This is an example of the kind of small mysteries that continually arise as a result of DNA testing.

I’ve done DNA tests with several companies. My sister first pushed me to take a test with Family Tree DNA, which was for Y-DNA, that is passed down father to son, generation after generation. She was interested in the history of the Lind side of the family, which explained her interest in Y-DNA.

Later, again with her encouragement, I did additional testing of so-called “autosomal” DNA, which is inherited from both parents.

This question comes out of the DNA testing by Ancestry.com, considered the largest company doing consumer DNA tests.

Ancestry produces a list of people who match your DNA, with the amount and nature of the overlap, and the total amount of shared DNA.

Ancestry divides matches into several categories. The first is “Close Family.” There my list includes known relatives, a half-brother and half-sister; a couple of grand nieces; several children of my cousins; and one of my Lind grandmother’s relatives in Scotland. None of these were surprises or mysteries, and all reportedly share at least 5% of my DNA.

The next category is “Extended Family.” Most of those in this category share between 1% and 4% of DNA with me. The top match in this “extended family” category is a woman using the name “Mapala123.” Ancestry reports we are related on my maternal line.

She is followed by a known relative, a daughter of one of my paternal cousins in Long Beach, California, making her a 1st cousin 1x removed.

I share almost the same amount of DNA with each of these top extended family matches.

My relation to my cousin’s daughter is clear. My relation to Mapala123 is unknown, a complete mystery. Ancestry estimates we are 2nd cousins, based on the pattern of DNA overlap. That would mean that our grandparents were siblings. In my book, that’s a pretty close connection and should make it possible to identify Mapala and our family relationship.

That would be meaningful because knowing their identity could, in turn, help identify others who are a little more distant genetically. Each unknown that gets identified potentially leads to more discoveries.

But finding Mapala123 isn’t proving easy.

I’ve reached out through Ancestry’s messaging system, which enables ways to reach those who remain anonymous. No answer, which is not really surprising. Not many people check on their Ancestry messages. I know that I only very occasionally peek to see if I’ve gotten any new messages.

A search of Newspapers.com found the 1931 obituary of a Leonard Mapala published in the Honolulu Advertiser. He was born in Kaupo, Maui, in 1879. This is probably a hint, because the Hawaiian side of my mother’s family came from that area on Maui between Keanae and Kaupo. At the time of his death, he was reported to be a carpenter living in Kaimuki. A second newspaper story said Mapala had been sick and directed not to drink alcoholic beverages, but went on a binge despite the warning and died.

Another clipping shows Mapala was a 39-year old soldier who had been inducted into military service in 1918, according to a clipping in the Pacific Commercial Advertiser, and was reported as a deserter the following year.

My online search also turned up an essay by John Kelly Jr., son of the hawaii artist and a founder of the Save Our Surf organization in the 1960s which is credited with saving numerous surf breaks from destruction.

John and Kate Kelly’s son, John Kelly Jr., grew up as a Hawaiian boy, swimming, surfing, diving, fishing, and learning from the neighboring k?naka maoli, Native Hawaiians. This account was written about the man named Mapala, who, as a kupuna, mentor, and the boy’s adopted grandfather, taught John Jr., who he called Keoni, to fish and relate to the sea with respect and a deep reverence.

Kelly Jr. wrote about Mapala in an essay now available online, and Mapala was captured in some of the senior Kelly’s art:

Screenshot

Mapala taught me all he knew about the sea, the moi, how to spot their fins in the swirling foam waters of Lae o Kupikipikio (Point of Spouting Waters, or Black Point). He showed me how to make heavy aho (cotton) nets with the Hawaiian knot for the rough waters, and light linen nets for ‘ama ‘ama (mullet) for inshore reef waters. He knew the comings and goings of inshore fishes according to moon cycles, tides and spawning seasons. He showed me where to pick opihi and ha’uke’uke (limpets), to catch the darting ‘a’ama (black crab) for uhu (parrotfish) bait.

Black Point, where Kelly’s adventures with Mapala took place, wasn’t far from a a lot near the beach in Kahala where my mother found a cousin who had been raised by his grandfather in or around Hana. Perhaps just a coincidence, I don’t know.

In any case, I’m grasping at straws here.

Any suggestions about how to find Mapala123 would be welcomed.