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Birth Mother Search – Obtaining Necessary Identifying Information
A birth mother search can be quite difficult for an adoptee to successfully resolve. That’s because most adoptees have very little identifying information on their birth mother when they begin to search. They also lack state-of-the-art search tools that are currently available to professional adoption researchers and investigative agencies such as OmniTrace. These tools allow access to and the capability to sort through virtually millions of public records. With the above mentioned search tools, you may be surprised to read that, in most instances, very little identifying information is needed to find your birth mother! Provided here are a number of examples of minimal identifying information that you may already have or can readily obtain that can allow a search professional (and even you) to find your birth mother. Any one of the following examples may be enough information to find her:
- The first name and date of birth of your birth mother
- The date of birth and state where your birth mother likely resided at the time of the birth
- The horoscope sign and last name of your birth mother
- The first name of your birth mother–if the name is uncommon
- The first name and middle initial of your birth mother
- The occupation and area where your birth mother resided when you were born
- The age and address of your birth mother at the time you were born
- The age of your birth mother and her address at the time of your birth
- The age range of your birth mother and where she and her siblings attended school (you may need age range of her siblings too)
- The occupation of your birth mother’s parents along with the area and age range of her parents at the time of your birth
- A criminal background of the birth mother allowing for use of Freedom of Information Act to request police records
- Description of your birth mother and education information along with the area where your birth mother resided
Once again, any one of the above examples or a combination of identifying information from the different examples might allow you to quickly resolve your search and reunite you with your birth mother.
One way to obtain your birth mother’s identifying information is to request what is referred to in adoption agency jargon: Non-Identifying Information. When you receive your non-identifying information there’s a chance that you will have enough identifying information (inadvertently supplied to you) to complete your search.
Very shortly, in a future post, we’ll explain what Non-Identifying information is, how to request it, and where to request it. Also, in future posts we’ll provide much information about the search tools and databases used by professionals. Visit us often. We type quickly! 
Please make a comment with any questions or thoughts you may have about this post. Thanks!
You might enjoy these related posts:
Hi,
I have been searching for my birthmother and or birthfather on and off for 10 years and have some pieces of identifying information that I would like to know if you can help me with. I was born in St. Louis, MO on
04-15-1961 at Jewish Hospital.
This was a private adoption that took place April 18, 1961 in either the Salem, IL or Springfield. IL courts.
My birhtmother’s name on the decree was Carol Ruth Craig with a possible birthdate of 02-14-1944. She may have been from Mt. Vernon, Ventralia or Centrailia, IL.
If any additonal information is needed I would be happy to assist.
Thank you.
Hi again,
I was wondering if there was any luck in locating my mother’s birthmother? I posted something back in March. My mother and I are both actively looking for her birthmother, but we haven’t gotten far since she must be married by now, and we only have her maiden name, Edith Tomei. My mother’s birthdate is June 20th 1951, and she was adopted through the Catholic Children’s Charities in Montclair. She was born in Jersey City. We would love to find her!
Thank you
My name is maria and i posted a while ago about finding my sister ive yet to find her or any information about her. My moms name is Shirley Ann Poe born August 2 1963.Ive heard a lot of different stories on the matter she was 17 or 18 when she got pregnant her parents sent her to michigan to a school that took pregnant teens and gave up her baby there i know it was a girl. My mother died july of 1998. She was my mom when she died a part of me died. I miss her every day and even if my sister isnt looking for me or if she doesnt want to know me thats fine. I just need to know who she is. It eats me up in side because i cant find her because i could pass her on the street and not even know it was her. My sister would all I would have left of my mom. Any information will help me please. I need to find her.
caligirlvma@hotmail.com
Hi my name is richard, my birthname is thomas lynn burkhalter i am searchimg for my biological mother and father i was born in natchez mississippi on 02-24-49, then i was brought to mississippi baptism orphanage home. then i was adopted by Mr William Clinton Mullican And Mrs. Doris cobb mullican of Laurel Mississippi. Thank so much.
I was born in December 1966 in Sloane’s Woman center in NY, my mother is named Alicia Gonzalez and her age at my birth was 19 and she was born in San Juan, PR. We lived in New York and then we moved to Key West, Fl. My mother and father seperated and I have never seen or heard from her. I know I have a brother (same mother and father) born around April 1968 (not sure if in Florida or New York) whom my mother delivered after the seperation. My father (Aguedo Borrego) does nto want to provide me with any information on my mother and would love to find her.
Hi Muhammad. If you are calling from outside the United States, it’s possible you will have trouble with our toll free number. We will be closed until Monday regardless.
You have already emailed us your phone number and I’ll have someone call you on Monday to discuss your search. Is there a best time to reach you? Thanks.
