Looking for my Father's Paternal Family - Reardon or Riordan (baby, sisters)

Patricia Bartose · 02-21-2008, 12:54 AM

Hello,

My name is Patricia Bartose and I'm trying to locate any family members from my dad's biological father's side.

My dad was born on March 16, 1943 in Methuen, Mass. His mother's name was Gladys Mary Smith and his father was Arthur Reardon/Riordan (not sure on the spelling). I don't know anything about Arthur, but one important fact that I do know lies in my father's name, Arthur Patrick. Apparently my "real" grandfather Arthur and his brother Patrick were really close - so he named my dad after himself and his brother (I think this is cool, but I'm sure that there are tons of Irish boys with this same name :>). I don't know if my grandparents were married at the time my dad was born; all I know is that when my dad was just a toddler Gladys left my grandfather and took my dad with her. The only other small piece of info. that I have is Arthur's mother might have been French or French Canadian - I don't know her name.

Eventually Gladys remarried a man named Robert Arvidson. My dad was still a baby so Robert adopted my dad and Arvidson became my dad's last name. Gladys never told my dad that he had been adopted and more importantly that he had a different father. Everyone in the family knew about my dad's past except for him...he found out about everything when his half-brother let the truth slip. Needless to say, my dad has been upset about it ever since. That was almost 30 years ago.

What hurts him the most is that Arthur, before passing in Colorado, had reached out to Gladys to try to get in contact with my dad. Gladys denied my grandfather and dad the opportunity to meet one another before he succumbed to cancer. I believe this was in the 1970's some time.

I know that somewhere, either in Colorado or Massachusetts my dad has family. It would mean a great deal to him if I could find them. His childhood was far from great. The family that he does have is not close at all. I figure that if my grandfather felt it important enough to name my dad after himself and his brother they must be close and have a tight-knit family. Although my dad has a "tough guy exterior" I know that he thinks about this often and that it does trouble him to not know his real family. It would MAKE MY DAD'S LIFE if he found his real family.

I greatly appreciate any info. that comes my way!! *I'll be crossing my fingers!! Wish me luck!!*

witters63 · 09-21-2008, 09:33 PM

My father was Arthur Joseph Reardon of Orillia Ontario Canada. I was born in 1945, my mother was Jean Elizabeth (Montgomery) Reardon. I was born in Toronto Canada. Do you know if your grandfather had any sisters? What was his middle name?

Patricia Bartose · 12-27-2008, 08:59 PM

First off, thank you for responding...I appreciate your time!!! Second, unfortunately, I do not know my grandfather's middle name, but I believe he had sisters - don't know how many though.

Does any of the information I previously posted mean anything to you?? Did your father live in Methuen, Mass. or surrounding areas around 1943?? Did he have a brother named Patrick?? Is your grandmother French/French Canadian??

The other thing I wanted to mention was that before Arthur (my grandfather) had passed he got a hold of Gladys (my grandmother) wanting to talk to my dad and give him some of his posessions. But at that point my dad didn't even know he was adopted and Gladys didn't want to tell him...my dad had know clue that his real dad was trying to get a hold of him because he didn't know he had been adopted...all that time he thought the man that raised him was his one and only father. It wasn't until after Arthur passed that my dad found out he was adopted (my dad's half-brother let it slip some how - which caused a rift between my dad and grandmother).

Also, I don't know why Gladys left Arthur in the first place. I remember her telling me when I was younger that he was a very nice man and that he was very good to her (always bringing her presents and such). This leads me to believe that they weren't married and maybe Gladys left, or maybe Arthur left her and she just told us that to save face. I don't know...any info. would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!! Thanks again...you can also email me at trishbartose@hotmail.com.

Susan13202 · 12-27-2008, 09:18 PM

Patricia,
Witters63 responded to you back in September and it was the only post for that poster. If you click on Witters name, you can opt to send an e-mail to the poster. You might get a quicker response that way.

Patricia Bartose · 12-27-2008, 09:50 PM

Thanks so much Susan13202...I didn't even know I could do that...still pretty new to this...lol!!! By emailing him it goes to his personal email address and not to something attached to this site?? Waiting around for information such as the info. I'm looking for, makes me extremely impatient, so anything to speed up the process is a good thing!!!