82_28 » Fri Apr 04, 2014 10:08 pm wrote:There are a number of ways. I have done this research for people several times. You need to look between the cracks. If I had a name or two and an address or two I might be of assistance. From there it cascades into more of a meta-effort which includes meta-cross-checking to make sure you got it right.
Just as a ballpark figure to start things we need names and possibly hospital. '58 is on the cusp of no one having birth certificates and having them. Tis true.
This is for the original poster:
This does get into the same techniques as genealogy, which it actually is. If there's a birth certificate under the original name, you may be in luck, even in Penna, which has some pretty arcane laws as to who can obtain a copy. As a half-brother, you would probably be considered a blood relative. I'm not positive of the details of the Penna law. But, assuming you know the original name, there may be a trail via legal name change: x y to x z.
This is for the quoted poster:
"No one having birth certificates," in Pennsylvania in 1958? Huh? That's just ridiculous. Perhaps you are thinking of 1858? I have my mother's birth certificate from 1914 and my father's from 1916 in Philadelphia, as well as my mother's name change from Fanny to Fay.
This is to everyone on this thread:
In genealogy it's not about starting with some kind of overall plan, it's about following the clues wherever they take you. Start with a good genealogy program. The Legacy free version is good. And just plug in everything you know. Sometimes just adding a fact somewhere will spark an idea about a connection. And you may not be able to do this all online. Think
History Detectives. In genealogy, you will almost certainly have to spend some money. Why do you think rich people get into this? Would Elvis have known he was descended from Abraham Lincoln if he couldn't afford to have someone do the research? Even doing it yourself, you may have to spend a few bucks.
And keep in mind, the person you are looking for may be looking for you, so, despite all the idiots who think they still have something called "privacy," PUT YOUR INFO ONLINE! I did this for several years until my distant relatives had a conniption, and I got all kinds of interesting info, including an email from a relative who was half Jewish and half Chinese.
And finally, the person you are looking for may also be doing genealogy--it's the "thing" now--so the more you know the more points of intersection you will have with them. If you know that your great-grandfather was Rufus T. Pickins (b. 1870) of Detroit, Michigan, and they know that their ggf had similar data, there is a better chance you will make a connection, especially online.