DNA study rules out Josephine Lyon as Joseph's daughter.
Ugo A. Perego et al., "Resolving a 150-year-old paternity case in Mormon history using DTC autosomal DNA testing of distant relatives," Forensic Science International: Genetics 42 (2019): 6
Although a reconstruction of Joseph Smith Jr. and Josephine Lyon’s DNA through their descendants separated by three or more generations will never provide the same level of accuracy as a paternity test with DNA obtained directly from Joseph and Josephine, data presented in this study was consistent and offered the strongest evidence to date toward clarifying their alleged father/daughter relationship. Based on this analysis, it appears that Josephine did not share a biological tie with the founder of Mormonism and that perhaps what Sylvia Sessions told her daughter would mean something other than the biological relationship many historians have perceived. This is certainly an additional piece of genetic evidence in future researches on the subject of Joseph Smith Jr.’s practice of polygamy.