Unknown father of Joseph Callender b.1866 Glasgow, Scotland.

[Esspee]

Joseph Callender is my gt grandfather.  His mother was Lilias Callender b.1843 Glasgow.
Lilias subsequently married Robert McKechnie in 1871 when Joseph was 5 years old.  Census evidence shows that Joseph was the stepson of Robert McKechnie.  Despite it being clear that Robert McKechnie wasn’t Joseph’s father almost every tree they are on states he is, which frankly is annoying.
I am relatively new to genealogy and I would greatly appreciate the help of any members who could point me in the direction of how I can possibly discover who really was the father of Joseph. Hoping someone can help 🤞🏽Thanks for reading.

[RJ_Paton]

Do you have Joseph's Birth Registration.

As there is no father listed on it the chances of finding/identifying his father are slim. DNA may be your only solution.

PS as others here may say don't trust online trees and take their findings with not a pinch of salt but a mountain of it.

[CaroleW]

I agree totally with the reply above. 

There are countless posts on Rootschat about the amount of incorrect info on other peoples trees. Many just copy from other trees rather than doing their own research so errors multiply.

DNA is your only way forward in this case unless Joseph named a different father on his marriage cert?

Occasionally - illegitimate children have contact with their biological fathers

[coombs]

Yes, DNA is the best solution to try and identify the biological father. Or you could try any poor law records for 1865/1866 for any bastardy/maintenance orders etc.

Have you obtained Joseph's birth certificate?

[Talacharn]

It might be worthwhile asking which DNA test to take. I don’t know if you are male or female, but if you are following the male line back a Y-DNA might be of more use. If you are looking for more about the rest of your family a general DNA test will be better. There are members who know a lot more than me about DNA.

How complete is your family tree? Some were adopted by family members. In the 1920s and 1950s four of my family were adopted, Two children from two families were adopted by three other families, all from the same family; and no official paperwork.

[Esspee]

Thank you all.  I do have his birth record, no father is listed. His marriage record only mentions his mother.
That is a good idea about poor law and child maintenance records unfortunately I don’t know where to find them so I think a trip to the Mitchell Library Scotlandspeople section might be of help.

I have had my DNA done on Ancestry and 23andme (I’m female) but although it has helped confirm my research on some lines I don’t have a clue how to work out who Joseph’s father was.  Perhaps somebody could suggest a book I could read?

Joseph is the only child on my direct line lacking a biological father, he was farmed out as a boarder in his early years, presumably to allow his mother to work to support him but it appears that once she married he was taken back by his mother and brought up by her and his stepfather who got Joseph an apprenticeship in his trade.  Joseph must have respected his stepfather as he named a son after him.

Does anyone know if there is a way to notify Ancestry of clear errors in their “hints”. I message people to point out errors but mostly they go unread, presumably as the tree owner no longer subscribes.  The number of these poorly researched trees greatly outweigh the properly researched trees with evidence and sources attached.  As time goes by Ancestry gets less and less reliable. Surely something they need to take note of.

[CaroleW]

I think Ancestry would have a full time job collating all the errors if people reported them.  On Rootschat we always advise people to do their own research & not copy or rely on info in other peoples trees.

Like many other Rootschatters - I have come across such glaring errors I have wondered at the “intelligence” of the tree owner. 

[rosie17]

I think Ancestry would have a full time job collating all the errors if people reported them.  On Rootschat we always advise people to do their own research & not copy or rely on info in other peoples trees.

Like many other Rootschatters - I have come across such glaring errors I have wondered at the “intelligence” of the tree owner.

Totally agree I looked at several trees yesterday that had one of my ancestors dead 1861 but living on the 1881 census 
This ancestor was dead before the 1841 census and of course several people have copied the information and added it to their trees .Makes you wonder about the mentality of some people

Rosie

[rosie17]

Esspee I think you are right a visit to the Mitchell Library would be your best option .They have lots of poor relief records there and a well organised system .I think someone posted on here recently you have to book in advance now for poor relief records .They have a separate room for Scotlands People search room

Rosie