Your DNA WORKSHOP

MY DAD WASN'T A HEYER AFTERALL, AND MY GRAN SAID SHE MIGHT HAVE BEEN 'A CUCKOO IN THE NEST''…

Reader Emma got in touch to seek Karen Evans’ advice

EMMA: One of my reasons for taking the DNA test was to try to establish my father’s line. My maiden name was Heyer and growing up I was led to believe that a man named Arthur Heyer was my grandfather. During a trip to Lincoln archives I decided to look up Dad’s birth record. I was most surprised when I found no record of a John Heyer. Eventually, I discovered that he was registered under the name of John Tinsley (his mother’s maiden surname.) The section where the name of the father should be recorded was left blank. I also found the record of my Gran’s marriage to Arthur Heyer, 15 months after my father’s birth, and a document whereby Arthur Heyer adopted Dad. The said order states that he is not Dad’s natural father. As I was very keen to discover my ‘real’ surname I decided that the only way forward was to take a DNA test.

So down to the nitty gritty. I have done quite a lot of research in an attempt to work