uhm!!!! so does this mean our research is 'pointless'

[Finley 1]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2383895/Desperate-wives-man-fathered-500-children-women-war-hero-husbands-shellshocked-make-love.html


497 children that had one father!!!!!!!!!!!   ------ throws up a lot of questions doesnt it?

crazy 

 

xin

[stanmapstone]

This is the problem in researching family history  The maternal line is the most reliable one to follow as this is generally neither faked nor disputed, that is the mother is always known, the father is assumed to be the husband even if he is not.

Stan

[giblet]

I guess there wouldnt be any records to indicate if this story is true. Derek may have fathered some kids but that number is a bit overboard i think. Sorry but im a bit sussed about it.

IF it is true half brothers and sisters could have married and not even be aware they are related

Wonder what his occupation was noted as on his childrens birth certificates  [children he had to his wife that is]

[toffeebear]

What a fascinating article! As Stan says,  I suppose assumptions are always made about the father, but may not be true, in all time periods!

[jbml]

This is the problem in researching family history  The maternal line is the most reliable one to follow as this is generally neither faked nor disputed, that is the mother is always known, the father is assumed to be the husband even if he is not.

Stan

Or to put it another way: maternity is a matter of fact; paternity is a matter of opinion.

[Leanne.]

Wow ! Interesting article. I guess no one will ever know the truth unless everyone gets the DNA testing done.

[Miss.ellie]

Very interesting article, another genealogical brick wall 

[Miss.ellie]

[/quote]

Or to put it another way: maternity is a matter of fact; paternity is a matter of opinion.
[/quote]

Yes definitely. I have someone in my tree, who was illegitimate, I checked and double checked a lot of records but turned up nothing substantial. An important point we have to consider is that having a child out of wedlock was considered a sin, and so the true facts of what happened and with whom may  indeed have been distorted in an attempt to cover this up and protect the people involved from scandal. In my experience if you find the name of the father of an illegitimate child you're lucky!   

[mike175]

Bear in mind that there were possibly more than 20 million children born in the country during the period Derek was 'working'. Of course, depending on how far he travelled, there may have been local concentrations of his genes 

These stories make interesting and thought-provoking reading but I would suggest the odds are generally strongly in favour of the husband being the children's father in most cases, and I will continue to make that assumption unless there is evidence to the contrary.

Mike.