DNA testing - results

[Cyclops]

Is it me, but is it a bit weird that folk have 'carried on' and thought no-one will ever know - and now it's possible that their actions may be potentially laid bare because of DNA evidence.

We all know how criminals are being caught decades after committing crimes because of advances in DNA science, but here we are talking about the man/woman-in-the-street having the means to discover the truth about long-lost family secrets.

Don't really know why I feel uncomfortable about this. I know my paternal great grandmother was immoral before she married, when she was married and after she was married. But I know this from the available records in newspapers and birth and census records. I don't feel anything about it - I just accept it as a fact of life, I suppose. Is there really any difference between having this knowledge from these sources and getting DNA matches? Logically not. But it feels different to me somehow.

[Des Parrot]

Is it me, but is it a bit weird that folk have 'carried on' and thought no-one will ever know - and now it's possible that their actions may be potentially laid bare because of DNA evidence.

We all know how criminals are being caught decades after committing crimes because of advances in DNA science, but here we are talking about the man/woman-in-the-street having the means to discover the truth about long-lost family secrets.

Don't really know why I feel uncomfortable about this. I know my paternal great grandmother was immoral before she married, when she was married and after she was married. But I know this from the available records in newspapers and birth and census records. I don't feel anything about it - I just accept it as a fact of life, I suppose. Is there really any difference between having this knowledge from these sources and getting DNA matches? Logically not. But it feels different to me somehow.

I never knew my great grandfather as my grandfather was a bastard. No-one had any idea, as it was 120 years ago. DNA testing enabled me to find him and verify through court and newspaper reports about non payment of alimony. I have no intent of pursuing it & have a separate private tree but it’s good to find the link of something that was a mystery for over a century.

[The Lone Gunman]

I never knew my great grandfather as my grandfather was a bastard. No-one had any idea, as it was 120 years ago. DNA testing enabled me to find him and verify through court and newspaper reports about non payment of alimony. I have no intent of pursuing it & have a separate private tree but it’s good to find the link of something that was a mystery for over a century.

So what actual good has this 'knowledge' done for you or your family? Have there been any tangible benefits?

What fascinates me about all this stuff is simply that people are fascinated by it. I don't understand it at all.

[Des Parrot]

So what actual good has this 'knowledge' done for you or your family? Have there been any tangible benefits?

What fascinates me about all this stuff is simply that people are fascinated by it. I don't understand it at all.

Some people play internet games, breed spiders, spend all day on their phones, which I don’t understand. For me i like the detective work, it’s a giant puzzle and when I solve a link or find out something interesting it gives me a buzz. I’m related to Scott, my wife to Oates, now I love that type of obscure but interesting fact. Each to there own.

[The Lone Gunman]

Some people play internet games, breed spiders, spend all day on their phones, which I don’t understand. For me i like the detective work, it’s a giant puzzle and when I solve a link or find out something interesting it gives me a buzz. I’m related to Scott, my wife to Oates, now I love that type of obscure but interesting fact. Each to there own.

Fair enough. The detective work angle I get. I can also understand tracing family trees as a hobby. What I’ve never understood is the emotion some people attach to the whole thing, or the apparent desperation some seem to have to track down distant relatives.

[Taunton Blue Genie]

Fair enough. The detective work angle I get. I can also understand tracing family trees as a hobby. What I’ve never understood is the emotion some people attach to the whole thing, or the apparent desperation some seem to have to track down distant relatives.

There is obviously a huge interest in people knowing more about their origins, perceived identity and even relatives. I think it's fairly easy to understand.

[The Lone Gunman]

There is obviously a huge interest in people knowing more about their origins, perceived identity and even relatives. I think it's fairly easy to understand.

Perhaps, although it’s of no interest to me despite having a background that I’m sure would be fascinating to plenty of people. But as I said above, the things that baffle me are how emotional some seem to get over long-dead people they never knew and are barely related to, and how desperate some seem to be to link up with distant relatives. Each to their own, I suppose.

[A Quiet Monkfish]

There is obviously a huge interest in people knowing more about their origins, perceived identity and even relatives. I think it's fairly easy to understand.

I've been researching my family tree on and off for a couple of decades. It's fascinating, and whilst the people and facts you discover are often remote in terms of time and relationship, they somehow seem incredibly close and personal.
On the flip side are all those celebrities who go goey eyed when they learn something about their great, great, great great grandmother. A bit like Danny Dyer discovering he's descended from royalty - 85% of us are directly descended from King Edward 1st !

[lardy]

Some people play internet games, breed spiders, spend all day on their phones, which I don’t understand. For me i like the detective work, it’s a giant puzzle and when I solve a link or find out something interesting it gives me a buzz. I’m related to Scott, my wife to Oates, now I love that type of obscure but interesting fact. Each to there own.

That's awesome. I loved Neighbours.

[The Lone Gunman]

Is it me, but is it a bit weird that folk have 'carried on' and thought no-one will ever know - and now it's possible that their actions may be potentially laid bare because of DNA evidence.

You mean to say that human beings **** around? They don't stay faithful to one partner throughout the entirety of their adult lives? People have lovers, affairs, stuff like that?

Wow! Thank God for Ancestry and DNA 'evidence'. We'd never have known otherwise....