Genealogy Chat

Good Afternoon,
I wonder if anyone would be able to offer any guidance please?

My father, John Rossiter, and I have been researching online to try and find out who his biological father was.
He was led to believe it was a James Ronald Bridger b 1916 Horsham and at a later time in his childhood he was told it was an Ernest Sherratt.

His birth certificate had no father listed and when his step dad adopted him it only listed his new name, no previous surnames.
However, his DNA results show no obvious links to either of these surnames.

His DNA matches show a few possible 2nd/3rd cousins on his paternal side. We have attempted to make contact with all of these but only had two replies.
One of them adopted herself. so no knowledge from her, the other has recognised the link and they think they have worked out the possible father.

The difficulty is proving it. To the contact's knowledge, the potential father, possibly her uncle, didn't have any children.

Is there any other way we can somehow verify this or is it just a case of waiting in the hope that a closer relative may do a DNA test or may respond.

Just to add, my dad has no ancestors living and his potential father would have passed by now too.

I'd be very grateful for any advice offered
Many Thanks
Caroline

You say the contact wasn't aware of her uncle having any children.....................the man in question may not have known he'd made your grandmother pregnant, and in any case, one wouldn't imagine that he'd advertise the fact.

Was Rossiter your father's birth name?

Hi Erika,
Thanks for responding.
Yes we were assuming the same. I guess for Dad there is the hope there maybe a sibling somewhere.
His surname at Birth was Thomas. He was adopted by a Rossiter.

Has your father viewed the full adoption paperwork?

Was your father baptised? The register might name his father.
Sometimes people were more honest, when facing clergy !

It was a ‘Mother’s own’ adoption

Caroline
Have you researched your grandmother?

What's a "mother's own" adoption??

That is where a woman's child is adopted by the man to whom the mother was married after the child's birth.

In English law, in such cases, the child is actually adopted by BOTH parties...................otherwise, the child would subsequently be legally related only to the adoptive father

Hope I've explained it clearly enough ;-) ;-)

Thanks!

That was what I understood from the original post.
I know of someone adopted in similar circumstances and the biological father was named in the original adoption paperwork.
That was why I asked if the father had seen the full paperwork, incase there was a chance of fuller information.

A second cousin shares the same great grandparents. You would need to research all their children and then their children. Then you mark the dna matches.
Then you cons Oder which lines are left. If any of the men have had children you would need to ask them to take a dna test. Not the easiest question to ask or receive.

The only categoric proof of parentage is an exact father/ child match. A half sibling match is good but it seems unlikely from what you say. So the next best would be a first cousin.

It is not as easy as the dna companies suggest.

I've only just come back across this post and realise there were replies I hadn't seen.. Apologies, I'd swapped to focus back on the DNA site and then gave up for a bit.

Thank you to all of you, I've suggested to Dad about getting his full paperwork and will start focussing back on finding the links in matches as you have suggested nameslessons.

Many Thanks again xx

There is an associated thread started on Find living Ancestors.

https://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards/board/living_relatives/thread/1402567