Testimonials

"I was very impressed by how Russ found my bio parents, siblings, and many cousins.  The family tree he created was detailed and entailed much research.  I appreciate his efforts and dedication  helping me to discover my past with sensitivity and compassion.  I highly recommend Russ to anyone who is  interested in learning about their family history."

"I could not have done this without Russ' guidance. It was something I had always wanted to do (determine the identities of my biological parents) and Russ was the one who helped me accomplish this. He was very caring and diligent with the process and I would recommend him to anyone thinking about this.  His compassion and guidance will make it a process worth going through regardless of the outcome". 

I was adopted at three days old  in the mid 1960's in Columbus, Mississippi.  I grew up in a loving family environment with my adopted family and for many years, never felt the need to research my biological ancestry.  Once I had children, though,  I came to the realization that this decision was no longer just about me anymore. It was important that my three boys understand their biological past on my side of the tree! I submitted my DNA to a testing company in 2018.   As expected, when I received the results, I did not recognize any of my matches, and none of my matches were  labeled as "close relatives".  I had no clue as to what to do with this information to help solve my mystery.  Discovering U changed my life.  They took my results and were able to figure out the names of my biological parents and half siblings. Although I did find out that my biological parents had passed away years back,  I also learned that I had five half-siblings on my biological mother's side and two on my biological father's side.  I made contact with many of them on the phone and through Facebook and in early March of 2020, I  flew down to Mississippi and Alabama to meet a few of them.  It was truly a wonderful experience and I am so glad that I found them!

Seventy  years ago at age thirteen, I was told that the man raising me was not my biological father.  I was promised by my mother that she would tell me who my father was when I turned 16, and she did not. Then again when I turned 21, and she refused.   In 2019, I decided to take a DNA test to see if I could finally get the answer that I so wanted to know.  The test results came back, and I had no idea how to make sense of it all.  I talked with a few relatives but they were unable to help me out.  Finally, one of the 2nd cousins on my  DNA list contacted me and was getting some outside professional help from a company called Discovering U.  She recommended sending them my test results which I gladly did because I was at a loss.  They must have worked all night because the very next day they contacted me and made me the happiest 83 year old on the planet!  They had determined who my biological father was (he had passed away in 1996),  they had created an ancestry tree showing many other relatives of mine, and  they provided me contact information for one of my new cousins.  Since then, I have learned that I have a 98 year old aunt and many cousins, nephews, and nieces!  Discovering U made this old man very happy!

My grandfather on my father's side was adopted  at birth back in the early 1900's in Missouri.  Recently, my father and his siblings were  trying to find out any information regarding my grandfather's birth parents.  Like my dad, my given last name was my grandfather's adopted name and that lead me to submitting my DNA to a testing company to see what might come out of it.  As I searched for any sign of a distant relative, I came across a  a company called Discovering U which  was helping out another person with her own ancestry. He was extremely helpful and what would have take me months to compile, he did in weeks!  He was professional, efficient, and before I knew it, he had uncovered the identities of both of my grandfather's parents , providing my family with the lost surname that they had been looking for.  The fact that Discovering U determined the identities of both parents of my adopted grandpa with little to nothing to go on was truly extraordinary. I now have a new cousin to speak with and my father has a half sister he never knew he had!

My story began simply out of curiosity!  I submitted my DNA to have a comparative list of DNA matches for close family relatives who had also submitted their DNA.  However, when I received my results back, I was quite surprised to find that there were a lot of names higher up on my match list that I did not know!  These people were mixed in between my biological sister and my maternal aunt, so I knew it was something big!  After a couple months of much prayer, thoughts and confliction, I reached out to "close family relative" on my list and waited.  From my limited understanding of the DNA numbers, I was thinking that somehow they must be my half aunt and half uncle.  After a couple of weeks, contact was finally made and the story began to unfold. Discovering U LLC stepped in, helped to navigate my "half aunt" and me to a complete understanding of our newfound family, explaining the details of our DNA matches, and even making initial contact for us.  As it turned out, I have a different biological father that what I knew mine to be and my "half aunt and uncle" turned out to be my SIBLINGS!  My siblings and I were able to meet over Thanksgiving weekend 2019 and we had a wonderful time getting to know each other.  I am grateful to Discovering U for working to demystify the DNA results and helping to make the connection to my new family.

This was the most amazing experience!  I had no idea that I would be able to track down by biological father.  I submitted my dna with Ancestry.com and Discovering U LLC took it from there.  Within 24 hours, Russ had my results.  I didn't waste days possibly months trying to connect the dots.  Very professional and I highly recommend Russ to do your work!