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Searching Searching is a vital part of planning many reunions. If yours is a class or military group and you’ve not had any reunions, searching may be a focus of all your planning. You’ll always be looking for some missing members. If yours is a family reunion and you’re a genealogist, you’ll always be searching, but most likely for ancestors. Some families search for individuals and branches they’ve lost contact with. These are ideas for searching and some interesting examples of success.
Dad stops for gas, finds lost son
That headline was listed as best of last year by Parade Magazine. And, no wonder! It leads a story about John Garcia, Pueblo, Colorado, who stopped at a gas station he's never visited even though he didn't need gas and paid by check, which he never does. The clerk, Nueng Garcia, began to ask questions which ended in both realizing they were father and son.
from Parade Magazine
From Russia, with love
When Ikhel Vodonos' flight from Moscow landed at the Los Angeles International Airport, one of the first people he saw was his brother, Joseph. It was the first time Ikhel met his brother and his first visit to the US. He was two months shy of his 80th birthday and Joseph, nearly deaf, eyesight failing, was turning 102. Joseph immigrated to the US in 1913, twenty years before Ikhel was born in Belogorodka, a small Russian town. Brother, Shimshon, died in World War II and another brother, Shuki, and sister, Feiga, lived in Israel. It seemed like the family would never reunite.
Joseph's wife, son and daughter-in-law, helped Joseph realize his fondest dream, one he'd dared not believe might come true. Devoutly religious, Joseph thought God had favored him with a miracle. Ikhel was filled with wonder and awe at the freedom he felt in America, not only could he worship as he pleased, food was plentiful.
from the Los Angeles Times
Essential search registry
If you are or know persons who are kin-by-birth, adoptees and birthparents, who are searching, there is one place they should be registered. The International Soundex Reunion Registry (ISRR) is the world's largest registry for matching persons who desire contact. Any adoptee who is 18 or over, birthparent or adoptive parents of adoptees who may still be under 18 can register. A form must be voluntarily completed and signed. The signature is required and is deemed legal consent for contact between parties. The form is computerized when it's received and if there's a match, both parties are notified immediately. ISRR is non profit, tax-exempt and it's services are free but the organization relies entirely on the generosity of its users so since we support ISRR, we suggest donations with submissions. Get a registration form online at www.isrr.net or send a SASE to ISRR, PO Box 2312, Carson City NV 89702-2312.
Desperately searching?
There is absolutely no charge to access the more than 117 million residential and business listings in www.switchboard.com's database, accessible 24/7, unlimited and free-of-charge. It really is as simple as going to www.switchboard.com, providing contact information and beginning the search. Stella and Louis Perez worked with a copy of the USS Sheridan's personnel Deck Log, containing more than 2,000 names to obtain addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses to invite the veterans to their reunion. You might turn up more than a few Jim Jones, but if you have a state or city to go on, the results will be more tailored.
Searching by e-mail
Mrs. Joanne Emerick, a history teacher at Hoxie (Kansas) High School, e-mailed looking for help to find a World War II unit who befriended a 10-year old Filipino boy near Parang, Cotobato, Mindanao in 1945. His family hid and ran through the mountains during the war to escape the Japanese. They were hungry and no longer had possessions. The boy hung around the American soldiers at the coast and stayed in a tent with six black soldiers who "adopted" him, fed him and took him to church. The boy's father was a minister so he knew Christian hymns. When the soldiers left Parang, the boy begged to go with them, but of course, he couldn't. He later came to America, became a citizen, married and was both a high school speech/debate teacher and a minister. He retired from teaching two years ago and is retiring from the ministry this year. As a surprise, his Christian church congregation is trying to locate the soldiers who still have a special place in his heart. Their information which they admit may be inaccurate is that they believe that that group might have been the 103rd Colored Division. Can you help us find these men?
An e-mail search
Sat, 21 Nov 1998
The Gray Genealogy mail list received a message from a man who is a child of a WWII US serviceman and asked if we could help find this vet. Here's his request.
"I'm French living in the French Riviera. In 1943, between the Choupot and Cuvelier areas, Richard Gray, an American soldier was based at Oran, Algeria. He was twenty to twenty-three years old when he met my mother, Lucienne Martin who was seventeen. They wanted to be married. Gray was transferred at the end of 1943 or beginning of 1944 to an unknown place to continue the war. He should have been informed by mail of my birth on August 31, 1944.
Richard wrote a lot during the war, and when he returned to the USA in 1944 he wanted to marry her. He told her in his letters but they were intercepted and destroyed by my grandmother who didn't want this marriage or her daughter and grandchild moving to the US. My mother thought she had been deserted in a cowardly manner by her lover. Before her death, my grandmother confided that she destroyed all of their correspondence and a few papers belonging to my mother. I created a web site to try to research him. In this site I have a picture of my mother at that time. I have written more than 1,000 e-mails to Gray families in the US. Unfortunately, the name Gray is very widespread. I just want to know if Richard Gray is still alive. I would very much like to find him, and hold him tight in my arms." Mister Paez Claude Richard
Allee du Vent d'Est - Les Vautes N° 7, 83320 - Carqueiranne France
phone 33 04 94 58 75 09
e-mail: marie-francoise.vincent-paez@wanadoo.fr
Web http://aa-ienet.com/RICHA1.htm.
