Galileo
Footballguy
Short version...
I would like to find a record of a paternity case from about 1956/1957. Specifically, I am looking for the identity of the woman who initiated the case. All I know of her is that she was living in the Williamsburg, VA area...at least at the time she got pregnant Would this type of case have been brought to the district/county level court? I do not know the date of the case, but I do know the name of the person the case was brought against. Any tips?
tl;dr with backstory version...
I discovered a little over a year ago (I am now 47) that I have a half brother, Bill. Although Bill was adopted by a loving family as an infant, he was naturally curious about who his birth parents were, and he spent several years fruitlessly searching for information. All he was able to discover was that he was born in Washington DC. He actually gave up the search about 20 years ago (He is now 58). His daughter however, took up the cause and began her own search. In the course of her search she was contacted by a woman looking for her twin. Apparently, this woman and Bill were adopted from the same place around the same time. So Bill, thinking I've got nothing to lose, sent a DNA sample to whatever company this woman was using in her search. It turns out they were not connected in any way.
Meanwhile, my cousin and her husband were curious to learn more about their lineage, and they thought it would be fun to process their DNA to gather ancestral information. Sure enough, my cousin's DNA and Bill's ended up in the same database and they matched at the level of a 1st cousin. Bill's daughter contacted my cousin who, in turn, called my sister, and the puzzle pieces fell into place.
My dad was in the army, and was stationed in Virginia at the time of Bill's birth. This was a few years before he ever met my mother. My mother and father were married in 1961 and had 5 children together (I have 4 sisters). Bill has some type document or adoption record, but there are no birth parents identified. The original name given to him on that certificate had been erased, but they could still make it out and it is the same as my father's. It was only a first name though. We had my sister send a DNA sample for processing just to confirm everything, and indeed it came back as a sibling match like we expected.
My oldest sister approached my dad with this info, and he got angry as hell and told her to leave it alone and never to bring it up again. She tried a second time and again was told to drop it. When one of my other sisters approached him about the matter, he claimed to know nothing about it. Clearly, his reactions suggested otherwise. At the time, my father was 83. He was also starting to show more and more signs of the onset of dementia. As the "favorite son", I spent quite a bit of time softening him up trying to get him to acknowledge the issue. I found out that he went to court at the time, and the court determined it was not his child and released him from any responsibility. It had a hell of a time trying to convince an old fashioned, stubborn 83 yer old man that the DNA evidence doesn't care what the court said almost 60 years ago. I can only imagine that my dad's army buddies probably came to his aid and dragged the woman's name through the mud or presented other info that created doubts to clear my dad.
Anyway, after some time, we were eventually able to convince my dad to meet Bill. It was an interesting, emotional time, but it went well. Although Bill and his 2 daughters live in Philadelphia and we are in Cleveland, they have happily become part of our lives over the past year.
My father is now 84. He is a little further into the dementia progression and has dealt with several other medical issues recently. Bill would love to find some information about his birth mother, but doesn't want to upset anyone. His daughter sees my dad as the last possible chance to discover any info. Unfortunately, my father simply doesn't recall much of anything. He told us she lived in Williamsburg, and he thought her name might be Helen. But that is all he's got. This is where I figure the court records could help us out. Somewhere there has to be a record with the woman's name who brought the case against my father. But I all I have to go on is a general time frame...and somewhere in southeastern Virginia. I suppose I should start with a phone call to the Williamsburg court. I am not sure what they would or could tell me over the phone...heck, I am not even sure where the court case was heard.
I would like to find a record of a paternity case from about 1956/1957. Specifically, I am looking for the identity of the woman who initiated the case. All I know of her is that she was living in the Williamsburg, VA area...at least at the time she got pregnant Would this type of case have been brought to the district/county level court? I do not know the date of the case, but I do know the name of the person the case was brought against. Any tips?
tl;dr with backstory version...
I discovered a little over a year ago (I am now 47) that I have a half brother, Bill. Although Bill was adopted by a loving family as an infant, he was naturally curious about who his birth parents were, and he spent several years fruitlessly searching for information. All he was able to discover was that he was born in Washington DC. He actually gave up the search about 20 years ago (He is now 58). His daughter however, took up the cause and began her own search. In the course of her search she was contacted by a woman looking for her twin. Apparently, this woman and Bill were adopted from the same place around the same time. So Bill, thinking I've got nothing to lose, sent a DNA sample to whatever company this woman was using in her search. It turns out they were not connected in any way.
Meanwhile, my cousin and her husband were curious to learn more about their lineage, and they thought it would be fun to process their DNA to gather ancestral information. Sure enough, my cousin's DNA and Bill's ended up in the same database and they matched at the level of a 1st cousin. Bill's daughter contacted my cousin who, in turn, called my sister, and the puzzle pieces fell into place.
My dad was in the army, and was stationed in Virginia at the time of Bill's birth. This was a few years before he ever met my mother. My mother and father were married in 1961 and had 5 children together (I have 4 sisters). Bill has some type document or adoption record, but there are no birth parents identified. The original name given to him on that certificate had been erased, but they could still make it out and it is the same as my father's. It was only a first name though. We had my sister send a DNA sample for processing just to confirm everything, and indeed it came back as a sibling match like we expected.
My oldest sister approached my dad with this info, and he got angry as hell and told her to leave it alone and never to bring it up again. She tried a second time and again was told to drop it. When one of my other sisters approached him about the matter, he claimed to know nothing about it. Clearly, his reactions suggested otherwise. At the time, my father was 83. He was also starting to show more and more signs of the onset of dementia. As the "favorite son", I spent quite a bit of time softening him up trying to get him to acknowledge the issue. I found out that he went to court at the time, and the court determined it was not his child and released him from any responsibility. It had a hell of a time trying to convince an old fashioned, stubborn 83 yer old man that the DNA evidence doesn't care what the court said almost 60 years ago. I can only imagine that my dad's army buddies probably came to his aid and dragged the woman's name through the mud or presented other info that created doubts to clear my dad.
Anyway, after some time, we were eventually able to convince my dad to meet Bill. It was an interesting, emotional time, but it went well. Although Bill and his 2 daughters live in Philadelphia and we are in Cleveland, they have happily become part of our lives over the past year.
My father is now 84. He is a little further into the dementia progression and has dealt with several other medical issues recently. Bill would love to find some information about his birth mother, but doesn't want to upset anyone. His daughter sees my dad as the last possible chance to discover any info. Unfortunately, my father simply doesn't recall much of anything. He told us she lived in Williamsburg, and he thought her name might be Helen. But that is all he's got. This is where I figure the court records could help us out. Somewhere there has to be a record with the woman's name who brought the case against my father. But I all I have to go on is a general time frame...and somewhere in southeastern Virginia. I suppose I should start with a phone call to the Williamsburg court. I am not sure what they would or could tell me over the phone...heck, I am not even sure where the court case was heard.
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