To DNA or not to DNA?
NYT Wirecutter reviewed the main ancestry sites in December 2021…
Many family researchers are going for the DNA testing that is an option with the leading software sites. I haven’t done this, primarily as I have concerns about how my data will be used. I also feel that it’s my property and they should pay me rather than the other way round.
“The ramifications of sharing your DNA with for-profit companies are continuously evolving, and opting into a recreational DNA test today will likely lead to future consequences that no one has anticipated.”
I’m also not sure how valuable it would be for me. As my family were all from Scotland, I’ve been able to take advantage of the amazing records that are available through the National Records (ScotlandsPeople.com). I have every record that is available in every line for all the legal marriages.
The only place where DNA would be useful is to prove a link to the Wedderburn and Hay families.
In 1863 my great great grandmother Catherine Clark 1842 of Meigle, Perthshire filed a paternity suit against farmer Robert Neil Wedderburn 1831. He appealed twice and lost twice, and ended up paying substantial costs, both for Catherine’s medical and for Elizabeth Clark 1863 until she reached the age of 14.
He never acknowledged Elizabeth as his child and left his entire estate to the wife he married a few years after Elizabeth’s birth.
DNA might prove once and for all that he was Elizabeth’s father.
Robert’s mother, Barbara Hay 1798 was the daughter of Robert Hay 1774 and Katherine Ogilvy 1782.
In 1801 Robert Hay was convicted of sheep stealing in Alyth and sent to Tasmania. He sailed on the HMS Calcutta. Katherine remarried in 1804 and had several more children with James Ewart.
HMS Calcutta
I’m fairly sure that Barbara Hay is related to Robert and Katherine and that they are the sheep stealer and the future Mrs Ewart. DNA might confirm this.
The reason for establishing a connection to the Hays and the Wedderburns is that both families have interesting histories.
Robert Hay’s Tasmanian descendants feel strongly that he is linked to the noble Hay family who go back to the Norman invasion. It would be very cool to know if that was true!