Regards,
Dana
OmniTrace Corp.
Hello, I am looking for my mother for the past 12 year’s non-stop hope you can help.
I was born in Oklahoma on September 14, 1984
My Name is Muhammad Kazim Habib
I was born in Midwest Memorial Hospital
My Mothers name was Ok Yo Durham and she was 26 at that time. Her address was 4313 SE 9th #32, Del City Oklahoma 73115. I think and I am not sure if she changed her name to Okyo Garcia (I found this name as relatives to my fathers name in Public Record Search).
I have not seen my mother since 5 and I really want to meet her. Please please help!
Hello, i am looking for my biological mother. Her name is constance D carwell. She was sixteen when i was born which makes her either 36 or 37 now. i was born in orlando regional hospital florida in 1987. My fathers name is phillip e robinson. i have been actively searching for 6 years. i have contacted the adoption agency and the hospital with no luck. can you help me.
Hi Im looking for my Fathers Birth mother. Sadly we don’t have alot of information which is why we are still running into brick walls!
My Father was Adopted through Miller Road Bible Church In Lansing Michigan, Born in Sparrow Hospital. He was born on Nov. 21, 1958 and adopted by Eugene and Barbra Mathews when he was 2 days old. we believe his birth mother and her family attended the church before the adoption. His mother was 15-17 when my father was born. we believe his father was a little older and denied being the father and went into the army. Ive been helping my father search for almost 15 years and have had no luck. if anyone can help me I would be so very greatful! Thank you so much!!
Hello, I am looking for both children,I gave up in 1987 daughter Jessica DOB 8/11/1983, Son Charles DOB 9/5/1984. I don’t won’t to interfer. But would like to know if they are OK. They were adopted to their grandmother in Chatsworth, Ga.
My older sis I never meet was put up for adoption sometime in 1963 NY or NJ. Her name at birth was Joann Andrews born Nov 25 1962,in NY. she has 2 older brothers Shane and Bobby that remember her, can’t get no information off our mother only a birthday, their are 9 of us all together and we all where put with our dads, maybe with the exception of 3 of us, I am the 4th oldest and I’ve been searching for my sibling for a long time, over the years I’ve kept record of every date mom would say who’s birthday it was hopeing some day to find them and through the years I have found 4 and Joann is the last one and the only one that was adopted. Can anyone help me please. Thank you and God Bless. Sincerly Georgeann
hi my name is lisa perkins an searching for my birth son he was born on 11-29-86 as charles lamar hickman at roanoke memorial hospital in roanoke virginia
hi its lisa again i forgot to say he was adopted through catholic charties in roanok virginia,i was 16 at his time of birth
I was born 8-2-1983 and adopted through Friends of Children in Atlanta GA. I have my non-id info, but have hit a brick wall, and the ga reunion registry costs $300!!!!!! Help!!
I am a female adoptee born 10/01/1956 in Binghamton, NY. I am searching for any birth family. My birth mother’s name was Marie Jones (possibly an alias), who was 19 when I was born. My non-ID also says she gave birth to 1 child before me, so I am also looking for an older sibling, probably born between 1950-1955. I may have been born at Lourdes Hospital, or even Springer Hospital. The adoption was “private”.
I am a female adoptee born in Detroit (Wayne County), Michigan March 22, 1965. My birth mother’s name was/is Sandra Kay Farris. My adoption was voluntary and handled through Lutheran Social Services. I lived in Livonia Michigan with my loving adopted parents until 1972 when we moved to Northern Virginia. I believe I may also have a sibling. Only non-identifying info on father. Have my birth name and pre-adoption birth certificate.
Further info: my adoption was April 17, 1965. There is a Sandra Kay Farris listed in Detroit but since the name is fairly common and she is likely not using her maiden name, I hesitate to contact. I’m searching mainly for medical reasons and sibling info. Hope to hear from you.
I am a female adopted in albany new york , I was born in brooklyn kings county hospital agentcie is on gates avenue , my birth mother birthday is Feb 22, 1966 , The name as i know is is : Edith FC Williams ,
I am a male and I was born in Detroit Michigan on 8-9-67. I was born in Martin West Hospital. The hospital is no longer in existance. My mother’s last name was Pervine and I was listed as “baby boy Pervine” My mother is white and my father is black. They both work in the cafeteria at one of the auto plants. I have no idea how to start my search. Any help would be GR8
I was born 9/12/1979 in Forthood Texas. My birth mothers name is Shelly Wright and Birth father is Leonard C Wright III. I have one brother named William Oliver and one sister named Danielle Leigh. He was born in Rapid Cityd South Dakota and she was born in i think Scranton Pennsylvania. We are all mixed with black and white, many people think we are creole. We dont knwo where to start. HELP please.
