Really interesting read, even more so given that I live near Louth and recognise some surnames from the newspaper extracts - such as Atkins and Marshall!
I had a similar experience with DNA research to try and find my mother's father. My closest matches were totally unknown to me but with a little detective work and a few pointers from one of my matches, who was showing up as 1st/2nd cousin, we managed to confirm my grandfather's family. Unfortunately there were a lot of possible candidates for the position of grandfather - 6 brothers which were rapidly narrowed down to four, one was already deceased at the time of my mother's conception, another would have been too young.
So we have William, George Robert (Bob), Joseph, and Stephen (Steve) LAWTHER. My grandmother Dora RIDLEY was a domestic servant for the LAWTHER family and neighbour when she fell pregnant with my mother Winifred RIDLEY in February 1914.
We have established that the four brothers were all living at home at that time.
To complicate things their 60 year old father Edward LAWTHER was also alive and should be included.
William married but had no children....
Bob married a widow who already had a son. Bob did not have any children....
Joseph was not interested in women, never had a girlfriend and continued living with his parents until they died.
Steve married and had one child, a girl.
So my DNA hasn't taken me any further but I have had a lot of help from the family who were intrigued to learn about my grandmother.
Before going any further I should mention that William and Steve were politically active and both became famous in later life. Because of this their younger brother Edward's wife Gladys kept a record of the family history including a lot of personal gossip.
According to her Bob is my mother's father, and my mother confronted him in the late 1950s at his home! If this is true she never ever mentioned it to anyone which is most unusual for her.
I was wondering how to prove this with my DNA results! I have no idea where to start and would greatly appreciate some help.
Really interesting read, even more so given that I live near Louth and recognise some surnames from the newspaper extracts - such as Atkins and Marshall!
Very interesting article, thank you!
I had a similar experience with DNA research to try and find my mother's father. My closest matches were totally unknown to me but with a little detective work and a few pointers from one of my matches, who was showing up as 1st/2nd cousin, we managed to confirm my grandfather's family. Unfortunately there were a lot of possible candidates for the position of grandfather - 6 brothers which were rapidly narrowed down to four, one was already deceased at the time of my mother's conception, another would have been too young.
So we have William, George Robert (Bob), Joseph, and Stephen (Steve) LAWTHER. My grandmother Dora RIDLEY was a domestic servant for the LAWTHER family and neighbour when she fell pregnant with my mother Winifred RIDLEY in February 1914.
We have established that the four brothers were all living at home at that time.
To complicate things their 60 year old father Edward LAWTHER was also alive and should be included.
William married but had no children....
Bob married a widow who already had a son. Bob did not have any children....
Joseph was not interested in women, never had a girlfriend and continued living with his parents until they died.
Steve married and had one child, a girl.
So my DNA hasn't taken me any further but I have had a lot of help from the family who were intrigued to learn about my grandmother.
Before going any further I should mention that William and Steve were politically active and both became famous in later life. Because of this their younger brother Edward's wife Gladys kept a record of the family history including a lot of personal gossip.
According to her Bob is my mother's father, and my mother confronted him in the late 1950s at his home! If this is true she never ever mentioned it to anyone which is most unusual for her.
I was wondering how to prove this with my DNA results! I have no idea where to start and would greatly appreciate some help.
Kind regards
Janice
Janice