Hi again...
I was reading KGarrad's reply in your thread on the Jersey board...
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,625186.msg4732755.html#msg4732755...and I wondered if you'd given any thought to DNA testing, specifically the Y-Line DNA test. This is the test which checks the male lineage. Apparently something gets passed down from father to son and remains pretty much unchanged, generation after generation.
As I'm sure you know, there are direct male descendants of "Boer War William" living down in the South Island. If one or two of them were keen (and for "keen" read "has a spare $300") you could ask for a sample of his DNA which would include whatever it is that gets passed down
in your line from CHANDLER father to CHANDLER son.
Once you have that you could either get involved with the CHANDLER Family DNA Project...
http://chandlerfamilyassociation.org/dna.html...or find a living male relative of the four year old Thomas W CHANDLER of St Hellier, Jersey (found by KGarrad) and ask if he minds comparing his DNA to your South Island DNA.
Initially you'd need to head backwards two generations to David CHANDLER (1809-1868), the
grandfather of four year old Thomas but from there it's a pretty straight run through lots of direct male descendants to the 1911 census of England and Wales. Then it's just a case of finding a male CHANDLER from the next generation (i.e born 1940-ish) and asking him for a comparison DNA sample. Easy :-)
I had a play around on ancestry.com at my library and managed to find the 1976 death in Coventry of a direct male descendant. If a son is mentioned in his death notice he could be interested in helping you. Or may know one of his male relatives who is interested.
No harm in looking into it (which sounds like famous last words :-)
-----
Totally appreciate that DNA testing is not a simple option. But as long as you're aware that it is an option which
might help bridge the gap left by the orphanage.
And here's a BIG DISCLAIMER :-)
I've had absolutely no experience with DNA testing. The closest I've come to it is typing "DNA testing" into google. So feel free to ignore this post. No offense will be taken in the slightest :-)
Regards
Beg
