Hi friends, my name is Britnie, and I am fundraising for Henry Wesley, and his beloved wife, Jean.

Henry Wesley has experienced a lifetime of tragedy, and triumph. And now, after decades of possessing only the barest of information about his mother, and the rest of his family, he recently got to meet new-found relatives for the first time.

Henry was born in South Carolina in 1945. His parents split up while he was an infant, and he and his mother moved to New York State. Noticing that Henry didn’t seem to be developing at the appropriate pace for a 2-year-old, his mother took him to see a doctor. The physician diagnosed Henry as having cerebral palsy, developmental disabilities and physical impairments. His mother realized she couldn’t afford to provide Henry the care he would need, so she surrendered custody, and he was sent to live in several state schools, and developmental centers.

Henry would spend more than 25 years in institutions before coming to Chautauqua County to live in a new community residence operated by The Resource Center.

His greatest personal achievement occurred November 5, 1994, when he married the love of his life, Jean.

Henry had been ambivalent about pursuing his family history. Having been abandoned by his mother, he had little interest in learning anything about his family.

It was Jean’s own ancestry search that inspired Henry to hunt for his long-lost family.

Jean’s success in finding out about her family history led Henry to embark on a similar search. With my support Henry submitted a DNA sample, and waited to see what he would learn.

The results have been more extensive than Henry could have imagined. DNA matches came pouring in. At first, Henry wasn’t ready to act on the information he received. But over the course of two months he warmed to the idea, and asked me to assist him.

We were able to contact some DNA matches, and started putting pieces together.

In early spring four members of Henry’s family traveled to Jamestown to meet him.

Reflecting on his family visit, Henry was still basking in the glow of the reunion, and the positive results that came from his DNA test.

And there still are more family connections to be made. Henry, and Jean have been invited to attend a family reunion in Florida in December, where they’ll have the opportunity to meet relatives on his father’s side – relatives who, until a few months ago, were unknown to Henry.

Henry went decades without knowing much about his personal history, and his roots. But now is making up for lost time.

Please consider donating to Henry, and his wife so they are able travel to Florida to Henry’s first ever family reunion. Both Henry, and Jean are exhilarated to enter this new chapter of their journey, and cannot wait to learn what it means to have family.

Thank you!