10 Birth Family Search Tips

1.  In your search for old records, begin with the town and county areas where you were born or where your adoption was filed. The local archives may contain information unavailable anywhere else. After that, check the state archives.

2.  In order to find out when a person enters or leaves the country, write a Freedom of Information Act request to U.S. Customs for the Customs Declaration Forms that people have to sign when coming back from abroad. They are public records.

3.  See if your library has a book called “Adoption, Orphanages, Maternity Homes: An Historical Directory” by Reg Niles. It lists nationwide institutions in existence up to 1981, which includes addresses and other valuable information. Also put the name of the institution into your search engine to try to locate the archived records.  

4.  Triadadoption.com has valuable resources archived including adoption agencies, orphanages, and maternity homes.

5.  If either of your adoptive parents is deceased, you might try checking with the friends in the book people signed when paying their respects. If your adoptive mom belonged to any women's groups in her church, someone there may have information or names. The funeral home may also have a name not listed in the visitors book. Give them a call.

6. If you are interested in obtaining information regarding the Salvation Army Maternity Home and Hospital Records, please email Lois.Sellars@usw.salvationarmy.org, or call their toll free number 1-800-698-7728, Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time and ask for Booth records. A form will be sent to you for notarization. This form must be on file before any acknowledgement of records is given. A processing fee may be charged.

7.  If the doctor or obstetrician that delivered you is listed on your amended birth certificate or you know who he or she is, make an appointment if you live in the same area or write a letter. Some (but not all) doctors tend to keep their old records.

8. If you are a birthparent searching, the name of who paid your doctor's bill could provide the adopted parent’s name. The doctor's or hospital's billing department may have that record in their archives or on microfiche.

9. California has an excellent service whereby they will forward a letter to someone if a person writes to the DMV and asks for a letter to be forwarded. States that provide this service will charge a small fee. The minimal information you need will be a name and year/date of birth. It works the same way as the Social Security Administration's letter forwarding service. If this service does not currently exist where you live, petition your state to implement California’s letter forwarding service through its Driver’s License Division. The address for SS mail forwarding is at: Social Security Administration Location Services, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, Maryland 21235. They will forward only if given a specific reason such as for medical reasons. It would be wise not mention adoption or adoption related topics.

10. There is a wealth of information in obituaries. If you have a name and the birth parent you are looking for is deceased, the obituary will list survivors and will tell you where their children (your siblings) were at the time of death as well as list the married names of your sisters if you have any. If you have a death certificate but are unable to locate an obituary, try calling the funeral home listed on the death certificate. They may be able to provide you with a copy of the obituary or list of the survivors. If not, go to the library of the town where the death occurred and ask the librarian if the newspapers for their town are indexed on their computers. If they are, input the name in their database and it will search and find that persons name every time it is mentioned. Also, input any other family member names you may have.