Who Are These People Matching My DNA Test?
You can’t have genealogy without sex, so let’s talk about sex.
Today we are not talking about sex within documented marriages. Not much genealogical mystery there. No, today we are going to talk about sex outside of marriage.
Have you done a genealogy DNA test yet? Then you might know what I’m talking about. Who ARE these people in the “DNA Matches” section of the report? Sure. You know some of them. But, really, who are the rest of those people?
For most of your unknown DNA matches it will be straightforward sleuthing to trace them back to a common ancestor. They are (so-called) legitimate cousins of yours. You just don’t know them yet. Who were their parents and grandparents and how do they fit into the tree? They are in censuses and marriage records and on birth certificates.
Easy peasy.
But not every time.
It is time to look at infidelity and out-of-wedlock births.
This is a group that resists standard genealogical research. Whenever there is a child born outside of marriage, they don’t necessarily fit into the typical version of a family tree. They might end up adopted or live with grandparents or maybe there is a mother’s name but no father’s name on the birth certificate. Lots of mysteries for a genealogist.
