Her DNA results revealed a new family member next door!

It had been 9 years since Cheryl Butler-Brayboy got an Ancestry.com DNA kit. Yet out of nowhere, a distinct voice urged her to look at the results again, which revealed a shocking connection...right across the street!

- Diane Nichols

Check the Ancestry app! Cheryl Butler-Brayboy stopped short in her tracks on her way to bed one evening when those words echoed loud and clear inside her heart. The voice was familiar. It took her a moment to place it, but she then realized it sounded exactly like that of her maternal grandmother, Willie Mae Martin Crim. Goosebumps prickled on Cheryl's arms and her heart started racing. As stunned as Cheryl was, she had the feeling that whatever was happening had to be for a very important reason.

Cheryl had a happy, fulfilling life in Charlotte, North Carolina, but now, it seemed that things were about to take an unexpected turn.

A remarkable discovery

Cheryl had originally submitted an Ancestry.com DNA kit in 2015, curious about her racial back- ground. She has a Ph.D. in English with a focus on African American Nonfiction and Cultural Studies. She knew her family tree boasted African and European ancestors, but wanted to go deeper into her family history. After swabbing her cheek and sending off the sample, the results soon came back in aston- ishing detail, telling her everything she had longed to know about the generations that lived before her.