… and DNA Proved It!
DNA is without a doubt the latest BIG thing to hit genealogy. So big, that it is changing (or should I say supplementing) the way people research.
Genealogical DNA testing has been in Australia now for a couple of years, but I’m never one to be first in line for new things. In saying that I have tested with both AncestryDNA and Living DNA, and I have interesting results from both. However it’s not exactly those results that I’m writing about here.
Before continuing let me just state that I’m no expert in any form of the word on genetic genealogy. But I wouldn’t consider myself a “complete total newbie” either.
Even so I wanted to share an interesting result with you.
My family has some illegitimate births (as does every family I’m sure), but one particular family story was one that questioned the legitimacy of my great great grandfather’s last child. For privacy reasons I’ve chosen not to name names here.
The story goes that after the death of his wife, my great great grandpa married the lady who had been his housekeeper for many, many years. She was 38, he was 77. Sadly due to ill health he died just a few months after they married, and her baby boy was born six months after that.
Certainly among some people, there has been speculation as to if the baby boy really my great great grandpa’s child.
Well, as they say “DNA doesn’t lie”.
I’ve tested, and my mum has tested, and we’ve had matches with people who are connected to that particular line. So, yes we do indeed have his blood in us! And that puts paid to those rumours.
So you see, it can be useful.
Next up, I’m hoping it’ll help us find the fathers of some of our illegitimates.
2 Responses to “… and DNA Proved It!”
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How wonderful that you could prove that particularly nasty rumor wrong!
Here from Decluttering the Stuff.
Hi Melinda, thanks for stopping by. And yes, it is good to be able to definitively say that rumour is false.