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From: Beth Long <>
Subject: Re: [DNA] How could we tell?
Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2008 02:53:29 -0700 (PDT)
In-Reply-To: <002201c8cec8$1d4b3bf0$6401a8c0@HP>
Hi Diana,
I am curious what the age range of your test subjects is.
As I mentioned in another post, I try to stick with the oldest surviving male of the line if I can. Back in those days, there was no "assisted reproductive technology" (sperm donors, etc.), and casual relationships not as common. Most of my test subjects are in their seventies or eighties (we even had two who were 90+).
Not to say there were no illegitimate births in the village (there were, at 2% to 10% of the total, depending on whether it was a high-stress time period due to war, famine, or epidemics). But these are known illegitimacies which were documented as such. So there is no misleading paper trail (just a blank in the "father" column in the birth record).
Beth
Diana Gale Matthiesen <> wrote:
Well, maybe I just have a randy family.
The 6/78 figure does not include the mistakes in genealogy uncovered with DNA.
It only includes people whose DNA does not jibe with what is otherwise a solid
paper trail, and it only includes those whose NPE has been resolved. In the
unresolved category...
This thread:
| Re: [DNA] How could we tell? by Beth Long <> |