“I still can’t talk about it without getting emotional. There was an immediate connection there that I don’t think I’ve ever felt before.””

Dennis Armstrong

DNA testing has provided people a way to find out more about their ancestors, and for 76-year-old Ellsworth native Dennis Armstrong, the discovery of two half-siblings was life changing and unexpected.

Like many others, Armstrong used genealogy to gain a better understanding of family members. Where Armstrong’s story differs is the adventure that led him to finding more family.

It all began when Armstrong’s son Sean received a 23andMe DNA testing kit as a Christmas gift in 2017. Over the next year, many family members, including Dennis, decided to join the program as well.

Sean’s results led to a connection with someone listed as a close relative named Judy McNall. The family thought at first this must be a mistake, but when Armstrong’s daughter Lia received results with the same match, Dennis Armstrong decided to look into it.

The DNA tests showed that McNall was Dennis Armstrong’s half-sister on his father’s side, but he was still skeptical.

McNall grew up in Omaha, Neb., during the same period that Armstrong’s father Wayne was stationed with the U.S. Army in Newfoundland, which is now a part of Canada, during World War II, so he had some doubts about the connection to McNall.

Another hurdle in the confirmation process was that the description of McNall’s father from her biological mother did not fit the description of Wayne Armstrong.

“The story my birth mom told adoption people in Omaha is that she got together with this guy at work,” McNall said. “Which was apparently a convenient, believable story, but not true.”

After doing some research, Dennis found through military archives that his father Wayne left Newfoundland for a short period. Dennis believes Wayne returned to Minneapolis to visit Wayne’s mother, who was sick in 1944, where he also met McNall’s biological mother, who lived in Minneapolis before she gave up McNall for adoption in Omaha in 1945.

The reason McNall had taken a DNA test in the first place was to find out about her birth mother.

This confirmation was what Armstrong needed to fully believe the story; he and McNall believe the description of the father that came from McNall’s birth mother was false.

Armstrong met McNall in December 2018. He was nervous but immediately felt a close connection.

“I still can’t talk about it without getting emotional,” Armstrong said. “There was an immediate connection there that I don’t think I’ve ever felt before.”

Another sibling

The story took another odd turn this past March, when Armstrong received an email from a man named John Connors, asking if he knew anyone who had connections to Newfoundland. Armstrong thought of his father instantly.

“In Newfoundland at that time you had 10,000 American servicemen, and probably seven times that many marriage-age young women with no men except for the Americans,” Armstrong said.

Connors’ wife, Cherry Dalley, gave Connors an ancestry kit as a Christmas gift.

Connors was writing about growing up in a small fishing village and figured 23andMe testing could help him get more information for the story. Connors grew up in Newfoundland as the fourth oldest out of six children in his family.

Like Armstrong, Connors was skeptical about the discovery of siblings. He believed his father to be his mother’s first husband. Connors was aware his mother had had a relationship with an American serviceman, but had no idea he was conceived from the relationship.

“When I got the results at first, I questioned the validity of the DNA testing,” Connors said. “I said to my wife Cherry, ‘This must be just a scam, a money-making scheme. I don’t recognize any of these people.”

After studying how the results lined up on his mother’s side, but not his father’s side, Connors realized his father may have in fact been the serviceman he knew about. Connors quickly reached out to the other two siblings and has since met with them over video calls multiple times.

Armstrong grew up in Ellsworth, primarily raised by grandparents Benjamin and Amelia Anderson and mother Arlin Anderson, who divorced Wayne Armstrong early in Dennis’ life. Having a different last name than the rest of the family left Armstrong feeling a void.  

“I always felt different somehow,” Armstrong said. “I had a family, my own family, but it just seemed like there was just that one big chunk there that just was empty.”

Armstrong said meeting his two siblings has brought fulfillment in a way he didn’t even know was missing. With an absence of siblings growing up, Armstrong said having kids is the closest to a sibling bond he had until now.

Connors said he grew up much differently than Armstrong and McNall in terms of family structure. He didn’t have as many questions about his family due to the number of family he had. Through these different circumstances, the three have grown closer.

“Judy’s and Dennis’ circumstances were much different than mine,” Connors said. “Both of them must’ve grown up with a significant sense of loss that I had never experienced, and with lots of questions that I never would’ve had to encounter.”

While getting to know his siblings has helped Armstrong fill the gap, he knows who he is as a person and his accomplishments throughout his life. Armstrong worked for NASA and was a part of the Department of Defense, while 78-year-olds McNall and Connors spent their careers as educators.

“It’s not like we don’t know who we are, we do,” Armstrong said. “I’ve done a lot of things.”

Armstrong said rather than finding who they are through this process, they found a missing piece of their hearts.

The three have found similarities in behavior from how they talk to the way they walk. McNall said the three are all highly educated, articulate speakers and enjoy writing. Growing up in three different areas, the three are now interested in nature versus nurture debates.

Dennis’ wife Pina was one of the first to notice the similarities they all have, including the way they sit, talk and carry themselves.

Not knowing of each other’s existence for over 70 years has taught the trio to cherish the moments they have, both with each other and the rest of their families.

“It’s sad to have lost all the time and experiences we could have shared,” Connors said. “On the other hand, we’re so fortunate to have found each other. It could easily have happened that one or more of us could have gone to our graves without knowing.”

Finding two siblings has been an experience to remember for each of them. They are not sure if they are the only three half siblings in the family; however, they are just happy to have each other.

“We’re probably convinced we will have other relatives in Newfoundland before this story is over,” McNall said. “My son gets a little worried every time I make the statement ‘can’t have too much family.’”

Armstrong and McNall are traveling to Newfoundland in August to meet Connors and learn more about where their father was stationed nearly 80 years ago.