For Ian Thompson & List.
DNA markers and their usefulness in genealogy.
You wrote: <First, the estimated level of illegitimacy has been put as high
as 30%.
Even assuming a much lower figure, as we go back in the generations and 4
grandparents become 8 greats and 16 great-greats &c, the possibility of
illegitimacy (whether recorded as such or not) creeps in to all our
researches!>
<So you have a DNA marker of a Williams or Smith or Jones family but where
did it come from? Was it your Williams/ Smith/ Jones ancestor that you
thought or someone else completely? It could have been a brother, cousin or
uncle that you didn't expect at any point along the line.>
Happenings such as these, adoptions and name changes, etc. are termed "non
paternal events" to use the politically correct term <g>.
Dna is another tool of use to many doing genealogical research.
As a partial answer to your questions, I offer the following two actual
cases:
1. Persons in the "family" of one James Ellis questioned his claim to be a
descendant
of Cadwalder Ellis b. 1647 in Bala, Wales, who had two sons - Cadwalader
Ellis, Jr. and
Humphrey Ellis. James had a paper trail leading back to Humphrey Ellis. My
research
which is posted on Rootsweb, shows my paper trail back to Cadwalader Ellis,
Jr.
I was not acquainted with James Ellis until he decided to have a DNA Y
chromosome
(male) test done. I had already taken the same test and posted the results.
We matched
36/37. This DNA match together with the paper trail was convincing evidence
of our relationship. It also proved that there had been no "non paternal
event" in either of our lines
during some 11 generations each !
2. One Peter (not his real first name) Ellis contacted me. He had seen my
posted genealogy and knew that I had
also posted the results of my "signature" -Y Chromosome test. He questioned
is paternity
as he did not know his father and took the same DNA test. His mother had
given him the name Ellis and the lineage
which agreed with my research. When comparing our DNA "signatures", we were
not even
close. Peter was not a biological Ellis and he cheerfully accepted this fact.
For those who may be interested in additional information on this subject, I
would refer
you to the leading company in the field of genealogy-DNA testing whose
website is _www.familytreedna.com_ (
http://www.familytreedna.com) I have no
affiliation with this company which is heading-up the
National Geographic/IBM worldwide Genographic project.
Respectfully submitted,
Lloyd Ellis