For years, journalist Jake Hackney believed his family history was firmly rooted in the north of England and Scotland. However, a simple home DNA test has dramatically rewritten his personal story, connecting him with a long-lost cousin and revealing a surprising genetic heritage spanning continents.
Uncovering Hidden Branches of the Family Tree
Intrigued by gaps in his knowledge, Hackney ordered a MyHeritage DNA kit to investigate his lineage. One branch of his family had lived in a Cheshire town for around 200 years, while another originated from a small village on Scotland's Isle of Lewis. There was even a family rumour of a distant connection to a former US President. To explore these threads, he sent off his cheek swab sample and waited for the results.
After a three to four-week processing period, the findings were astonishing. The service matched him with more than 19,000 individuals worldwide, from the UK and Australia to Canada and Denmark. The platform ranks these matches by the probability of relationship and the quality of shared DNA, indicating how closely related two people are.
A Message from a Distant Cousin
Among the thousands of connections, one stood out. A man named Dave reached out via the site's messaging system, asking if Hackney had links to specific English cities. The information was initially puzzling, but after consulting his grandmother—an avid family historian—the link became clear.
Dave and Hackney are distant cousins, sharing a great, great, great, great-grandfather who lived on the Isle of Lewis in the 1800s. This discovery, made possible by the DNA match, has opened a new chapter of collaborative research to fill in the historical gaps.
Ethnicity Estimates and Building a Family Tree
Beyond relative matching, the test provided a detailed ethnicity estimate. While Hackney's results showed expected large portions of Scottish and English ancestry, they also revealed significant Scandinavian roots: he is part Danish, Dutch, and Norwegian, with even a 1% trace of French ancestry.
By combining basic information about his parents and grandparents with his grandmother's records, Hackney used the MyHeritage platform to construct a family tree stretching back to the 1700s. The process, he notes, can quickly become an addictive journey into the past.
Considerations and a Current Deal
Hackney did note that some advanced features, such as in-depth historical records, health reports, and automatic 'smart matches' with other trees, are locked behind premium subscription paywalls. These tiers start from £4.92 per month.
However, a promotional offer makes initial exploration very accessible. Until 11.59pm on December 21, using the discount code MyDNA reduces the cost of a DNA kit and a 30-day free trial of the full platform to just £25, down from the usual £79, with free delivery included.
Despite not confirming the speculated presidential link, Hackney's experience underscores the powerful draw of ancestry discovery. His story demonstrates how a simple test can challenge long-held assumptions about family origins and connect individuals across generations and geographies, revealing that we have often only scratched the surface of our own history.
