A white Utah woman’s life changed forever after she made a remarkable discovery from submitting her DNA to learn more about her family’s history.
Deena Hill, a genealogist from Mount Pleasant, Utah submitted a DNA sample to Ancestry.com in 2016 only to find out her family’s roots cross many waters, as the results revealed she once had roots in Igbo Land, Nigeria.
She originally took the test hoping to dispel a long-running family rumor of Cherokee blood, only to discover she had several African-American cousins, one being Desi Campbell of North Carolina.
Seeking more information on her familial history Hill contacted Campbell further unraveling the mystery of how an Italian-English woman from Utah and an African-American man from North Carolina could be related.
‘I was shocked to find out that I had African-American blood, but was so excited by this new information,’ Hill told The Pilot.
Deena Hill, a genealogist from Mount Pleasant, Utah submitted a DNA sample to Ancestry.com in 2016 only to find out her family’s roots cross many waters, as the results revealed she once had roots in Igbo Land, Nigeria
She originally took the test hoping to dispel a long-running family rumor of Cherokee blood, only to discover she had several African-American cousins, one being Desi Campbell of North Carolina
Hill already knew she had family roots in the Sicily region of Italy from her father’s side and an English heritage from her mother’s side – but still sought to find her and Campbell’s common ancestor
Hill already knew she had family roots in the Sicily region of Italy from her father’s side and an English heritage from her mother’s side – but still sought to find her and Campbell’s common ancestor.
After many phone calls and deep-dives into documents – wills, deeds and census data – the picture became clear for the newly discovered cousins.
Hill is the third great granddaughter of a man named Nelson Holder Ritchie whose mother was a slave who would eventually become pregnant by a nephew of the Holder family.
A neighbor then bought Jane and moved her to Missouri where she birthed Hill’s great-great-great grandfather, Holder Ritchie, who would eventually settle in Utah later in his life.
Jane’s parents are Sarah and Sherod McNeill, who had 13 children – one of them being daughter Jane and another a son by the name of Gabriel McNeill – who is the third great-grandfather of Desi Campbell.
This is where Campbell and Hill’s life intersect: They are first cousins five times removed.
Since their life-altering discovery Hill and Campbell have started contacting dozens of their Nigerian relatives. Some of the relatives contacted were Uzoma Kalu (left), from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Oliver Udemba (right) from Raleigh, North Carolina
‘We started contacting them and finding out our heritage, and we could actually narrow it down to a town – it’s in Igbo Land. Igbo Land is just a little section of Nigeria,’ Hill told KUTV
Since their life-altering discovery Hill and Campbell have started contacting dozens of their Nigerian relatives.
‘We started contacting them and finding out our heritage, and we could actually narrow it down to a town – it’s in Igbo Land. Igbo Land is just a little section of Nigeria,’ Hill told KUTV.
The research duo found that Igbo land consists of five states, Anambra, Abia, Imo, Ebonyi and Enugu.
One of the relatives Hill contacted was Uzoma Kalu, who lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
‘Since that time, Deena has been in contact with me for information and also Mr. Campbell from North Carolina. I have relayed the information to my family in Nigeria in Ohaifia,’ she said.
Campbell made contact with Oliver Udemba, another cousin in Raleigh, North Carolina.
‘I am 100% Igbo, so I’m as African as it gets! I’ve met a lot of groups, DNA test groups, that are connected to my family,’ said Udemba.
Hill’s now very thorough investigation has lead to her realization that many African Americans have ancestors who were forced into the U.S. as slaves thus destroying their identities.
Even with this reality, DNA technology is giving hope to families searching for answers and throwing in a few surprises.
Udemba said on a regular basis he’s getting calls from new relatives of a different ethnicity but still have DNA matches just like Hill just as eager to learn more about their Nigerian heritage.
‘So even though their color, their pigment might look different from mine, but right inside what flows through their veins, there’s a lot of Igbo there. There’s a lot of my family there,’ said Udemba.
Since Hill shared her story of researching her family’s history with KUTV, she said she’s received numerous questions from people interested in learning about their own family’s ancestry.
She mentioned seeking documents from the Freedman Bureau and other resources including DNA genealogy sites that have helped in piecing together missing parts of her ancestry.
