Genealogy Chat

I have been in discussion with Alan who believes that his father may be an illegitimate child of someone in my tree. I have a Hilda who was born in Forest Hill and who then lived in Paddington. She 'disappeared' to Devon to give birth to a son (same London address for mother on the birth certificate) and then married in Paddington, had children in Willesden, lived in Forest Hill and retired to Worthing in Sussex. We know that the father of Alan was sent to an unregulated home and lived there until the funds ran out when he was 12. He was then sent around various church homes until he was old enough to join the Army. He had been given a new surname for his life, and it was only as he was going to war that he was told his 'real' surname. So, he has a certificate that proves a child was born to someone with his 'real' name on the day that he has been told is his birthday. In my tree, I can add the birth to Hilda quite safely as this is a fact, BUT is it Alan's father? Any ideas on how to move forward would be appreciated. George

If you're prepared to shell out £130.00 you could have a DNA test.

Paul's suggestion is a good one - the only one, really, that will tell you yes or no. Many High St Chemists offer DNA testing for less than £130, although inyour particular case it will not be one of the simpler tests as you do not share a male relative. But, if this were me, I'd HAVE to go for it! £65 each - less than 10 certs and a cast iron result at the end of it. Good luck - please let the nosey parkers like me know what the outcome is! OC

Does anyone know how close a relative is required to establish an irrefutable DNA 'match'. Hilda is deceased now, however two of her grandchildren are known to be alive (1 male & 1 female) and maybe one of her sons.

George The relationship can be VERY distant, it just makes the test more complicated - they have to use more 'markers'. In your case, your mutual relative would presumably be Hilda. A DNA comparison can be done between you and Alan, searching for common female dna. If one of Hilda's female children is still alive, and agrees to be tested, that makes it easier, because they then know what Hilda's female DNA looks like. Why dont you phone a couple of DNA clinics, to find out cost, and what they can tell you - I think you will find that they can do just about anything! OC

George Afterthoughts! You will never get a 100% result from a DNA test. You may get a 100% NO - there is absolutely no DNA in common between these two people. In that case, Alan has to start looking elsewhere. But you will never get a 100% YES from a DNA test. This is because Scientists are cautious people and there are various unknown factors. For instance - Hilda's first child may have been fathered by a close male relative of her husband. It is impossible to know whether this happened, so Scientists allow for weird possibilities and you will get a percentage likelihood result. The lower the percentage likelihood, the more room there is for doubt. BUT - you have already several things going for you - a date of birth, a name etc and it would be the most bizarre coincidence if Alan was related to Hilda by sheer chance, in any other way than being her grandson. I suspect that the results of a test would come back either 100% NO, or 93.4567% probability - which would be more than good enough for me, considering the evidence you already have. OC