The Quest Continues...
For quite some time now I have been searching for my birth parents. I have some clues in my search like my place of birth, my birthday, a letter from my adopted mother about some of the information she had, and now my DNA. So now what? Where does someone go for the little information I have. Ancestry.com is a good start. Fortunately, they have a database of all of the births, death, marragies in California. Then simple logic kicks in.
According to my letter, I was given the name "Stone" by the adoption agency. So in my search of births in Los Angeles County, California, I found Baby Boy Stone born on the same date. Coincidence? I think not. Especially since that was the only "Baby Boy" birth certificate. This means the child was not named for the birth certificate as a replacement birth certificate would be assigned later.
The birth certificate had the birth father listed as L R Stone. The birth mother was Ashlock.
Back to the letter from my mother: She states that the adoption agency in San Bernadino said that I had older siblings but that I was born to a wife of a man that was not my birth father. So...she cheated on her husband and ended up pregnant. This means I am looking for a woman with the last name of Ashlock living in Los Angeles County when I was born and likely older siblings. Guestimating the age, I narrowed my search to a woman that had 3 children before I was born.
One of her children has a very unique name which is not easily duplicated. Off to Google I go... multiple results for the name but still tied to a single person. Facebook, self posted information on reunion registry, and other information confirmed her as the right daughter. She is connected to 2 other people that fit the naming convention as well. But there is a flaw... Trying to be sensitive to her plight (she also had children placed for adoption), I decided to make blind contact with 2 of her sisters (one older than I, one younger than I).
Now on the birth father side, I sent a Facebook message to the person I believe to be my birth father. I verified through the DNA site that the surname "Stone" was in fact tied to my DNA. As far as L R Stone, the letter I have said he had an engineering background, so that help narrow down the possibilities greatly. Again, the age is about right and he was in the right place at the right time.
So there we are. The self-awareness quest continues...
According to my letter, I was given the name "Stone" by the adoption agency. So in my search of births in Los Angeles County, California, I found Baby Boy Stone born on the same date. Coincidence? I think not. Especially since that was the only "Baby Boy" birth certificate. This means the child was not named for the birth certificate as a replacement birth certificate would be assigned later.
The birth certificate had the birth father listed as L R Stone. The birth mother was Ashlock.
Back to the letter from my mother: She states that the adoption agency in San Bernadino said that I had older siblings but that I was born to a wife of a man that was not my birth father. So...she cheated on her husband and ended up pregnant. This means I am looking for a woman with the last name of Ashlock living in Los Angeles County when I was born and likely older siblings. Guestimating the age, I narrowed my search to a woman that had 3 children before I was born.
One of her children has a very unique name which is not easily duplicated. Off to Google I go... multiple results for the name but still tied to a single person. Facebook, self posted information on reunion registry, and other information confirmed her as the right daughter. She is connected to 2 other people that fit the naming convention as well. But there is a flaw... Trying to be sensitive to her plight (she also had children placed for adoption), I decided to make blind contact with 2 of her sisters (one older than I, one younger than I).
Now on the birth father side, I sent a Facebook message to the person I believe to be my birth father. I verified through the DNA site that the surname "Stone" was in fact tied to my DNA. As far as L R Stone, the letter I have said he had an engineering background, so that help narrow down the possibilities greatly. Again, the age is about right and he was in the right place at the right time.
So there we are. The self-awareness quest continues...
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