The Next Steps: Finding My Birthmother - Part 2

The birth of my son in 1983, combined with working full-time, and no internet access (it wasn't readily available to the public until 1993) hampered my search. I reached out to the Lund Home again in 1994 to see if there was more non-identifying information available. This time I got slightly more information, including the first names of my birthparents: Irene and Lowell, and the state that Irene lived in at the time of my birth: Pennsylvania. I felt like I'd struck a gold mine! So I hired an agency in Massachusetts, where I lived, which had a wonderful success rate in locating birthparents. They were able to find a small amount of information, but not enough to lead them anywhere. They finally gave up after a couple of years.

A friend who was also born at the Lund Home (then called the Lund Family Center) recommended a search agency in Vermont that he had used to find his birthmother. I called them and spoke with a woman who gave me a lot of hope. Somehow the agency discovered that my birthmother's surname was Brown. But this proved to be unhelpful, given the vast number of people who shared the same name. Unfortunately, the search agency was unable to find more information, and after a while they too gave up. As soon as the internet was available publicly, I spent countless hours joining registries and mailing lists and searching genealogical databases and archives.

In June 1988, a buddy on a list serve volunteered to help me find my birthfather, since he had an unusual first name. We knew that he was born in 1931 and made the assumption that he lived in Pennsylvania, where Irene was living in 1956. She found 28 men who fit this criteria, and I wrote each one of them. One wrote me back saying that he hadn't known the Irene I was looking for. Another dead end.

In November 1998, I contacted the Lund Home once again and asked for updated non-identifying information. This time I got the first names of Irene's six siblings. Since I knew her last name, I was able to piece together a bit more information, including the death record for one of her brothers, but eventually hit a dead end.

Finally, in November of 1998, I wrote a letter to the presiding judge of the Probate Court in Burlington Vermont, where I was born. I had heard through a friend that she was sympathetic to the plight of adoptees. My letter was heartfelt, honest and thorough. Within a week I received a letter from the judge explaining that my letter was being treated as a request for release of identifying information. I'm including a scan of the letter below if you're interested in the content. But the most important sentence in the letter is: "By copy of this letter, I am asking for the assistance of The Lund Family Home in contacting your birth parents." I was stunned and exultant and totally terrified.

Letter from the Judge