A-hoy, Hunley
John Hunley, Madisonville, Louisiana, was always interested in maritime history. But when he learned there was a sunken submarine off the coast of South Carolina named the H.L. Hunley, his interest was piqued. He launched a search to see if he is related to the sub's captain. He's had no luck yet, but he is interested in hearing from anyone who might be able to help prove a Horace Hunley connection. Contact John Hunley, PO Box 613, Madisonville LA 70447.
Web site helps find military friends
What happened to the skinny kid from basic training? Or your high school sweetheart who was drafted? Or your next door neighbor's dad who was transferred overseas? Check www.Gisearch.com, a free web service dedicated to reuniting service members, retirees, veterans, spouses and children. The idea came when Staff Sgt. Don P. Oliver, a range control NCO at Ft Jackson and his neighbor, retired Staff Sgt. Ed McWhirter, were reminiscing about friends from various duty stations. Every time they looked for an old friend, they could get only so far before they needed a credit card number. The sites that didn't charge had long lists of unsearchable data. Oliver decided that if thousands of people went to the trouble of posting unordered, hard-to-find messages, then many more would appreciate a comprehensive, searchable system. The site allows anyone to sign up and list former duty stations in a searchable database. You can search for service members by name or browse a comprehensive list of bases. This is an excellent way to find people whose names you can't remember or whom you've forgotten altogether. Members "Lost and Found" messages appear throughout the site.
Reunions lead to reunions of another kind
by Kathe Murphy
I am a professional reunion planner, and rely on a wonderful researcher who averages finding 89% of all our classes! I am rarely involved in search. Yet I do glance at lost lists and search efforts to see if there is just one more way of tweaking it to find people. One rainy Saturday afternoon, I found "Sue Ann Katana" was on the mailing list. An unusual name. I did a national search, which brought up four names. Good. I called and found Sue Ann's birthfather. Really good. He said that yes, she was his daughter but sadly he had not seen her since she was two years old. Bad. He had learned that she didn't like her name and changed it. Double bad. He told me her mother had remarried a "Mr. Smith." Triple bad. I asked about the grandparents' last name. Hotchkiss. Good. I started calling every Hotchkiss in the state and found a distant relative who told me that Sue Ann's mother had married a "Jay Smith" who was a policeman in Bozeman. Bad. Policemen usually have unlisted phone numbers. But, good, you can call police headquarters. I called the Missoula police to learn that Officer Jay Smith had passed away. Bad. I asked who Officer Smith's partner was. Good. Got another unusual name, called and found him. He led me to Sue Ann's mother and eventually to Sue Ann who was now Amy (aka Sue Ann) Coggins (married name). Whew. Sent an invitation with a current lost list without "Sue Ann Katana." Weeks pass. I'm working on another rainy Saturday when I take a call from a classmate who knows the whereabouts of a missing person. Good. We always write down the "source" of our lead for missing classmates and she was "Amy Coggins." How could I forget my obsession to find her! I introduced myself and told her the tracking I'd done which began with her birthfather. She was thrilled that I knew where he was. Through me they were put in touch and had their own reunion. Extremely good. Think about this story. What were the chances that I would search? Or the chances that I'd answer the call from Amy? Do you believe in "Angels?" I do now. About the author
Kathe Murphy owns Classy Reunions in Sandpoint, ID; 208-263-1514; reunions@netw.com.
Sisters reunite
Rachel Foster had not seen her sister, Judy Fenters, for 46 years. Rachel's letter about searching for the Van Cleave family of ten siblings separated during the 1950s appeared in GRIT magazine and received 25 replies and a reunion. At age 12 in 1945 Rachel reported being abused and always felt the family blamed her for what happened next. She and two younger sisters were removed and made wards of the court. Older siblings had already left home. She thought they wanted nothing to do with her. Rachel, however, discovered it was she who was "lost." Judy stayed in touch with everyone so Rachel was able to catch up. She points out that they were not close as children and doesn't feel they will be now, but knowing they care is very important. Editors of GRIT encourage readers to share stories because sometimes dreams can come true. Contact GRIT, 1503 SW 42nd St, Topeka KS 66609-1265.
Book review
Locating Lost Family Members and Friends by Kathleen W. Hinckley (1999, 174 pages, paperback, $18.95). Betterway Books, F&W Publications, 1507 Dana Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45207 For the genealogical sleuth, Locating Lost Family Members & Friends can be a helpful companion. Hinckley, a professional private eye and certified genealogical record specialist, shows how to utilize birth and death certificates, marriage and divorce records, high school and college transcripts. A chapter on the Internet helps make this an up-to-the-minute source for successful family investigations. JP
Searching surprises
Star Demint would have traveled around the world to meet birth family but she only had to go 10 minutes to meet a half-brother. Demint was abandoned as an infant and later, adopted by her foster mother. Not long after beginning her search, Demint was told her birthmother had died, the one thing she didn't want to hear. After more searching she ascertained that her mother died in New Orleans in 1976 and was buried in California. A call to the funeral home revealed that Demint had three brothers and two sisters. The sisters are not dealing well with the surprise of another sister but the brothers have been welcoming and supportive. The first brother she called told her another brother lived just 10 minutes from her. She impatiently went right over to her brother's house. He said she looked so much like her mother he knew they were related when he saw her coming. Demint, who lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, has attended reunions with her new family in Tennessee and Iowa. submitted by Ken August Brunner from the St. Petersburg (FL) Times
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