7 Amazing Things You Might Find in Your Family Tree

An AncestryDNA test, which reveals your ethnic mix, is just the beginning.

Get ready to uncover some surprises. Here are 7 amazing things you might find in your family tree.

1. You Could Find Out You’re Royal

You don’t have to have a royal last name like Windsor to have royal blood.

The surname Fitzroy, which means “son of the king,” was used by offspring of English royals born out of wedlock.

So if you descend from a Fitzroy — or one of the many surnames that did marry into royal lines over the centuries — you could come from nobility.

[Quick hint: You can start by learning the origins of your last name]

2. You Could Find Out Why Your German Roots Are Actually Italian

Julie was German-American but her last name, Martini, was Italian. Her DNA test showed she was mostly German — but she also had a bit of Italian DNA.

Family history research solved the mystery. Her great-grandfather had been born in Wintrich, Germany. BUT her family was originally from Italy, arriving in Wintrich in the 1600s.

3. You Could Find Out What Grandpa’s Dad Looked Like

Several months after getting her AncestryDNA test results, Anna received a “DNA shared ancestor” hint connecting her to a distant cousin.

Anna took a peek at her cousin’s public family tree and discovered a treasure for her father: A photo of his grandfather, who had died when her dad was 11.

There was also a scanned newspaper article about him from 1916, one of millions of photos and scanned images findable on Ancestry.

4. You Could Find Ties to Unexpected Ancestors

President Obama has well-documented Irish roots on his mother’s side. Her ancestor sailed to New York from Ireland in 1850. And we know his father was from Kenya.

What’s surprising is that through his mother, our 44th president Barrack Obama is also descended from America’s first slave.

John Punch, the first documented African enslaved for life in American history, was Obama’s 11th great-grandfather.

5. You Could Discover a War Hero

Donald Stratton was on board the USS Arizona when it was bombed during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was awarded five medals, including a Purple Heart.

Family history research uncovered a great-grandfather who served in the Civil War: Daniel Griffin Grice, who served in the Illinois Volunteer Infantry.

Not only did he volunteer, but even after he lost a thumb, he reenlisted and continued to fight. Bravery, it seems, runs in the family.

6. You Could Find a Tuskegee Airman or Famous Jazz Singer in Your Tree

Sandie always considered herself Latina, since both of her parents were born in Colombia.

She’d also heard of a Jamaican grandfather whose parents were British and Irish, but an AncestryDNA test showed an Irish ethnicity estimate of just 1 percent.

She reached out to relatives, did research on Ancestry, and discovered some amazing connections to relatives in the U.S.

Her second cousin flew with the famed Tuskegee Airmen, the first military unit to train African Americans as fighter and bomber pilots.

And her mother’s first cousin was famous jazz singer Carmen Mercedes McRae, who recorded 60 albums and performed around the world.

7. You Could Find Out You’re Related to Abe Lincoln

Ancestry researchers revealed that actor George Clooney is related to Abraham Lincoln, through his maternal grandmother, Lucy Hanks.

Clooney is Lincoln’s half-first cousin five times removed.

Might you also have family ties to Lincoln (or to Mr. Clooney)?

With billions of records easily searchable and a 14-day free trial, you can start finding your family’s ties to history today.

Are you ready to bring your family stories to life?