Why Choose DNAHelp.net?
Simply put - we deliver. Fast. Accurate. Affordable.
Don't take our word for it, read what our client's have to say!
I was so excited when my sisters and I decided to order DNA kits hoping we'd be able to find our mother's birth family. She was adopted in Chicago in 1924 and we thought DNA would tell us everything we wanted to know! But when those results came in the excitement turned into total confusion. Identifying family connections when you don't know all of the family members seemed impossible. I have had our family tree on Ancestry since 2008 and feel very comfortable with my ability to wade through the challenges of misspellings and incorrect dates inherent in traditional document searches. But trying to decipher DNA was overwhelming!
Catherine was remarkable because she not only guided me through each step she was also genuinely excited about every connection that we discovered.
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Her expertise is very apparent as you read through all of these testimonials. But just as obvious is her passion and enthusiasm for helping each person find what they are looking for.
Catherine helped us find both of our mom's birth parents in less than two days and we have already begun making connections with them. I am so grateful to her. She is a special person with a phenomenal skill.
- Peggie H.
I am adopted and always knew it. I had great parents and loving home but had a 'hole' in my heart. I wondered why I was given up for adoption and if my birth parents were still alive and if they ever looked for me.
After my mom died, my dad said I should look for my birth parents, and he bought me a DNA test for Mother's Day. My husband bought one from another company, and when the results came back, we were lost. We had no idea what we were looking at, or what we needed to do. It was confusing and disappointing after all that time waiting!
My MIL found a Yahoo site for adopted people, and someone named Catherine answered her post. After a few emails later, my MIL put me in touch with Catherine. Catherine looked at my two DNA lists, and decided to work on finding my mother first. It took a lot of work, because I wanted to be the one who 'discovered' who she was.
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Catherine helped me understand what my lists were and how to use them. She is patient, and fun to work with.
And we did find my birth mother!! I was nervous about contacting her, and it took a lot of nerve to make that first call. Catherine was very supportive and encouraging the whole time. When my birth mother has had time to adjust, I plan to look for my birth father. I will be hiring Catherine again!!
- Sheri G
I am thrilled with the work that DNAHelp has done for me! Mysteries have been solved and myths dispelled. I've been working on my family tree for over 8 years and could go no further. I had a DNA test done for myself and my brother thinking that would solve everything. When I received the results, it was a foreign language to me!
DNAHelp translated my DNA results into tangible breakthroughs on my family tree that I could never have made on my own! The techniques used by DNAHelp are straightforward, yet innovative! I highly recommend their services for fast, knowledgeable help in breaking down brick walls on your family tree!
- Diane L
Your work on my paternal grandfather’s line has been phenomenal. You stepped into the darkness and confusion of my grandfather’s life and quickly ushered him to his family’s door. After struggling with a family history that did not make sense against historical records from my granddad’s home, and then discovering that my Irish grandfather had no Irish DNA, I was struggling to make sense of who he was – who I am.
You quickly sorted DNA matches from several sites, constructed a tree and began to unravel the tangled threads of my family. Your ability to see and assess problems quickly and effectively and to explain it all to me, plus your empathy and professionalism have made working with you a pleasure.
Anyone struggling to make sense of their DNA, sort their family roots or simply gain a new confidence about their family history could not ask for a better ally than you. Thank you so much for your time, patience and hard work on my behalf.
- Catherine M.B.
In all honesty I was very overwhelmed and a bit frustrated when I received my DNA results and had no clue where to turn or what to do next. I was hoping to find some of my biological family with the DNA results but there I was...stuck.
I did not know Catherine at the time but she is now my search angel in many ways! I felt such a heavy burden lifted off my shoulders with her help. This is an emotional time for me and she was my comfort. Not only did she help me, guide me, teach me, she also found who my birth mother was and who my half sister is within a few days! We have had contact with a warm and joyful visit!!
Catherine has had so much patience and understanding while helping me with my search. It was almost as if she was looking for her own family. I could never thank Catherine enough. If anyone is in the position I was after receiving my DNA results I would recommend Catherine in a heart beat. She is so knowledgeable and truly understands the emotional side that comes with finding biological families or just searching for ancestors.
