Question about finding biological grandparents...

[makepeace]

Hello All,

My father was adopted at birth, and we were able to find his biological mom (unfortunately she had passed away when he was only a toddler), and we have met our family through her, but we have NO idea who his dad was.

Here is what I know so far.
My bio grandmothers name
She was never married to any of her childrens fathers (she had many many kids)
We "heard" from my adoptive grandmother before she died, that my bio grandad was a pro bowler in Minnesota in the 50's. She said she knew he died of a heart attack at the bowling alley because of a newspaper clipping she had, we were never able to find it once she died. We were told he died prior to my fathers birth. We were also told he was married and my bio gran was a lady on the side, and he may not know he even had another kid. He did have children with his wife. (I would love to know aunts and uncles/cousins etc, but who knows how anyone would feel about this kind of thing!)

I have searched all 3 of the newspapers in the twin cities areas during that time, and have yet to find anything a bowler having a heart attack at the bowling alley in the 50's.

My dad was born April 1953 in Minneapolis MN. I believe his father would have lived near the twin cities area.

Has anyone tried to find someone with such a small amount of info?
Is there a forum for this kind of thing?
We are reluctant to do DNA testing.
His adoptive parents are the ones listed on his Birth Certificate.

Thanks for any thoughts.

<3

 

[LotsaLatte]

I have actually found people with zero info but using DNA results. I volunteer to do this for people and there are others that volunteer as well. There is a group on FB - DNA Detectives that is really good. I do recommend Ancestry for DNA testing since you are in the looking in the U.S. I haven't had a case I couldn't solve with DNA yet! I do hope you consider DNA testing. The best people to test are your dad and then the closest relative on the bio mom's side - to help rule out maternal matches and narrow down paternal matches. I hope this helps!

 

[pelican95]

Hello All,

My father was adopted at birth, and we were able to find his biological mom (unfortunately she had passed away when he was only a toddler), and we have met our family through her, but we have NO idea who his dad was.

Here is what I know so far.
My bio grandmothers name
She was never married to any of her childrens fathers (she had many many kids)
We "heard" from my adoptive grandmother before she died, that my bio grandad was a pro bowler in Minnesota in the 50's. She said she knew he died of a heart attack at the bowling alley because of a newspaper clipping she had, we were never able to find it once she died. We were told he died prior to my fathers birth. We were also told he was married and my bio gran was a lady on the side, and he may not know he even had another kid. He did have children with his wife. (I would love to know aunts and uncles/cousins etc, but who knows how anyone would feel about this kind of thing!)

I have searched all 3 of the newspapers in the twin cities areas during that time, and have yet to find anything a bowler having a heart attack at the bowling alley in the 50's.

My dad was born April 1953 in Minneapolis MN. I believe his father would have lived near the twin cities area.

Has anyone tried to find someone with such a small amount of info?
Is there a forum for this kind of thing?
We are reluctant to do DNA testing.
His adoptive parents are the ones listed on his Birth Certificate.

Thanks for any thoughts.

<3

Definitely consider DNA testing, which is booming for genealogical purposes nowadays. In fact, in my own genealogical research, I have contacted DNA matches who were adopted but were genetically related. One example in particular involved us helping this new cousin identify his birth father from the information we had about our extended family. It was successful, and he met his half-siblings, who confirmed the match by doing their own DNA test to see how close they were related.

I would say DNA testing on a site like ancestry.com would be the best bet, as I think it may be the most used. Although I have not used it personally, 23andme is also very good, and there are others as well. If I were you, I would consider having your father take one of those DNA tests, and then as the above poster suggested, have a known maternal relative (if any) take it as well to screen out which matches come from the paternal side. When my family and I did these tests, it was about 100 dollars, and it literally was just spitting into a test tube that they provide in the mail, which you then mail back. After a few weeks, the results were ready. It is probably cheaper and more streamlined now.

PM me if you have any questions.

 

[Laughing]

You've got a real puzzle, there.

How about find a bowler's forum, to ask about the death of the bowler?

Keep notes
Get together with the birth sibs & write down every scrap they've discovered

Any tiny bit of information may be the one that lead's you to his bio-dad.

Have you tried genealogy forums, RootsWeb, USGenWeb?

Particularly with USGenWeb, you may find someone else who knew the bio-mom, and maybe knew who she dated?

Best of luck in your search!

 

[LotsaLatte]

Those are great ideas that Laughing has! I would still do the DNA because sometimes, people/stories don't quite always tell the truth lol DNA does for sure! lol I have found that out many times for people. sigh................

 

[LotsaLatte]

Actually, I keep getting emails from Ancestry - the kit is on sale right now for $59. I tested my entire family close and far. The results are 100% correct

 

[makepeace]

You guys are awesome .Lots of things for me to research!! Thank you!

 

[LotsaLatte]

I hope you get your answers! Let me know if you need help if you decide to test with Ancestry