Thanks
Hello- I am looking for my sisters child she put up for adoption in the spring of 1983. The birth was in in Richardson Texas as well as the adoption. This male child is 25 now possibly living in the Dallas/Ft.Worth area. His father first name is Daryl and at the time was going to law school and well know in the University Park area and his family is Jewish. My sister is 44 now and the father is proably 47 or so.
Hello, I’m looking for my birth family. I do not have much information. I was born March 21, 1969 in cook county illinois
I failed to tell you that my name at the time of birth of my baby girl in Riverside, California…it was Davis. I pray you will be able to help me locate her.
Searching for information about a baby boy born December 21, 1986 at Roanoke Memorial hospital. He was born 6 weeks early.He has brown hair and blue eyes.I was told his mother was in college and could not keep him. Would love information, especially medical,about birth family. The final adoption took place in March 1987.
hi my name is Barbara, i was born 12/17/1987. my birth name was Barbara ann dibiase. i was told my birth parents names were guy dibiase and Patricia dibiase and live in broward county, florida. i also have a blood brother that was adopted with me his name was guy dibiase. i would really like to find them.
Barbara,
According to whitepages.com here is an address for Guy & Patricia:
Guy Dibiase
555 NW Pillsbury Dr
Lake City, FL 32055-8187
phone number unavailable
Thanks for you help Loucy. This looks like a good match for Guy (51 years old) and Patricia Dibiase (50 years old). According to our databases, this is the only Guy DiBiase living in Flordia.
Barbara, it appears that this couple was married on Oct. 22, 1992. Patricia’s maiden was Patricia Ann Church.
Regards,
The Search Advisor / OmniTrace Staff
thanks guys but i think they were already married, i know they lived in south florida back when i was born. OAKLAND PARK, FL they had two kids me and my brother guy.
Hi Barbara. It looks like they may have been married prior to your adoption, possibly divorced and remarried (difficult to tell). I would definitely contact this couple before exploring other search avenues.
Regards,
The Search Advisor / OmniTrace Staff
Attention Barbara. One other note about this couple: They had once lived in Broward County. They are very likely your birth parents.
i would like to find my parents cuz i think that i should be able to know how they are
I am looking for my father’s birth mother. Her name according to his baptizmal record is Louise Maddaline. She was born in 1928 in Pennsylvania. I have searched all over- what do I do next to try and locate her?
(My father was born in Highland Park, MI (May 9, 1955)
I was born October 26, 1965 in Beach, ND in Golden Valley County. I only know that my birth mother’s name was Patricia Hanson, she was young, a pianist and she was originally from Phoenix, AZ, but stayed in ND with a wealthy doctor/farmer until my birth. Her father knew nothing of me. Both the private agency, and the rural hospital have closed down, and records have been burned. I am discouraged, and don’t know if it is possible to find her. I don’t know anything about my biological father. Any advice would be wonderful.
Am looking for my brother who was adopted from Kenya in 1993 in Jamii Hospital,Nairobi city, to an unknown couple in abroad.My mothers name is Josephine Wawira Njiru.I donot have other details please help where possible.All the best.
RE Comment by Kristina on 1 July 2008:
regarding Edith Tomei.
Hi. I want to start by strongly stating that I do not wish to get your hopes up… This is a very delicate matter and I suppose it would be too easy to jump to wanted conclusions. Please do not take this as an indication that you have found what you are searching for, but rather a very remote possibility and proceed with guarded emotions. I am doing the same.
My Grandmother Edith recently passed away and I was googling her maiden name to see what was out there. I came across this post by chance… My Grandma possibly had another daughter which was placed up for adoption. The time lines and areas of NJ appear to very close according to the limited information I have.
Please reply with an e-mail address I can contact you at so we may have further discussions in private.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Hi Rob. Kristina provided us her email address when she submitted her posts. We will send her a note letting her know that you want to write her. We’ll let you know if she wants contact.
Regards,
The Search Advisor / OmniTrace Staff
That would be soo wonderful, yet also quite bittersweet, if your grandmother is the woman who we have been looking for. Yet you are also right, that we shouldn’t get our hopes up quite yet. Thank you so very much for posting here.
I would love to hear from you, Rob!
