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I know that my father, Earl A. Wheeler, had a daughter by a woman not my mother. I believe the daughter was born in Nov or Dec 1964, in Up-state NY, in/around Ithaca, NY. After my Dad died I learned about my half-sister. At the time I learned about her, my Dad's brother and sister were still alive. Neither would help me in my search. Both said they would take the info I wanted "to the grave with them". Now they are both dead. I am still searching for my sister. What should I do now? Clearly, I need help finding her before I die.
You might want to start with your dads obituary and see who attended the funeral and anyr names mentioned in it, then contact those people and see what they have to say.
You could also try doing a DNA test with Ancestry.com or a similar service. I found a half-sister I didn't even know I had. If she has taken the test her name will pop up as a close relative.
Was there a provision in your father's will for your sister? How do you know details?
Your search should center on Ithaca.
New York births do not seem to be online for Ithaca. Perhaps a researcher here know more about birth record access.
Ithaca newspapers for births of time period will have names to check.
There may be court records concerning either child support or adoption in that county. Even if her mother raised her, she may have married someone who adopted her.
Do an ancestry DNA kit first. Your sister or her child may be looking.
My half sister found me three years ago on a forum when I posted a photo of my grandmother and her name which was the same as this womans, she was named after our gran.... She contacted me saying her name was the same surname as my granny.. and that she came from the same street...I was baffled as my grans surname was unusual down our way..... so I said to the women that I was sorry but that I didnt have cousins with that name and know of no others in our street at that time with the surname..........she said NO Im not a cousin but might be your sister........... I nearly feel off my chair sitting here and couldnt tell anyone for hours, while trying to figure out when this woman was given away for adoption...........since then weve met and get on well, shes lovely.. and more like my .sorry our mother than I am.....our mother died 20 years ago
and never let on to me about this other child..... but the saddest part was when this lady asked me Why didnt she keep me but kept you..... tears filled my eyes.. as I couldnt answer her , but circumastances were difficult then as was housing for a mother to keep a child and families werent so tolerant back in the 50s... .but it doesnt always work out either... so good luck.. there are lots of sites where you can leave messages that might be picked up....
What was you dad's connection with Ithaca, New York? Was he attending university? If so, locate alumni he might have known... people who would have known who he was dating.
You could also try doing a DNA test with Ancestry.com or a similar service. I found a half-sister I didn't even know I had. If she has taken the test her name will pop up as a close relative.
Quote:
Originally Posted by historyfan
Was there a provision in your father's will for your sister? How do you know details?
Your search should center on Ithaca.
New York births do not seem to be online for Ithaca. Perhaps a researcher here know more about birth record access.
Ithaca newspapers for births of time period will have names to check.
There may be court records concerning either child support or adoption in that county. Even if her mother raised her, she may have married someone who adopted her.
Do an ancestry DNA kit first. Your sister or her child may be looking.
I agree. Even on Long Lost Family, I'm amazed at the stories that say the person has been looking for their child, birth mother or sibling for 30+ years but they've never done their DNA; yet when the show does it, they usually get some sort of match. DNA has gone down a lot. The major companies have sales this time of the year for fathers day. Ancestry should be having one. Mothers day was $59
See my thread //www.city-data.com/forum/genea...l#post49250127 I suggest testing with Ancestry because of their family tree feature then upload to My Heritage, GEDmatch and GEDmatch Genesis for free ethnicity and family matching. My Heritage also gives surnames when matches list them as well as family trees and chromosome browser and FTDNA for free family matching. For $19 you can unlock other features. There are other free databases in my thread but they're not as large as the one listed. I do not suggest 23 and me because they're on a new chip that can't be uploaded anywhere but Genesis. If you do DNA, make sure you upload to all the sites I listed. Their links can be found in my thread.
You could also try doing a DNA test with Ancestry.com or a similar service. I found a half-sister I didn't even know I had. If she has taken the test her name will pop up as a close relative.
Thank you. I have submitted my DNA to Ancestry and started a family tree.
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