Be wary what you wish for In her programme for the BBC about Medieval birth, marriage and death, Dr Helen Castor cited LP Hartley’s opening quote from The Go-Between: ‘They say the past is a foreign country, they do things differently there.’ This statement brought to mind two situations which crossed my path recently.
The first was an article from The Guardian newspaper regarding DNA testing which was posted on the Family Tree Facebook forum. The Guardian writer hinted that to counter the lauding of the many benefits for taking a DNA test, warnings should be printed on the kits to inform the participants that, should they follow up the results, there could be potentially disturbing and upsetting consequences. Children had found that their parents were not their parents, their fathers were not their fathers, that there were unknown step-siblings, among other things.
However, similar concerns had been raised years ago when adopted children were allowed to trace their birth parents. It is certainly the case that the needs of the persons searching, who wish to fill a void in their lives, should be balanced with considered thought, for the consequences for those being sought.
Another BBC daytime programme issued a warning to its participants. Descendants of executed, convicted murderers, were aiming, through the programme, with the help of two QCs and a judge, to discover grounds to appeal against the conviction of their ancestors. The counsels asked directly that, should their application fail, would they be able to cope.
Advertisements for commercial genealogy sites invite their audience to simply enter their name and the whole of their family tree will be revealed in the rosy glow of discovery. (We all know that it isn’t that easy!) The discovery of names and dates going back into the mists of time is fine if that is the type of family history you wish to pursue.
There are discoveries, through age-old conventional means, never mind DNA, which can be shocking or disturbing