I continue to be curious about DNA matches, hoping to add more names to my Ancestry.com Jerry Bannister Family Tree. Sometimes I feel like I’m prying into a stranger’s private life. Other times, I feel like I’m a private detective trying to find a connection between my life and theirs. As an adopted child, I’m hoping to find relationships that will lead to solving the mystery of my life. On far too many occasions, my work leads to a frustrating dead end or maybe even some bad news. 

I took two separate DNA tests, both on Ancestry and 23andMe that provide the foundation of my investigations. In the discovery process, I have regular communication with two cousins and a half-sister, and have identified hundreds of biological relatives. New names pop up regularly as people submit to the simple saliva test. I try to find a connection with each of these matches by giving them a distinctive mark on my tree. My hope is to find some patterns in determining their relation to either my birth father or mother. It’s led to a massive database of over 15,000 people, mostly strangers.

My most recent target is a woman named Angie Janow, identified by 23andMe as a third cousin. I was able to find her on Facebook as a Lane married to a Janow, but have yet to find her place on my tree. Obituaries gave me the names of her mother and father, along with grandparents and other close relatives. However, I’ve yet to find a connection with the Banister family, despite several hours of snooping into her life. It feels a bit creepy at times delving into the lives of these total strangers, but it might lead to another source of family information. I probably could have saved myself some time if I had just read her 23andMe profile. I don’t know how I could have missed it! It’s not common that people give this much information about themselves, most preferring to remain anonymous. Here’s what she posted:

“I was born Angie Lane. My married name is Angie Janow. My parents grew up in the same little town in KY. I have two older brothers. I have one stepson and one biological son with my husband. My father was from a family of seven children. My mother was from a family of four children. My father has traced his ancestry back for many generations, but that information is not in any web base that I am aware of at this time. I do have documentation from a paternal aunt that serves as adequate for becoming a member of the DAR.”

It looks like her primary motivation for DNA testing was establishing membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution. I do have a branch of my tree that leads to several people with the last name of Lane, but they do not connect with any of the members of her family. Her relation to me remains a mystery and one of the few matches in my 23andMe Top 20. I’m also searching for more information on other third cousins like Larry Bogue, Elsa Schneider, Kenzi B, M Graham, and Benjamin Wilson. None of them provided any profile information. I’m also looking at Brenda Smith from Indianapolis, Indiana, who was born Brenda Lee Irelan. I just found her Facebook page and will see if I can find a place for her on my tree. 

I did a Google search for Angie Lane Janow as I was writing this and came across some disturbing news on a Crosstown, Tennessee radio station website (105.7 THE HOG). This just happened in the past two months, so I’m feeling bad for someone I’ve never met, as I examine this troubling article:

“A motorcycle versus a vehicle crash yesterday in Cumberland County left two injured. The Tennessee Highway Patrol says a 2017 Kawasaki operated by Billy John Genovese and a 2014 Dodge Journey driven by 45-year-old Angie Lane Janow were both heading east on Highway 70 West. Genovese was attempting to pass Janow as she was attempting to make a left turn onto Pomona Road. The two collided resulting in the car coming to rest in the parking lot of Pomona Market and the motorcycle in the ditch. Genovese was flown by LifeForce to Erlanger Medical Center for treatment of injuries. Janow was also reported hurt in the accident.”

I’m wishing both victims of this accident a speedy recovery.