- Patty
One of the best decisions I ever made!!
Like many adoptees, I have been searching off and on for over 20 years. Now that DNA tests are so common I decided to finally search using DNA. I tested with Family Tree DNA, Ancestry and 23 & Me. While waiting for the results to come back I read everything I could get my hands on... I watched every YouTube video that could hold my attention and even some that didn't... I bought books, joined Yahoo groups, and Facebook groups! I wanted to be ready to tackle my DNA when it came in.
What all that did was confuse me and make me feel like I was a thousand percent clueless. So I signed up for a class... which confused me even more. I was beginning to think I would have to spend the next 20 years trying to learn how to decipher the DNA tests.
The groups I joined seemed to be helpful... there are sooo many really nice people out there who sincerely want to help, but most of them aren't really sure how to work with DNA either. I had numerous people tell me that my "matches" were terrible - simply because they were not siblings or parents.
Then through a miracle of sorts I came into contact with Catherine from DNAHelp.net! Within a half hour of working with her I felt confident that I would be able to work easily with DNA. Within an hour and a half, I knew for a fact that I would be able to find my birth family!!
She makes everything so easy to understand!! Catherine has an amazing way of showing you how to work with DNA and how to actually visualize what you are doing. She is super patient and she never ever makes you feel like a moron - which is exactly the way I felt!!! Her methods are super easy to catch on to and pretty soon you will be able to do it all yourself - and even more - if you are at all like me, you'll love doing it!! She is like an old friend now - I really enjoy talking with her... she is funny, compassionate and super smart and amazingly kind and helpful. I can't say enough about her.
She loves helping others and truly this is a calling for her. Her rates are soooooo reasonable. Talk with her and then work with her!!! Don't wait any longer... don't spend your time feeling so frustrated. You've been searching too long already.... contact her today and find your family!!!! She WILL help you and you won't regret hiring her!!!
- Cheryl
UPDATE: Cheryl's biological mother and father have been identified and confirmed!
My experience with DNAHelp.net was very very good!
We always knew that grandfather had a different father than his siblings. It was at a family reunion in the early 90's when a family member handed me the details they had obtained on our lineage. I was asking too many questions that they couldn't answer. Biggest and most common question was: Who was grandfather's real father? I sat on the information for several years wondering how I could do any more research. In 2009 I heard about DNA y tests that could identify your father's and potentially grandfather's surname. I took the test and had immediate matches to the surname Stewart.
A few years went by and I took a DNA test with Ancestry. There I found more Stewart name clues and census documents showing that the small town my grandfather grew up in had a large amount of Stewart men. I tried through census documents to make a connection based on close proximity, but the roads and hollows have now changed significantly so it's hard to pin point a certain area. I contacted a distant cousin living in area to help me. She tried her absolute best to assist me but we still couldn't find the answer.
As I was contemplating giving up on the whole family research and finding the identity of my great grandfather, I thought of one last thing! DNA assistance from an expert.
I google searched "DNA help" which led me to several different experts willing to assist for a fee. I scanned over the webpages and had a hard time picking one that seemed to stand out above the rest. When I stumbled over DNAHelp.net I somehow knew immediately that this was the site for me. The web page was very warm, welcoming, and no hidden costs. When I met Cate over the phone we immediately connected, she made me feel like I was indeed doing the right thing, and my money wouldn't be wasted.
My incredible story is based on a wonderful experience and a sucessful final conclusion to a long sought after family mystery! Thanks again Cate!
- Ken W
When I found Catherine I was lost. I had just received my DNA results from Ancestry and was unprepared for the complexity and time it would take to find my birth family.
Catherine walked me through the process with patience and confidence so that I could learn step-by-step each piece needed to organize my DNA matches and build a mirror tree. My results quickly went from highly-overwhelming to manageable with her help, and I felt as though I were learning a very valuable new language. I was able to work diligently with Catherine's assistance to find my paternal family in just over a month after receiving my results.
Catherine is easy to speak to, witty, and full of hope. I would recommend her expertise to anyone on the journey of finding their family and themselves.
