Are you trying to find your birth mother? Whether you are starting from scratch with no information, or you already have a potential candidate, our experts can help you confirm and make that connection.
There are various reasons why someone might not know the identity of their birth mother, and historically, unless a family member or other person knew the answer and was willing to tell you, you might not ever find out. Because court records are usually sealed and vital records are protected by privacy laws, family secrets often died with family members, and the paper trail to learn that information can be impossible to track down.
Using Genetic Genealogy to Find Your Birth Mother
However, with the advancement of DNA testing and analysis — especially in recent years as DNA databases have been created as a means to help people learn about and connect with their ethnic backgrounds, help with genealogy brick walls, etc. — identifying biological parents has become a much better possibility, and has seen great successes. By analyzing DNA match lists and connecting with genetic cousins to ask about details, it is often possible to put the pieces together to identify a person’s likely birth mother. Once the possible identification has been made, additional DNA testing can be done to prove that the connection is accurate, if needed.
Our talented team of genealogists is experienced in using and analyzing DNA test results in cases of adoption and unknown paternity. By analyzing the types, amount, size and position of DNA segments that two or more individuals share in common, we can collaborate with genetic cousins and identify additional information in order to identify biological relationships. We complete traditional genealogy research in conjunction with DNA research, utilizing genetic inheritance patterns for different types of DNA to better estimate the relationship between multiple related individuals.
Exploring Biological Family History
At Legacy Tree Genealogists, helping people identify their birth mother and connect with a family they never knew before is something that our team of genetic genealogists is very passionate about. While not all stories have a happy ending (sometimes a connection cannot be made, or a connection is made but the biological parent is already deceased or isn’t interested in being involved) we’ve seen many clients learn that in addition to a birth mother, they have a myriad of other family members that they never knew about, and those new connections can really enrich the lives of everyone involved.
Information provided through DNA testing allows our team at Legacy Tree Genealogists to use DNA as a means of learning more about family history and interpreting results in the context of pertinent historical records.
By analyzing DNA we are able to gather information regarding individuals’ shared heritage, far beyond the basic haplogroup. In many cases DNA testing has helped clients break through genealogy brick walls including difficult-to-trace ancestors, determining an ancestor’s ethnicity and solving family mysteries that would otherwise be impossible to investigate due to lack of records.
Our Genetic Genealogists Can Help Find Your Birth Mother
If you need help identifying your birth mother, our team would love to help, and can assist you with the process from start to finish. If you haven’t already taken a DNA test, we will help you determine which test(s) would be best, and who else in your known family should test to get the best results. We’ll then analyze your results in conjunction with thorough traditional genealogy research to help obtain documentary evidence to support the case, and help you through the process of communicating with your DNA matches. We can also provide direction and support when the time comes for you to contact your birth mother and/or her family. We’ll help you every step of the way until the identification is made or all options have been exhausted.
