Magdalen Islander Joy Davies has found a half aunt living in the United States thanks to online Ancestry and My Heritage resources. The branches on the Davies family tree are growing but Joy is still looking to connect further.

On April 2, 1922, William Gordon Davies was born in Lumberton, BC to Martha Hermensen and Thomas Ingram Davies. He was their second son. William enlisted in the Royal Canadian Naval Reserves during WWII. He was stationed in Halifax, NS. It was in Halifax, at the Green Lantern, where he met Rhoda Clark. They were married on Jan. 25, 1943 and they had three children. William left the Islands in 1950 to work at the shipyards in Halifax.

Skip forward to 2019, Joy’s son Cole decides to take the Ancestry DNA test. After the results came in, a Kim (Price) Hanson appears as a close relative which encourages Joy to send her a message. Time passed and there was no reply. In 2020, Joy decided to take a DNA test from My Heritage. To her surprise, Kim appeared there, this time, as a possible half aunt. Thankfully, Kim was active on this website and they were able to connect with each other.

With some help reading DNA (and having Joy’s father take the test), it was confirmed that Kim is a half sister to Joy's father. But Kim was told that her father's name was Paul Ingram Hanson (or Hansen).

Joy then spent countless hours researching her family tree in hopes to find answers about her grandfather before something happens to his children, as she has already lost an aunt.

The search continues as a new family member's DNA has been uploaded on Ancestry and they work hard to build the tree.

If you are a Davies, or happen to be listening and have heard any of the names listed above, please reach out to her at joydavies1111@gmail.com or on Facebook

Listen to the full interview below: