Mother adopted - how to find where she came from

[phillippalee]

My mother left me and brothers when I was 6 months - After doing my DNA i discovered that on my mothers side I am 36 percent Jewish. The problem is my mother was adopted. I have her name - but how would I go about finding anything else about her background.

[Andy J2022]

Do you know anything else about your mother apart from her name? Could she still be alive? Unless your mother had a very unusual surname, I think that conventional genealogical research is not going to be much help until you have a little more identifying information about her. Her age (even approximately), where she came from, or who adopted her could help immensely. If she was born after 1927 then there should be a record of her adoption which may include her birth mother's details, and you have a right to ask for those details - see this website for more details: Adoption, Search and Reunion.

If you believe that your mother could still be alive, you can use the GRO's Adoption Contact Register service to see if she might be interested in finding you after all these years. If that were to happen, you would obviously be able to ask her questions about where she thinks she came from.

Has your brother done a DNA test? Using both your and his test results together will greatly increase your chances of finding close relatives and also to know more about both of your parents.

[CaroleW]

My mother left me and brothers

You say "brothers" - how many siblings do you have?   Was your mother married?   If not - they may possibly not all have the same father.

How do you know your mother was adopted?  Do you have some documentary evidence of that?

Is any father shown on your birth cert or those of your other siblings?

Were you & your siblings all adopted after your mother left or brought up by family members?

I see you had an interest in this post

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=824142.msg7484483#msg7484483

[jim1]

I did the same search for my wife's father who was adopted
pre Adoption Act.
I put her DNA on Ancestry as they have the largest DNA database
but the more sites you put your DNA on the better chance you have.
I concentrated on 2nd. - 4th. cousins & selected the closest match &
selected shared matches which gave me a list of matches that shared
DNA with my wife & the selected person.
I put those into a group.
I then did the same with another match not in the group & put them
in a separate group.
It's then a case of looking at trees & finding common ancestors.
If you know your father's family you should be able to see others in a group
with the same shared names & so that group can be put aside which leaves you
with a group or groups with names unknown to you.
It's then down to detective work looking for common names, profiles & locations.
It's not quick & can be painstaking but I succeeded using this method & found
both parents.

[Rosinish]

Welcome to Rootschat.

It would be an idea to edit your post to...

Mother adopted - how to find where she came from via DNA

Then use the Report to Moderator button & ask for your post to be moved to the DNA section.

As this is a worldwide site, can you tell us where the adoption occurred?

As jim1 said, you need to divide your matches into maternal/paternal groups & look at shared matches.

You may want to try the LEEDS Method (plenty to learn via a google search) including videos but the main one you want is...

https://www.danaleeds.com/dna-color-clustering-the-leeds-method-for-easily-visualizing-matches/

Annie

[phillippalee]

Thank you all for your responses. I know my father and have a lot of the family tree- from his side.  I have 3 siblings that are from my mother with different fathers. One of them has had his dna done and also has the Jewish connection. I am waiting for more info about my mothers adopted name - she and my father have died. My mother kept in touch with my older brother so I know she was adopted through him. Thanks for the really helpful information.

[Rosinish]

It's great you & your brother have both taken a DNA test as it will help to work out matches on your maternal line.

You need to look for recurring surnames in matches' trees & you may not match all the same people as your brother as DNA is randomly passed down.

Where did you both test & what country were you born in?

Annie

[Rosinish]

What are you & your brother's 5 highest matches in cMs on your maternal line (do not post names)?

Do they all match each other?

Annie