The 800 Pound Gorilla In The Room - Serious Threat To Our Genealogy

The 800 Pound Gorilla In The Room - Serious Threat To Our Genealogy

With the proliferation of DNA research being used in genealogy, this particular "gorilla" (what everyone knows is there but ignores) is the confirmation (not just speculation) that many of our male ancestors are not our biological ancestors. Estimates of the numbers vary, but the best research puts that at about 5% in modern Western societies. One person in 20.

Do the math. We have 1 father, 2 grandfathers, 4 great grandfathers, 8 great great grandfathers, and 16 great great great grandfathers. That adds up to 31 male ancestors in just five generations. Chances are excellent that one or more of those men are biologically unrelated to us. Just that many generations take me back to only the year 1800. My family file, with excellent sources, goes back to the year 400 CE. That is with the best of the best in the way of sources - excellent, careful, reputable professional genealogists.

But the best of the best can tell us only who the fathers of record were, not who the biological fathers might have been. They are lost to history for all time.

Implication? I see that as implying our family history, for the most part, is bogus. And we'll never know where it goes wrong, how often, or how to "fix" it.

References upon request.