Originally Posted by
Garden Gnome
After observing physical traits and "looks" in my family, both sides, I have concluded that in my grandparents' generation, hard times called for desperate measures. I don't think it was unusual for a child to be conceived by someone other than the husband. Maybe the husband was aware, maybe he wasn't.
Both my grandmothers bore a child that did not look like its siblings in the least. And definitely not like Grandpa. I do know my maternal grandfather had to be gone for long periods of time, following the timber trade, and Grandma was left with a bunch of kids to support. What would she have done if a "better off" neighbor man asked her to do "work" for him? Her kids were hungry.
The other grandma actually left Grandpa for a few months. She bore a "not like the others" child after she came back home.
Just saying, getting a DNA test might open up a can of worms.
In my DH's family, DNA testing revealed a different branch of the family that probably caused the patriarch to roll over in his grave. Hehe!
sounds familiar. My great grandmother came over in steerage to connect with her husband who came first to get settled. My grandmother was the oldest child and I think there was one after her who made the trip. They were very poor. My great grandmother got off the ship pregnant. She was no glamour girl. My grandmother remembers that there was no food and her mother did what she needed to do to feed the children. They always referred to that daughter as "the ship's". The great grandparents went on to have 3 more daughters.