-Kristina
(Rob, we sent you Kristina’s email. – The Search Advisor)
My older sis I never meet was put up for adoption sometime in 1963 NY or NJ. Her name at birth was Joann Andrews born Nov 25 1962,in NY. she has 2 older brothers Shane and Bobby that remember her, can’t get no information off our mother only a birthday, their are 9 of us all together and we all where put with our dads, maybe with the exception of 3 of us, I am the 4th oldest and I’ve been searching for my sibling for a long time, over the years I’ve kept record of every date mom would say who’s birthday it was hopeing some day to find them and through the years I have found 4 and Joann is the last one and the only one that was adopted. Can anyone help me please. Her dad is Robert F Andrews From N.Y. and mother is Joan Scheller from N.J. And N.Y. Thank you and God Bless. Sincerly Georgeann
I was born January 18, 1975 in Paterson, NJ. I was adopted through a private adoption. The birth certificate I have lists my adopted parents on it — I have no idea nor any clue of my birth mother nor will my adopted parents give me any information. How can I go about finding out who had a baby girl on this date in 1975 and gave her up for adoption? I’d love to find out my ancestry, health history, siblings, anything.
Thanks.
I was born Dec. 16, 1951 in Los Angeles and was told my birth Mom gave me up to a Catholic organization who handled the adoption in the LA area.
I also know that my name is ‘Michelle’ on my birth certificate.
Is there anything you can find out about me with only this info? My adopted parents passed away in recent years and I am only now finding out some information.
Please help.
Thanks!
Hi, my name is Ruth McDonald – born Ruth Freya Spitz on October 14th, 1974. I was born in Pennsylvania to a woman possibly named either Denise or Linda Cathcart. I was told she was a teenager when she had me, so she may be in her early 50’s now. If anyone has any information, please contact me via email. Any help would be greatly appreciated. We have 6 grandkids for her to meet!!
Looking for birth mother 9/1/1967, female, Indianapolis, hospital bracelet read Lamphire from IU Med Center. Later documents showed Coleman Hospital.
Thank you for anything you come up with!
im looking for the birth mother of my sister. my sister was born 12-21-1968 @ rockford memorial hospital in rockford il. she was delivered by dr. klink. her mother may have been between the ages of 16-18 and her last name may have been sullivan. she was adopted when she was three days old.
I was born July 26, 1966 in Dallas County, the only identifying info is that my mother and father were 16 and 17 years old respectively, african american. I was adopted out of hope cottage agency.
Hello. My name is Ronald Williams, and I am looking for my birth mother. I was adopted from Lutheran Family & Children Services in 1972. I was born on May 12,1972. I was able to obtain non-identifying info from the agency, which indicated that my mother did not want to give me up. She already had five kids, and could not afford me. She wanted to give me a better life. My birth father was the mailman that came into her job where she worked as a secretary. She was around 30 years old, and my birth father was married. He did not tell her that he was, but signed the adoption papers. I have NO CLUE where I was born. I was featured in the newspaper as Sunday’s Child at the local St. Louis Post Dispatch. I still have the article that my adopted mother saved for me. I will never feel complete unless I find her. I want to meet her, and my siblings. I am 36 years old, and married with a son. PLEASE help me find my mother. I will be forever grateful.
Hello…it’s Ron again. I forgot to mention that my name was Steve prior to my adopted parents renaming me. Please contact me with any information you can get. Thanks!!
Cynthia,
Was Cynthia Chambers your birth name? There is a Cynthia Chambers in the TX Birth Index:
Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997
Name: Cynthia Ann Chambers
Date of Birth: 26 Jul 1966
Gender: Female
Birth County: Dallas
Father’s Name: Jimmy Chambers JR.
Mother’s Name: Annie Joyce Wiley
Roll Number: 1966_0003
I am trying to find my birth father. I was born in Killeen TX on Nov. 2nd 1974 to Edward George Brice and Carol Ann Mclellan. When i was born he was stationed at Fort Hood in Texas. He was also stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado and he served three or four tours in Vietnam. He was born on June 30th, 1951(?) and he attended Holley High School in Holley, NY. His parents are John “Jack” Brice and Beverly Brice(born Beverly Hale). He has three brothers: Raymond Brice, John Brice, and (?). I have been trying to find my father for years with no luck. I expect nothing from him; all I want is to speak with him.
Just checking again to see if anyone can help. I know that it’s a process, but I am so anxious to find my family. My wife is helping me with this search, and she has been a huge support. If I could just get her my birth mother’s name, and where I was born I’d be happy. If there is more info, that would be welcomed too. Praying to hear from someone!
Tabitha
According to an obituary on Ancestry.com there is a Bevery Hale Brice who passed away 2/9/04. Listed as her survivors are: husban, John H Brice, sons, Edward and Ray Brice from Granite Falls NC, John from Orlando,FL, Donald from Pulaski, TN and a sister Rita Hose. I looked for a Edward or George Brice in Granite Falls and found: Edward G Brice at 4360 Clingstone lane, Granite Falls, NC 28630 at phone 828-212-0145.
This appears to be your Dad.