Mary, Yes, partly it is related to only entering exceptions, but it is mainly because we should only be entering things that could have a verifiable source rather than being mere hearsay. We may not yet have found that source, but it should at least be possible that it exists.
For determining a "biological father" the only possible source that I can think of is the conclusive DNA test that I mentioned. Even the much older "blood-type" paternity tests could never establish parenthood. They could only prove that some man was NOT the father if the blood types turned out to be an impossible combination. Luckily for us the biological mother is the key player in the birth process. Since that process usually occurs in the presence of someone else, there is likely a witness to the "biological mother" of a child. The "biological father" is determined at conception, rather than at birth. Even if we knew the exact moment of conception, there are likely to be no witnesses to the male who was participating in the conception! Therefore, we will NEVER be able to source a "biological father" entry in our file. The exceptions, such as adoption, guardianship, or foster children, all have legal papers to serve as the source for the child-parent status. Granted, we could simply use "biological father" for all the others and still be right almost all the time. But if "almost" was good enough, we wouldn't need the other exceptions either, since they are possibly even less common than a current husband not being the biological father. Bob -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Mary Sent: Monday, November 15, 2004 14:55 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] Adoption / Natural - Biological I think this goes back to your point of only entering the exceptions. Mary ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Janetzko" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, November 15, 2004 10:50 AM Subject: RE: [LegacyUG] Adoption / Natural - Biological > Leon, > > I'm afraid that I have to disagree with you on the "Father: Biological" > status, although I realize that this will not be a popular argument. > > Unless you have a conclusive DNA test, you do NOT KNOW the biological > father of a child. The very best that you actually know is that a man > is the PRESUMED biological father of a child. > > Even if you have a birth certificate, the doctor is only certifying that > the MOTHER gave birth to the child, not that the FATHER listed is the > true biological father of the child. He enters as the father anyone whom > the mother tells him to enter, which sometimes requires great leaps of > faith. > > We all have heard of many cases where a mother is uncertain as to the > true paternity of a child. If she is married she may choose to list her > husband, or if she is single she may list a boyfriend, whether it is the > most current one, the favorite one, or the richest one. In other cases > the mother may know for a fact that her husband is NOT the biological > father of her child, but she will list him anyway, since that is more > convenient for social and legal purposes. > > And let's not pretend that such things have never happened in OUR family, > since we don't know that to be factual, only wishful thinking. If we > want to use the term "biological" in reference to the mother of a child, > that can probably be justified. But in almost every case, "presumed > biological" is the most accurate we can be in terms of the father. > > Bob > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Leon > Chapman > Sent: Monday, November 15, 2004 09:24 > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] Adoption / Natural - Biological > > > This has been a very good discussion for me. I want to thank everyone > with > their ideas on this Natural / Biological / Adoption discussion. > > Based on the comments, I have gone into the Master Child List and added > the > following five (5) Child Status Events: > > Biological > Father: Adopted, Mother: Biological > Father: Biological > Father: Biological, Mother: Unknown > Father: Step, Mother: Biological > > I will not be using any of the Child Status List events that have a term > of > "Natural" in them - the word natural is always replaced by "Biological". > > ************* > In my following example: > Father (A) & Mother (B) are married: > Mother (B) has a son out of wedlock. > Father (A) adopts the son as part of A & B's family > > So, the Mother (B) is the biological mother > The Father (A) is the adopted or step father. > > So, for Child Status > I have selected -- "Father Adopted/Mother Biological" > > For Relation to Father -- Adopted > For Relation to Mother -- Biological > ************* > > Thanks for all the input and clarifying this issue for me. > > Chap > > Leon Chapman > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > Legacy User Group Etiquette guidelines can be found at: > http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp > > To find past messages, please go to our searchable archives at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup%40mail.millenniacorp.com/ > > To unsubscribe please visit: > http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/LegacyLists.asp > > > Legacy User Group Etiquette guidelines can be found at: > http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp > > To find past messages, please go to our searchable archives at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup%40mail.millenniacorp.com/ > > To unsubscribe please visit: > http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/LegacyLists.asp Legacy User Group Etiquette guidelines can be found at: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp To find past messages, please go to our searchable archives at: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup%40mail.millenniacorp.com/ To unsubscribe please visit: http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/LegacyLists.asp Legacy User Group Etiquette guidelines can be found at: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp To find past messages, please go to our searchable archives at: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup%40mail.millenniacorp.com/ To unsubscribe please visit: http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/LegacyLists.asp
