Tracing unknown father

[sandwiches77]

My now deceased GGM never knew who her father was. The story that has been passed down the generations to me was the father was an Australian serviceman. No other information. GGM was not born in the village she grew up in, her mother had to move away to have GGM then returned to the village..... any ideas or complete dead end

If you have her birth certificate, I assume father is not listed. Could you visit (when allowed) where she was born ? Could you check the local newspapers for her mother's name, linked to someone? Would there be any living residents who might remember her?

Log your dna with a few of the big ancestry sites. 23andme, ancestry - a member of my family accidentally found proof while researching his family tree that his father wasn’t his biological dad and also worked out who is biological dad was - it was a big shock to everyone.

Was Social Services involved at all?

If not, then I think DNA is your only option.

No social services weren't and no living relatives to ask. Would DNA really be able to tell me, my GM was born over 100 years ago

What DNA can do is possibly link you to relatives who have uploaded their data to the same site - not necessarily very close or easy, but better than the zero you have so far.

Yes, DNA might help you.
Would be better to get your relevant parent to do the test (rather than do it yourself), as they are one step closer to your great grandmother. DNA matches who descend from your unknown great-great grandfather would be your parent's half second cousins (on average 1.5% shared dna). It helps if you have a good family tree, so you can identify your "relevant" matches. You'd obviously need some luck, that they have also tested.

My grandmother was left on a door step. It would be interesting to find her relatives.

Agree that DNA testing is the way to go. I'm in a similar position with my father - he never knew who is father was as my GM never told a soul. DNA test shows that was Jewish, and I seem to have some quite close relatives on both Ancestry and MyHeritage. Only one has responded to my cautious contact message though, so still not identified who he actually was, however the DNA result has at least pointed me in the right direction to continue my search.

Hopefully it can help you too. Good luck!

Do you have your grandmother's birth certificate? If not it would be worth trying to get hold of that first as it may have the father on it.

Not likely - as is still the case now, the father needed to be present at the registration if not married to have his name recorded. Baptism records might be more likely to do so (but in these circs I think very much a long shot).

Does she have any middle names which could be a surname, or the female equivalent of a male name (such as Bernadette, Frances etc)? There could be a clue there.

Going back there were lots of informal family adoptions.
Without some link to a parish record, private info or diary there is no way to verify anything sorry.

Agree that DNA might help and also agree that one step back towards the relative in question would be a good idea.

DNA is a very valuable tool and you don't really need to be a science expert to use it. Once you have your matches it's just a case of approaching people and seeing where you fit together. Unlike paper records where people lie, there is no lying with DNA. If you share DNA with someone you're related - no question. But the trick is working out how.

With a bit of luck, you'll get a match with a keen genealogist who has thoroughly researched their tree and can quickly help narrow down the possibilities on the male line who were the right age and in the right location to have fathered your great grandmother.

On the other hand, it can be really frustrating. My "top match" on my Ancestry DNA test, who is probably a second or third cousin, hasn't responded to my emails. Hasn't logged into her Ancestry profile in over a year. Lots of people are gifted DNA kits, or just do them for the "fun" bit of finding out your ethnic make-up. They're not really interested in establishing a link with you, and you can't make them.