I was adopted as a baby and brought up by a lovely family in Yorkshire, England. I always knew I was adopted, and in many ways it was not a big deal, but like most adoptees I was always curious about my birth parents. I had some scant information about them but knew virtually nothing concrete. In 2000 I met my birth mother and my sisters, which was amazing! My mother told me more details about my birth father. I had always known that he was American, ex-military and the owner of a horse ranch, but she told me his name and that he was a director of Nabisco on business when I was conceived.
For several years I tried very hard to find my father using this information; writing to Nabisco (who told me the information was not available in computer form) and US military sites. Unfortunately, nothing I tried worked – this is not my area of expertise even though I have been using the internet since its very beginning, when it was only populated by ‘enthusiasts’, this was not a simple task. I saw one of the adverts from Finding Families and asked for their advice on how to move forward. They suggested I take an Ancestry DNA test, which I did.
I shared my DNA test results with Louise at Finding Families as soon as I received them. I was astonished that within a couple of days she came back to me with the answer. My father had been found! The information my mother had given me was accurate up to a point, she had the right first name and company, but his surname was different and their story was clearly more complicated than she had told me. It has been an emotional roller-coaster and one that I am still absorbing, but I finally know where I came from. Sadly, my father died a long time ago, but I have his photograph, some fascinating details about his life and two half siblings who I am preparing to reach out to in the near future. I am certain that I would never have found him without the professional support and expertise of Finding Families. I wholeheartedly recommend their services to anyone in my position, searching for unknown birth family.