Npe

[Pat Koenig]

I have a family member who is an NPE (not parent expected) Has anyone come across this and how was it handled?

[Bob White]

Pardon my ignorance! Please share what is "not parent expected".... My first thought is the person is not capable of bringing a new generation into the world. Personally, I think that is too private and sensitive to be recorded. But perhaps that is not what you are presenting here.

[Michael Talibard]

There are two possible approaches here (no doubt with variations): one prioritises the genes, the other what you might call family life. It is entirely a matter of personal preference and belief which you should follow. In one, you would delete the non-biological parent and substitute 'unknown' (until , if ever, that is discovered). In the other, you would leave the parentage as it was taken to be, and add a note about the genetic gap. Up to you—ask yourself what it is you want to record. Reunion can do it either way.

[gilbertdh]

I have this in my direct ancestry, an NPE from between 1810 and 1820. Two brothers (and possibly a sister) were raised by the Gilbert family (my surname), but Y DNA shows the two boys were not fathered by a Gilbert but a Fulcher. In my tree I have the boys as Gilberts, but their father is Unknown Fulcher. Then I have Unknown Fulcher as a son of their adopted Gilbert grandfather. This is somewhat messy, but preserves their mixed heritage and the identify of both their birth parent and the grandparents that raised them and whose surname they carry. A Note under Unknown Fulcher explains the situation.

[Bob White]

Perhaps I should explain. I've been doing genealogy for 30+ years, read many books and magazines and visited a ton of websites. AND I had never seen this "NPE" in any of those places at any time. That is the basis for my question along with the belief that many of this site's users have also not seen this term. Anyway......

I found a website that has a good explanation in several paragraphs. The first two sentences say enough for the rest of us to follow this discussion"

"'NPE' is a term used in the genealogical community to identify a blip on a family tree where the assumed parent was proven, through a DNA test, to NOT be the biological parent. It's original meaning was "Non-Paternal Event," however, with the reality being that sometimes the maternal side is also affected, it has morphed to mean "Non-Parental Event"."

For further information, the site is at https://www.npefellowship.org/what-we-do.

[CONLEY Research]

Some people also think NPE stands for "Not Parent Expected." Either way it means that documents show that someone's father or mother is one person, but DNA tests show that it's really someone else--sometimes it's clear who, sometimes not. Scenarios include things like what we used to euphemistically call "the milkman's baby," someone who was adopted and never told, or a woman that got pregnant via a relationship or assault and then got married and the child was raised as the child of the husband.