Can this [DNA claim] be true?

Question

I am completely ignorant about the usefulness of dna in genealogy. All I do know is that it will never help me discover who my grandfather was. I was a bit surprised when I found this.

DNA evidence shows this is the child of Tracy-216, and the parent of Higgins-372.

Someone please explain.

Comments

It would be a very good technique for finding out who your grandfather was.

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You will have to judge for yourself the credibility of the statement, but here are my thoughts.

1st. Since you don't know the identity of the man, then you don't know if there are any descendants or other close relatives that may have tested. There appears to be a claim that DNA testing has been able to narrow down the identity of the man and also the identity of the person who made the statement.

2nd. 23andme was the first company to provide DNA tools useful for Genealogy.  DNA information is treated like medical information or maybe a birth certificate.  Generally speaking, you are given an opportunity to release some or most of the information DNA provides to an individual or those determined to be biologically related to you. You can make your DNA results public but the process is intentionally made more difficult.

Generally speaking, when there is a secret that involves a pregnancy, in my experience, there is almost always a reluctance to publicize to the world the details. The DNA researcher may have discovered a rape, infidelity, incest, or even some have discovered the father was a result of a sperm bank contribution.

I would just contact the Profile manager and ask for whatever details he is willing to share.  Decide for yourself if he/she has convinced you.

Answer 1

Without DNA from all three people mentioned there is no way of being absolutely certain of the statement. They are making an assumption based on researched lines and connections made to those whose DNA has been tested.

That said, I'm not sure why you believe it would be impossible to discover your grandfather through DNA but I, along with several others, recently helped a young woman find her father. She had zero info, to begin with, and she first discovered her grandparents, then found cousins, all living, and ultimately was able to determine who her father was. It does happen.

Comments

Wish that were true. My grandmother, even on her deathbed, refused to tell my mother who her father was. All she ever said was that he was a civilian and an engineer. It was such a dark secret that it seemed very disreputable. I have a man in mind, long deceased and with no living descendants. If not him then any man of the right age who passed through Lincoln and wasn't in the forces. How could my dna help with that?

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The girl I mentioned had no more than you do which was nothing. she basically knew when and where she was conceived and that her father was quite a bit older than her mother. That's it.

The DNA test led her to living people (cousins) with matching DNA and that in turn led her to her grandparents. It was then just a question of finding the male offspring of those grandparents who fit all the criteria (age, proximity, etc.) to be her father. An additional DNA test for paternity is in the works but no one is really in doubt. ;)

A DNA test could lead you to living cousins. Discovering your shared ancestor could very well lead you to your grandfather.

Best of luck!

Answer 2

It's the new GGPS = Genetic Genealogical Proof Standard.

If you've had a test, your tree is proved.

Comments

I think I'm falling in love!

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http://www.bcgcertification.org/resources/standard.html

I would like to see the 83 standard and their proof listed on the profile before I believe this information.

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The new GGPS ?

Isn't that the new Grandfather Global Positioning Satellite ? (The new app for i-phones.)

Answer 3

The person who added that statement is Sheri Sturm (Petersen-214). You could write her and ask why she believes that. But there is no way it could be correct. Elizabeth lived between 1523 and 1558. Currently only yDNA could be used to confirm a relationship that far back in time and that would only a confirm father/son relationship, not a woman's relationship to her mother and her son. Please see this previous G2G discussion about her son's biography: https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/88730/documentation-of-dna-evidence

It looks like a similar statement that had been added to that profile was removed in March. And I just removed a comparable statement on her mother's profile. The statement on this profile should also be removed.

Answer 4

I think it would help you to read some of the help text that is part of the DNA Project.  

These URLs contain a wealth of information and may help you understand how DNA can indeed tell you who your grandparent is.  

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:How_to_Get_Started_with_DNA

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:DNA_Project_Resources_Page

https://isogg.org/wiki/Understanding_genetic_ancestry_testing

Answer 5

And the correct answer is "NEVER". DNA testing alone can not prove a relationship. It can only state a percentage of the likelihood that two people are related. In the case of same parent siblings that percentage of probability can be as high as 99%. But in most cases the test results fall well short of absolute proof  DNA testing is used as secondary evidence as a small piece of a large puzzle. It can not meet the Genealogical Proof Standard by itself.