Biography

Shannon (Heath) Jeropke has Irish ancestors.

Shannon (Heath) Jeropke has English ancestors.

Descendant of PGM migrant Bartholomew Heath.

Shannon (Heath) Jeropke is an Illinoisan.

I was born Shannon Margaret Heath in the suburbs of Chicago, IL in 1988. At the time my parents were living in Countryside, IL but we soon moved to Westchester, IL where I lived till I was 5. I attended school at Divine Providence. After that, we moved to Naperville, IL where I lived until I went to college. I graduated from Naperville Central High School in 2006. After graduation, I moved to Chicago, IL, and attended the University of Illinois at Chicago for 4.5 years. In 2011 I got my first job and moved back to Naperville with my parents. In 2013 I met my future husband and then later on in the year I got a new job and I moved back to Chicago for a year. In 2014 my future husband and I got our first apartment together in Lisle, IL. We lived there for 2 years and while we lived there we adopted our 2 cats Simba and Lipton. In 2017 we moved to Chicago where we currently reside. We got engaged on Feb 14, 2018, and we married on January 5, 2019. In July of 2020 we adopted a dog named Halas.

I started becoming interested in genealogy back in the early 2000s but my interest waned due to the large costs. In 2018 I was gifted a DNA test kit from my mother-in-law and after getting my DNA tested became interested in genealogy again. At that point, I got an ancestry subscription and started building out my tree. I've been able to flesh out my father's side fairly easily, but I know very little about my mother's side because she was adopted. I'm currently trying to learn more about her birth parents. We know that her birth mother was named Mary Lou Piper and that my mom was born in Chicago in 1961. We know that prior to having my mother my grandmother was living in an unwed mother's home on the west side of Chicago and she had two previously deceased children prior to my mother. We know nothing about my biological grandfather. Because I know so little about my mother's biological family a lot of my genealogy work is more about confirming DNA relationships to try and use triangulation to find one of my mother's ancestors.

DNA

• Maternal relationships are confirmed by a GEDmatch test match between Shannon (Heath) Jeropke GEDmatch GH4374559 and her mother Sharon (Gaull) Heath GEDmatch QB3489172. Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 1.0, based on sharing 3533.8 cM across 98.5 half-match segments.

• Paternal relationship is confirmed by a 23andMe test match between Shannon Jeropke and LJ, 2nd Cousins. Their most-recent common ancestors are Earnest Heath Jr and Dorthea (Williams) Heath, the great grandparents of Shannon Jeropke and great grandparents of LJ. Predicted relationship from 23andMe: Second Cousin, based on sharing 1.3% DNA.

• Paternal relationship is confirmed by a 23andMe test match between Shannon Jeropke and VJ, 2nd Cousins once removed. Their most-recent common ancestors are Earnest Heath Jr and Dorthea (Williams) Heath, the great grandparents of Shannon Jeropke and 2nd great grandparents of VJ. Predicted relationship from 23andMe: Second Cousin, based on sharing 140cM across 22 segments.

• Paternal relationship is confirmed by a 23andMe test match between Shannon Jeropke and MH, 2nd Cousins. Their most-recent common ancestors are Hanora Moira (Thompson) Walsh and Walter Aloysius Walsh, the great grandparents of Shannon Jeropke and great grandparents of [MH]]. Predicted relationship from 23andMe: Second Cousin, based on sharing 137cM across 22 segments.

• Paternal relationship is confirmed by a MyHeritageDNA test match between Shannon Jeropke and EM, 2nd Cousins 1x removed. Their most-recent common ancestors are Johanna (Reddy) Thompson and Thomas Thompson, the 2x great grandparents of Shannon Jeropke and great grandparents of [EM]]. Predicted relationship from MyHeritage: Second Cousin to Second Cousin 1x removed, based on sharing 148.6cM across 9 segments.

• Paternal relationship is confirmed by a MyHeritageDNA test match between Shannon Jeropke and [[TLN], 3rd Cousins 1x removed. Their most-recent common ancestors are Aaron Heath and Mary Hyde (Fisher) Heath, the 3x great grandparents of Shannon Jeropke and 2x great grandparents of [TLN]]. Predicted relationship from MyHeritage: 3rd to 4th Cousin, based on sharing 148.6cM across 9 segments.

• Paternal relationship is confirmed by a triangulated group on GEDmatch consisting of Shannon Jeropke, Vicki Cantrell, and Ray Hawkins, who share a 9.7 cM segment on chromosome 10. The most-recent common ancestors shared by all three are Heath-34.

• Paternal relationship is confirmed by a MyHeritageDNA test match between Shannon Jeropke and AT, 2nd Cousins Once Removed. Their most-recent common ancestors are Earnest Heath Jr and Dorthea (Williams) Heath, the great grandparents of Shannon Jeropke and 2nd great grandparents of AT. Predicted relationship from MyHeritage: 3rd-4th Cousin, based on sharing 4 segments.

• Paternal relationship is confirmed by a 23andMe test match between Shannon Jeropke and Dave Homer, 2nd Cousins Once Removed. Their most-recent common ancestors are Hilton Alvinas Williams and Belle Gray, the great great grandparents of Shannon Jeropke and great grandparents of Dave Homer. Predicted relationship from 23andMe: Second Cousin Once Removed, based on sharing 1.66% DNA.

Sources

• First-hand information. Entered by Shannon Heath at registration.