Do you ever just spend time searching for family online? Once I get started, I can waste a ton of time. I was doing research on the 1940 census release and got caught up looking up information about my family. I found that my dad would have been 77 this year. That means he was five when the 1940 census was taken. My mom would have been 64 this year. Which then led me to look up my sister, brother, and nephew who were all too young to die. Yes, I’ve had a lot of loss!
I’d also like to do a search to find my sister. I have a sister that I’ve never met. She was adopted out of the family when she was 6 months old. My mom had her when she was under 18. (She was raped by someone at work.) I’ve never met Melody but would like to. Who knows if she even knows she’s adopted! She’s probably close to 60 if not over that by now. I have to find her birth certificate. It’s in the house somewhere! My Mom had planned to look for her, but she got sick and died before she could start. Same with my sister, Michelle. Maybe it’s a curse and I shouldn’t look?!
Every once in a while I try to find my brother-in-law, Paul. He lives somewhere in Arizona, supposedly. He refuses to give the family his mailing address and only calls someone, maybe once a year. We all miss him and wish we could know him as the person he is now. He refuses contact with all of us, though. Maybe someday he’ll get to know his, currently 8, nieces and nephews. They all know of him, but none of them remember him. Most of them haven’t even met him.
Do you have any missing family members? I’d be interested in hearing your stories if you were adopted or had an adopted family member that you found.
Edit to add: Apparently I’m bad at math, as my sister pointed out! My mom would have been 69 this year and so my missing sister would be around 52. Geez…
I have a brother who my mom gave up for adoption when she was 16 but I was left no information on him so I have no idea how I could ever find him.
If your mom would have been 64 the adopted sister would not be 60????
Doh! thanks for catching my mistake. I need to redo my math. such a dork.
LOL,
silly sister, let me know what you find out, I am curious too
I completely understand that desire to trace your roots. I’ve been on that search myself. I’m not adopted, but I was raised by a single mom and have been trying to find relatives from my father’s side. Through the magic of Google and Facebook, just in the last few weeks I found 2 cousins and an aunt. I also discovered my grandmother on that side passed away 4 years ago from complications of diabetes. This is the kind of information that is so important, in terms of having a family medical history and knowing what kinds of illnesses you can be susceptible to.
Years ago I remember shows like Oprah and Sally Jessy used to have family reunions with private investigators tracking the people down. Now with a basic knowledge of the Internet, you can find almost anyone without any outside help.
I think it is great that they realeased that site so people can start their searches. I am especially curious about my family as I don’t really know anything past my grandparents.