- JV
It is with great pleasure and gratitude that I share my experience with Catherine. I started my journey with a simple DNA test in 2014. I took every test available and uploaded my test results to every available site. I received some help from an adoption search group who helped for a bit and then stopped because of family problems, never to return to my case. This left me alone with no direction which is where Catherine saw me flailing around. Enter my Angel, Savior, and now special friend, Catherine.
Catherine explained what my DNA was telling me. From Ethnicity breakdown (where I learned I am Irish) to Autosomal comparisons and even XDNA. Catherine has guided me through this process by teaching me the steps of tree building, breaking down the lingo to where I can understand how it relates to me and encouraging me to do the work so I can share the credit in every piece of new information gathered to take us to the goal.
- Melinda
UPDATE: Melinda's mother was identified and confirmed. When the time is right for Melinda, we will continue the search for her father.
UPDATE: Melinda's father has been identified and confirmed!
Over a year ago I had just discovered that the man my father called “dad”, wasn’t actually his biological father. To say this news was devastating would be an understatement. Through DNA tests of my cousins I discovered we were all half cousins through my father’s mother. They were all full cousins to one another but I was not “one of them”. It was hard to process. With this information in my possession I was determined to figure out who the man was who helped give life to my father but I had absolutely no idea of how to do this or where to begin.
I went to several Facebook groups asking questions trying to get educated on how to hunt through the thousands upon thousands of matches….how to find that proverbial needle in the haystack. After multiple posts that went absolutely nowhere and resulted in tears and comments that shouldn’t have been made, a member of one group took pity on me and asked if she could send me a private message. When I say I jumped on that offer like it was a trampoline, that wouldn’t be an exaggeration. That member was Catherine with DNAHelp and I couldn’t believe a professional was going to help me.
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We exchanged several messages about my situation then agreed on what services she could offer and what I needed to bring to the table to make my quest solvable.
Without the patient, compassionate, understanding, giving, and HONESTY of Catherine and her company DNAHelp, I can honestly say this would have NEVER happened. I will forever be indebted to Catherine and her knowledge and talents.
I highly, highly recommend her to anyone looking for lost or missing family. No matter how hard you think it is, Catherine has the skill, knowledge, tools, and patience to get the job done! Try her! You won’t be sorry. Thank you, Catherine, from the bottom of my heart.
- DG
My brother has been looking for his dad for almost 20 years.
We were referred to Catherine by a friend who had taken some lessons from her. I was reluctant to spend money on lessons when I had spent so much time already reading blogs and watching videos, but I wasn't making any progress on my own so I bought a one hour session. I was surprised at how much I learned!
She helped me understand how to group my brother's matches to find the Recent Ancestor. She showed me how to build a DNA Tree and how to organize family lines. I took a lot of notes but she should make a video on how to do this!
Thank you thank you!!
- Donna M
Anyone that is adopted and wants to research their geneology it is never as simple as we think.
I was adopted, and out of respect for my adopted parents never thought or needed to search for my biological parents. Both my adopted parents have passed, thus began the journey. Where, when and how do you begin? All these questions came to mind and after contacting numerous attorneys, PI's, adoption agencies, hospitals, I was ready to throw my hands up.
Then as I was looking one day on a FB site, I came across "my search angel". Catherine worked tirelessly for months educating and navigating me on how to research. If I had not found her I never would have discovered who my birth parents were!
Catherine is professional, thorough and extremely gifted in her work.
- Mary B
My search started in 2004 with just playing around with Ancestry and really not getting anywhere. I heard about search angels and some provided good basic help but had too many cases going to devote the time it took to figure out my family so after a few weeks they would all politely say there was nothing else they could do. I tried a couple of pay as you go people and they did not work out at all or were way too expensive ... and then I met you. I had found my birth mother thru the angels and the Oklahoma adoption registry but since I was a product of a one night stand that my mother hardly knew, I didn't have a lot to go on to find my father.
