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Position:Home>Genealogy> Can saliva on an old envelope prove the DNA y-chromosome enough for genealogy pu


Question:It has been done. Isn't that how they figured out who Jack the Ripper was, from a stamp off the anonymous letters sent to the police?


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: It has been done. Isn't that how they figured out who Jack the Ripper was, from a stamp off the anonymous letters sent to the police?

The only question is whether you can prove who licked the envelope so that you know you have the right point of reference. But yes, if the letter hasn't been kept in a hot or wet place, the DNA should be every bit as intact today as it was 75 years ago.

Forensics and genealogy are two different ball games. You can trace your history without forensics, unless you have reason to doubt paternity. I mean, how would you trace ancestry WITHOUT dna? the same way that people always have... using historical records.
Even the tv shows mention a key fact... you may have dna from a crime scene to prove who-dun-it. It is useless without someone in the database, or a suspect to COMPARE it to. You have to insure that the person who licked the envelope is the same person who wrote it.