I am looking for information on my paternal grandfather, name unknown because my dad was adopted

Question

My dad was adopted in May 1960 and we are looking for his biological dad, my paternal grandfather.

My dad's name at birth was Darryl Smith (his biological mom's last name), but his adoptive parents changed his name.

It is very probable that my paternal grandfather does not know that my dad even exists. We are pretty sure he's still alive but he is probably around 80 years old.

Possible last names include Pearce, Knowlton, and Conacher.

Locations include Rosetown, Saskatchewan area and communities near Turtle Lake, Saskatchewan.

Update 2021-Mar-08:
I have finally matched with a 3rd cousin who shares the same paternal haplogroup as my dad! Unfortunately this person has never met their dad (or any of his dad's family), but the last name of this person (and their dad) is Johnson. I think it is reasonable to assume that the last name of my paternal grandfather is also Johnson.

Comments

Has your father done DNA testing? Both autosomal and Y-DNA tests are likely to be useful in your search.

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Yes. We have both done 23andme, and I believe he has also done ancestry DNA. I have uploaded my data to GEDmatch but no hits there yet.

Would it be useful to include his Y-haplogroup in my post?

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Have you written to his autosomal DNA matches to find out who they are and to learn about their ancestry? DNA matches may be cousins that can help lead you toward his father's family. Cousins are likely to have different last names, and even 3rd and 4th cousin matches could be valuable clues.

For his Y-DNA, I think you need to get in touch with the projects related to your candidate surnames. I'll add tags to your post to attract attention from the members with expertise in adoption and Y-DNA.

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It looks like you've added your father's profile to WikiTree, but it is locked.  If he signed up for his own account, and made it public, then he could list his DNA information, and that might help.

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Ainsley,

I presume you had "no hits there yet" on GEDmatch because you just uploaded. It takes hours to process your data and produce matches, so I'll bet you have TONS of matches there by now.

Of course, it would be more helpful for this particular project of yours to have your dad's DNA on there, too. Really, yours won't tell you anything that his doesn't.

Be aware that you can also upload your dad's AncestryDNA data to MyHeritage for free, up through 18DEC. The more people to match against, the better, so that's a "no Brainer".

Also, I'd be interested in hearing how strong his top few matches are - measured in centimorgans (cM). Chances are, we can tell you what his possible relation level to those people are (such as "1st cousin", or "half-sibling"), and that would tell you a LOT.

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The website for YDNA comparisons is mitoydna.org

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Cousins are usually your best possibility for clues - a sibling or parental match would be extraordinary good luck. But you should find many cousins -- if anyone is coming up as a 1st or 2nd cousin, look at their family tree. By process of deduction, you may be able to figure it out. If you can't access the tree, email them -- people who upload their DNA are usually very welcoming and helpful. FTDNA is another useful site where you can upload your 23andMe data for free. Both FTDNA and MyHeritage will give you a kind of map of relation levels, and you can usually figure out which is the correct one by correlating the age of your father with the age of the person you matched. In other words, if MyHeritage says 1st cousin, great-uncle or great-great uncle, and your father is about the same age as the match, they're likely cousins.

Answer 1

We have a project to help find bioparents.  

https://www.wikitree.com/contact/adoption/

There is a waiting list.  

Answer 2

Here is a link from the Adoption Angels page that might help.

Saskatchewan Adoption Records

Canada Adoption Registry.

Answer 3

Hi There,

Please make sure your father is signed up with the Reunion Registery in Regina.  this way that avenue will be covered in case anyone from the family is searching for your father.  Be that siblings or whomever.

I am from Alberta but I would like to help you. (I am a Former adoptee) so please feel free to message me and we can go over what you have covered thus far.

Tanya