You dug in your heels and sure enough started narrowing things down and explaining the steps of the process as we went along. I liked the fact that you got me involved in the process, but there was still much that I didn't know about how the DNA thing works. Once we had narrowed it down to the right surname, you started eliminating men that couldn't be my father until we got it down to three brothers. From there you had me talk to a male cousin and I got him to do the DNA test which showed we were 1st cousins, so then all we had to do was figure out which of the two brothers was in Oklahoma at the time of my conception. Once we had that we were 99.999% sure we had found the right man. I was the only child of my father so there is no one to get a positive DNA test from but when I contacted his step children they sent me pictures and military records that really closed the loop.
All of my maternal 1/2 siblings have finally been contacted and do accept the fact we are related and even though I have only met one of them in person I have many reunions planned for later this summer!
- Jim C
I have been searching for my biological father for years now. I had the dna for 3+ years now. Thanks to DNA Help I'm closer than ever. In less than a week I now know who my Great Grandparents are! I would never been able to figure this out on my own!
- Debbi
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UPDATE: Debbi's biological father has been identified!
At age 57, I found out that the man who raised me was not my dad. My mom had passed away several years ago, and my one remaining Uncle said he had no idea who my father really was. I asked cousins; my mom's friend of over 20 years; and my older sisters if they knew. No one knew anything. A coworker told me about DNA tests and I ordered one from 23andMe. After an agonizeing wait for two months, my list of matches was disappointing. It seemed that my father was a 'recent immigrant' from Italy, and not many Italians test?
My sister saw a post on an Adoptee Help site and emailed Catherine for help. She called and talked to my sister for a long time and looked at my 23andMe matches. She said to get another DNA test, this time from Ancestry.com because they had more people who tested. She was right. When my test came back, I had many more matches and enough close ones to find my biological father.
Cathrine was great to work with. I knew nothing about my DNA, or even how to build a Tree, and she helped me every step of the way. Even though my birth father has passed, his grandson took a test and it proved he is my nephew! After I told my Uncle the name of my father, he remembered that my mom and him had worked together at the same restaurant. My nephew and his family have been very welcoming and I look forward to meeting them next year.
I recommend her to anyone who is looking for a missing parent!
- Mark T.C
When I started my search for my birth family I chose to take a DNA test first. I also chose to request my adoption file be opened. I was lost and needed help.
Kat was so welcoming and helped me go through the steps I needed to in order to find my family. Kat took the time to not just talk with me but help me understand what I was looking for and what I was looking at while searching. She was patient and supportive through every step. She took the time to teach me how to build out my family tree. Kat made me feel comfortable and she was easy to work with. She is personable and friendly.
When we finally found my family she didn't hesitate to step in and contact them for me when I asked her to. I will always think of her when I look at my birth family! She is such an amazing angel!
I would recommend anyone needing genealogy help, get in touch with her. Thank you Kat, from the bottom of my heart! You helped me find my family and for that I am forever grateful!!
- Jennifer
I have been helping my husband search for his biological parents since January of 2017. I was overwhelmed and truly ignorant of how to follow the DNA trail of his matches to discover his unknown ancestors. Catherine Jacoby has been invaluable in our search!
She patiently guided me through the process of using the DNA matches that he had on Ancestry, 23 and Me, and Family Tree DNA. She has given me both practical beginner lessons and more advanced lessons as we progressed.
Thanks to her help we were able to identify his biological mom shortly after beginning our search. We continue to search for his father, and she guides me and is available to me when I hit a “wall” with the skills that I possess. More importantly, she is genuinely interested in helping you find your family. She was as excited as we were when we identified his mother.
She is a professional, gifted and caring teacher of all things DNA. My husband and I cannot recommend her more highly.
- Angie
UPDATE: Biological father has been identified and confirmed!
Today I have a family name of both my biological mother and father, all thanks to the help from Catherine and DNAhelp.net.
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I spent over 40 years without the most simple of answers - what is my actual heritage or do I have to be concerned with my family medical history? Sure I thought “I got this, it will be simple, I’ll do a few DNA tests, and bam there will be my heritage....” I mean I love logic puzzles. Well after a few DNA test, a few months of trying to wrap my head around all the matches, all the family names and the information I thought I knew from my adoptive family, I was more discouraged, confused and lost than ever. I couldn’t make the simplest connection to actual family.
