DNA evidence

DNA, GPS & Proof: Tightening the Loose Screws on our Tripod
Two postings ago, we posed this thought: “Past first-degree relationships, DNA testing does not supply quick and easy answers to ‘prove’ a relationship.” Yesterday, we posed a problem ...
EE Mon, 11/12/2018 - 20:30

Applying the EAM to DNA: Part 3, Evidence

Why do we take DNA tests? Reasons vary. Many people hope it will “tell me who I am.” That’s a reasonable expectation for adoptees and others with questions about their own parents and siblings. Others swab or spit because they think it will tell them where their ancestors come from. Experienced family historians turn to DNA to help resolve questions for which paper-trail research has turned up no explicit answer.

Documentation vs. DNA: The False Argument

“When documentation doesn’t exist, DNA tells us what’s what.” Or, at least, that’s the argument a genealogist posed in another forum. Where do we begin with this? For today, I’ll ignore the last five words of the quote and address the broader concept: Documentation always exists. Always. Even when we use DNA as “proof,” we still must have documentation ...

QuickLesson 24: Evaluating DNA as Evidence

Of course, DNA is evidence. Prosecutors and defense attorneys use it daily to build cases for guilt or innocence. Forensic genealogists and police use it to build cases for the identity of human remains. Some historians and millions of genealogists use it to build cases for historical identity and kinship.

However …