A few days ago, I caught a quick glimpse of a discussion in a Facebook group about DNA tests and DAR proofs. I didn’t have much time to read the whole discussion, but the gist was that the DNA results were not accepted as proof, in conjunction with other documentation, all of which clearly identified the woman as a descendant.
Today, I came across an article in the Washington Post about the same topic. Whether it was the same woman, I’m not sure, as I wasn’t able to relocate the Facebook discussion. The debate is quite interesting…read for yourself.
I read the article in the (hard-copy) Post and although I don’t think DAR should totally rule out DNA evidence, it didn’t seem as though the documentary evidence and the DNA test (from what I could see in the illustration, it looked like only a 12-marker test) taken together made a strong enough case. And the article did not make any mention of what it is that DNA shows: that the men who take this test have a male ancestor in common, but it does not prove which ancestor it is that they have in common.