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That’s where Catherine came to my rescue. Catherine took all the random information and within 24 hours, she had narrowed down one of my sets of Grandparents name, and spent time walking me through the connections. Her way of explaining made it so easy to understand, I honestly was over run with so much emotion - right in front of me was a set my grandparents, and one of their children was my parent. Catherine was as excited as I was as she walked me up my closest DNA match to my grandparent and then down to the list of potential parent, it was amazing - here a complete stranger over 850 miles away was as invested in my search as myself! She is so caring, funny and knowledgeable about DNA and how it relates - she is simply the BEST!
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Within 48 hours my other set of Grandparents were identified, indicating one of my parents was one of their children. With guidance and assistance from Catherine, I’ve been able to reach out to my biological families and begin the process of getting the information I am seeking.
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Bottom line - DO NOT WAIT, get Catherine on your team and eliminate the frustration and confusion, and obtain the answers you’re seeking! I didn’t get just a professional assistant, I learned so much about my family, I gained a compassionate friend, someone I’d be happy to call family myself!
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- Marc
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UPDATE: Marc's biological father has been confirmed!
When I was 9 years old, I found out the man who had been raising me was not my real father. Since then, like many others in my same predicament, I had SO many questions. What did my dad look like? Does he know about me? Think about me? Would he love me? How would he react to meeting me? All of my questions went unanswered my entire life. I even posted on craigslist in 2007, when I was 17 years old looking for answers. Of course I got no response.
After exhausting every effort I could think of at the time, I decided to try an Ancestry DNA kit. I figured nothing much would come from it, but I did it anyway. My results came in October 2017, with multiple 2nd and 3rd cousin matches! I had so much to work with, but no clue where or how to begin.
That is when I found Catherine Jacoby who owns and runs DNAhelp.net. She was wonderful with helping me, and spent HOURS with me. Every hour I became closer to finding out the truth. In less than 2 days, we were able to find him!
- Melony
A friend told me about Catherine, and after just a few minutes on the phone with her, I knew I wanted her to work on my adoption search.
I am a retired school teacher on a fixed income, and I have to be cautious about finances. Her quote to me was something I could afford. She told me to contact the state where I was born to get my non I.D. When it came in, it confirmed everything that Catherine had already found for me. She was right about both of my parents, and she found them both in two days!
- AB
I never knew the hope which laid within the cardboard box of a DNA kit.
I was abandoned by my biological mother at the age of one. She was unsure of who my father was, and couldn’t even give me a name. For almost four decades, I felt empty. I wondered who I was, where I came from, and desperately longed to know the other half of me, but I honestly had no hope. How would I ever find my father when I didn’t even have a name? My lifelong dreams became a reality when I made contact with Catherine.
After I received my DNA results, I just stared at the list of my hundreds of cousins and wondered what in the world I would do with all this information? Somewhat overwhelmed, somewhat discouraged, and somewhat hopeful, I connected with Catherine. Little did I know, within an hour of speaking with Catherine on the telephone, I would be staring at the names of my Great-Grandparents! What an unbelievable and surreal moment for me.
Catherine taught me so much. She was patient, empathetic, warm, and kind, and the best coach and teacher I’ve ever had the privilege to know. She taught me what to do with all the information in front of me. With her encouragement, never once did I feel like giving up! When I was confused, she explained things to me in a way I could understand. She gave me hope, and constantly reminded me that “we were so close.” We shared plenty of laughs and quite a few tears along my journey, and in addition to offering her expertise and guidance she became my dear friend and confidant.
I’m elated to say that thanks to her expert guidance and relentless patience, I just returned from spending the weekend with my SIX half-siblings. Sadly, my father passed away four years ago, and never knew of my existence, but with Catherine’s help, I now know the other half of me. My family has welcomed me with open arms, and they’re they most loving, accepting, and kind people I’ve ever known. I finally belong somewhere. Not only did she help locate my father, most importantly, she helped me find ME.
If you’re hesitant, don’t be! If you’re confused, you don’t have to be. Catherine will make the seemingly impossible, possible. My only regret is not reaching out to Catherine 5 years ago. This has been an unbelievable journey, and I will forever be grateful to her for her services. I know that you will be too!
