People look for their biological parents and relatives for many reasons. Adopted children develop a desire to find out who their real family is and bond with a family member who is the same age, who they didn’t grow up with. While there are many motivations behind this search, we understand that as humans, most people want to be a part of a bigger group and identify themselves with their families. For some, it helps to understand who they really are and where they come from. For others, it’s general curiosity. That’s why we’ve come up with 5 easy ways to find your biological family and we’re going to share them with you below.
Consult with People who Helped you get Adopted
Unlike in the olden days, most of the adoptions done these days are open and the adopted children can simply ask their parents regarding these details. The children are informed they are adopted from a really young age and, usually, it doesn’t make a big difference in the emotional bond they share with their parents. The current couple bringing them up might be able to give details about their biological parents or the agents who helped them to adopt the kids.
Even if they don’t know all the details it is wise to ask them for the original birth certificate or information like the hospital or adoption agency they used. Adopted kids can begin their search from there and contact the social worker who helped them connect with the current family. Those workers might have details about the actual parent.
DNA Tracking
When the population growth rate is increasing globally, some people search for their real parents and relatives to connect with a bloodline they share. The reasons as to why they would want to trace their genealogy are varied.
Adopted children can use the adoption reunion registry to search whether their biological parents have registered with it. Sometimes, the real birth mother or father wants to remain anonymous and not reveal themselves for various reasons. Children should understand that the real parents will use the adoption reunion registry too only if they are eager to find their biological children.
Besides, such a search creates a huge emotional drain on the current parents as well. The adopted children should understand this and behave accordingly.
DNA tracking companies like 23and Me and LivingDNA have a huge database of people from all over the world. If you are an adopted person, you can register to get their services and send them a sample of your DNA. All you have to do is collect some saliva samples, save it in their kit and mail it back to them.
If the records in their database match, you will be able to learn about people from the past five generations getting a huge family tree. Besides, these companies also give you the contact details of your living relatives for an extra charge if you wish to get in touch with them.
Opt for Paid Online Help
Use services like BirthParentFinder.com to help you in your search as these paid services have effective ways to find out all the details about you. They get in touch with the various public records and birth databases connected to you through the American Adoption Congress and help you in your family search using advanced tools, which analyze various records to trace your parents.
They have efficient means to search and fill in the missing links. They have connections with various county officers and use them to check census records and birthing data in all the states and cities. It is a great way to get in touch with your actual birth family and various relatives living in different parts of the country.
Hire Private Parties
Private parties who are experts in dealing with genealogy are a great way to locate details particularly about your family alone. They work precisely for you instead of working for companies with a large number of clients. They do the work much faster and more accurately and charge a bit higher for their services as they provide a premium and tailor-made approach.
Adopted children who are not able to get any details about their parents can contact such parties and the tracking rate of success is more than 50%. They do a clear DNA test and proceed in a scientific way to locate your ancestors using technology, old records, and proven methods of ancestry mapping with the help of experts.
In case you worry about your budget, you may try to conduct such a search yourself. If you know the surname of your biological relatives or their former/actual address, you may use Nuwber to find them. Check people with similar names, check specific living areas – conduct thorough research and you may end up with contact details of your biological family!
But exert great caution while contacting new members as you don’t know much about them except they are connected to you in some ancestral way.
Do not disclose all your personal details to them before you know them well. Keep the relationship formal until you get close and learn more about them. And don’t get too excited to reveal too much about your affluence, remembering you are still strangers.
Check with The Genealogical Society
One way to get started finding your relative(s) is by visiting your local genealogical society—many exist throughout the United States. The best part about these societies is that they can connect you with genealogy books that perhaps a particular ancestry center happens to carry or store. This way you’ll be more informed about any resources that you might not have even been aware of!
Contact your adoption agency, if possible, to get the details if you have been adopted after the 1960s as they maintain all the details from then. Besides, hospitals and surrogacy agencies also have details about their sperm donors and surrogate mothers which will help you track down your real parents.
Conclusion
In this day and age, many people look for their biological parents. A popular reason why people search for a family is so that they can learn about the world of family relations and ultimately reconnect with relatives they otherwise would never have known nor gotten to know on a deeper level. Whatever your reason is – don’t give up but also prepare yourself for whatever may come.