Questions of Paternity in 1800's
Waiting for Court Date Did you know there were paternity suits in Early America 1800's? This is one more reason why your y-DNA tests does not match the expected surname. I know we always want to hide the ugly truth, but paternity questions have always been a monkey wrench in an otherwise perfect family tree. The DNA is off, the surname of your matched y-DNA cousins is a surprise, you aren't a Campbell after all! It doesn't help that as you are researching through legal records the courts, in its direct speech, just calls your ancestor a "bastard child." But, the good news is records are everywhere . The trick is to be sure to follow the proposed mother on both the papertrail and via autosomal DNA tests, not the biological father. So yes, more work, but you will be uncovering your full family story. In some cases, we see where the father is identified in court records. This is especially true f the mother was taken advantage of, sexually assaulted, or forced w...