- CTL
The BEST help I have EVER received in my attempts to decipher my families tangled branches!
Sometimes I felt like my "family tree" was the "family poison ivy vine". Everywhere I turned I was finding more and more "poison" for my brain to understand but Catherine was just the right calming lotion needed. She helped get me back on track with removing the poison ivy and revealing the branches instead.
I will be forever grateful for her assistance and anyone else who seeks her assistance will too. Thanks Catherine!
- Diane
I worked through my DNA matches for over a year, without being able to determine who my biological father was. Catherine was able to connect the dots and give me a name after only a couple of hours. She was able to answer a life long question for me and I have been in contact with my half siblings. Very pleased with her work!
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-Daren H
I began searching for my birth father almost 25 years ago, after discovering that the man who raised me was not, in fact, my genetic father. My parents (now deceased) for reasons known only to them, each gave me a different name of who he was thought to be. To make a long story short, neither man turned out to be the dad I sought.
Recently, with DNA testing now easily available, I thought surely I could find him. I could not have been more wrong!
I had uploaded my Ancestry results to every site I could find that would freely accept them. A half-sister (same mother, different fathers) graciously tested so that I could, to some degree, sort my maternal matches from my paternal matches. I thought that would help, and it did, for the most part. But I quickly became discouraged as I stared at names and faces of matches with people that I did not know and had never heard of. They were all strangers to me. I was overwhelmed as I tried to connect the dots between centimorgans & segments, family trees, and shared match lists.
The frustration was real, as I felt that I was now SO close, but I was running out of time (I'm in my mid-60's) to find him alive. Every Father's Day that passed just increased my sense of urgency, and discouragement.
It was at that point I connected with Catherine, and WOW! From the first several minutes of our phone conversation, I realized that was I talking to a very knowledgeable, intelligent, and intuitive person. She completely understood not only my frustrations, but she had the confidence I lacked in the fact that we WERE going to figure out how the DNA path could lead me to my father. She knows her way around a family tree, I'll tell you!
She began to help me make sense of all the "cousinships" that were going to be the clues we needed to stitch together to make sense of where MY limb was on the tree. It was also clear that this isn't just a "job" to her, but that she truly ENJOYS solving mysteries, and putting information together so that it leads exactly where you want it to go, which is to the family you seek.
Catherine's ability to understand and put into context DNA relationships with family trees was just the help I needed, and gave me renewed hope.
I am still in awe of how she was able to connect the dots in less than two days (!) and give me the joy and gift of knowing my birth father's name!
I will always be grateful for Catherine and her wonderful ability to make sense of my DNA results, and help lead me on a path of closure in this area of my life!
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- Nancy
After 19 years it was revealed to me that my family was not quite whom I thought they were biologically. For the next half of my life I sought the man said to be my father; he was not.
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Feeling hopeless and at a dead end, I contacted Catherine Jacoby at dnahelp.net. Within hours she found several pieces of my puzzled life I thought to be lost forever. After further testing in the following weeks, I finally got the answers I was looking for.
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Catherine's uncanny "detective" skills can only be surpassed by the size of her heart and professionalism. Although her service is to seek answers, she remained a neutral and highly respectful party considerate of everyone involved.
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I will soon meet my "new" half-sisters! And now knowing who my father was, I can finally close this chapter of my life and begin a new one. I am forever grateful for Ms Jacoby, I could not have done it without her. I only wish I had done it sooner.
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-Roman F
I took a DNA test to find my mother's family (I never knew her) and found a 1st cousin (my mother's sisters son) and was able to find my mother's family. I found it odd that I couldn't find any of my paternal matches (I had many "unknown" matches).
After about a year of trying to match the "unknowns" to my paternal side I got a new 1st cousin match. I contacted this person to try to figure out how we were related. She asked if my mother could be related to her (I said no because this person didn't match my other confirmed 1st cousin).
Catherine helped me to discover that the man (my dad) who raised me was not my biological father. She also helped me discover who my biological father was.
She was a huge help to me and I will forever be grateful for the time she spent helping me. I would recommend her 100000000000%.
- PM