albums, he is punching a heavy bag (See Picture). The word he used in his Finding Your Roots interview was “Uncanny.” LL stated that it “makes you wonder if your DNA carries shadows or consciousness, or things that are coded.” This writer thinks so, but that’s another blog.

On a positive note, when showed a picture of his actual biological grandfather, he immediately noticed the resemblance, to which he exclaimed, “He has the nose and the lips !”

LL Cool J’s Great Grandfather -John Edward Lewis’ and trainees

LL Cool J – Finding Your Roots excerpt

Get An AncestryDNA Kit

An Ancestry DNA test could hold wonders for you, and like LL Cool J and his mother Ondrea, there could be more to you than you know, even if it’s not as life-changing as a Non-Parental Event. These at-home testing kits give you more insight about yourself and your ancestors, allowing you to trace all of your family lines.

Your AncestryDNA matches are other test takers genetically related to you and are displayed in your results according to how closely they are likely related to you.

Results typically take about 6-8 weeks, so you should get started as soon as you can. An Ancestry® account is free regardless if you have a DNA kit or not, but when you want to research or access records or message your DNA matches, a subscription is required.

And as far as privacy is concerned, Ancestry does NOT sell your test results. I can’t say the same for other testing companies.

If you are ready to join the millions who have already uncovered something new about themselves with an AncestryDNA test, click the link NOW and order your AncestryDNA test kit today. I did, and now I have 9 Haitian brothers and sisters I didn’t know about.

Get your AncestryDNA kit from Amazon!

Silver Lining to NPE – Meeting family

The great news is that you get to meet the family that you never knew you had. Henry Louis Gates Jr took LL Cool J and his mother Odessa to visit their new biological family. There they met Odessa’s half-sister, Claudia Lewis. Her nephew Thaddeus Lewis and niece Joan Lewis. These would be LL Cool J’s 1st cousins. They were able to show them a black and white video of Odessa’s father in a boxing ring. There was laughter, smiling, and happiness from everyone. I had a similar story when I met my Aunts and Uncles that I didn’t know existed. You can read about it here.

Or sometimes, it’s not an NPE at all. Maybe you already knew you had a different parent and had been looking for them for quite some time. You can get some inspiration by reading about that here, Using DNA to Overcome Family Search Struggles.

I also had my own Non-Parental Event. But that’s a story for another blog.

Your Own DNA Results – Truth revealed

LL Cool J had an army of researchers at his disposal because, well, he is famous. What about the rest of us? What if it’s not Henry Louis Gates Jr, leading you to a back room to reveal the surprise of a lifetime? What if you are lying in bed at 9:00 PM, by yourself, and you finally receive your ancestry.com, 23andme, MyHeritage, or My Family DNA results. You look, and the person or people who should be DNA matches are not. The names of people that you’ve painstakingly added to your family tree after years of work do not appear.  What you do see are unfamiliar names shown as being your sibling, parent, niece, or nephew.

Well, that is my own personal story. And the story of several of my clients. It is one thing to see a story unfold on television but trust me. It’s an entirely different thing to live it. And I used the same word as LL Cool J; Devastating. Especially at the age of 52. You can read about my story here.

Fortunately, there are resources available. Those resources allowed me to acquire the skills to solve these DNA puzzles for myself, my family, and my clients. 

Do you have a story of a Non-Parental Event, NPE, or something similar? Have you found a parent through DNA or research? Please comment!