An update on my search

180567

Just thought I'd give an update on my search for my original family - I have posted here a few times over the past few years looking for advice and suggestions and have been very grateful for the help.

I managed to get my original birth certificate earlier this year and then managed to locate a couple of people who knew my original mother - Kitty Lyons. I found out she was about 25 at the time of my birth (rather than 35 which I had originally been told). I also found out she and my original dad had had another baby in 1964 or 65 and this baby - a girl - had also been adopted.
From the people who knew my mother back in the 1960's I was able to learn a bit more about her, and also learned that my original dad may have been a barman. They were both a young couple around Dun Laoghaire and were regulars at venues like the Top Hat in the mid 60's.

My mother had previously worked as an assistant at the Our Lady Of Lourdes hospital on Rochestown Avenue before going to work at a private nursing home for the elderly on Corrig Avenue in Dun Laoghaire in around 1963.

After my birth and adoption my original parents left Ireland and moved to Blackpool in England at the end of 1967.

I did a DNA test with Ancestry and it came up with a list of very distant cousins in America ! Lots of 3rd and 4th cousins , though I am not really sure how exactly I am related to them.

So my search continues ! Still hoping that someday my sister might do a dna test and I might connect to her that way. Or that someone might recognise my parents from the tiny bit of information I have about them.

Hermy

180567

Thanks for sharing your findings and well done on getting this far.

Re the DNA test - have you uploaded your Ancestry results to GedMatch and FTDNA?
You can upload to both for free and you'd never know - they just might get you a bit further down the road.

bessboroughboy

Do you have your original mother's birth cert.?

Have you looked for a record of your original parents' marriage in the UK?

Maybe they didn't stay together, have you looked for UK marriage records of any Kitty Lyons of the correct age
or for any UK births to maiden name Lyons since 1967?

180567

Thanks for those suggestions. I've uploaded to those sites, as well as to the MyHeritage website. I've been busy emailing the matches they have suggested.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to get my original mothers birth certificate as I don't know her date of birth, or which county she was originally from. (Though I am still trying to see if I can find anyone who might remember which county she was from).

When I went searching for a marriage record from the UK, I found a couple of marriages that seemed really promising (in particular one of a lady called Lyons to an Irish guy in Blackpool in 1970. Everything seemed to match up but in the end it turned out it wasn't them

I have done a lot of posting on various facebook groups linked to Blackpool in the hope that someone might recognize them from my descriptions - or me as a possible relation.

I keep hoping someday my sister, or some other relation will stumble accross all my various posts and recognize who it is. I'm a great believer that someday I'll find them

bessboroughboy

Just a thought, it looks like you know your mother's birth year (1967-25) give or take, depending on the months.

If you use findmypast.ie to search for a Kathleen Lyons born in 1942 plus or minus 1 year you will get approx. 10 results for 1941, 8 results for 1942 and 7 results for 1943

There were a handful of extra results but I've excluded duplications and early deaths. The results automatically included Catherine Lyons too. Maybe her accent, if anyone remembers, might narrow it down even more?

Finding your mother's birth record might throw up helpful extra info. like a middle name or unusual maiden name of her own mother.

You've already unearthed a lot of solid facts, it seems to me that it's only a matter of time before you get there.

180567

Thanks - yes. I am very hopeful I'll find the correct one someday. I have been trying to cross reference the areas that the various Catherine and Kathleen Lyons have come from (using the findmypast website) and cross referencing them against the areas that some of the areas mentioned by the people I have found on the dna matching websites (gedmatch, ancestry, ftdna, and Myheritage). Some of the areas that have come up from the dna matches include Union Hall, Skibbereen, Dungloe, and Cloughlass. (Though these could be on my father's side of the family).

bessboroughboy

You've taken a very sophisticated and comprehensive approach in the way you're combining all the potential sources of information.

I know you'll have thought of the following, I'm just curious as to whether it yielded any information.
Did searching in the GRO for female births in the relevant years and with the surname "Lyons" matching mother's maiden name "Lyons" throw up so many possibilities and therefore so many dates of birth to have to look for in the adoption book that it wasn't practical?

I've been there and done that and I know from experience that scanning through the adoption book for any listings with one of a few possible dobs isn't too bad.

You could then order the relevant adoption certs from Roscommon at 4 euro each. The certs will give you adoptive parents name and their address at the time.

If you could dwindle the possibilities down to just a few, then you could attempt to find out from the Adoption Authority which agency dealt with your sister's adoption and try to trace her through them.

180567

That is an excellent suggestion and something I shall try.

180567

Just wanted to let you all know I have now found and made contact with my original family ! I had my brother and sister in law over to visit last week, and I am going over to England to see the rest of my original family in the new year.

In the end the dna test was what helped me find them. By combining the two names - one from the dna test and the other from my original birth certificate I found them.

So a happy ending for my search. Thanks to everyone who gave me advice and suggestions along the way.

justback83

Fantastic!!

Hermy

That's great news 180567 - thanks for the update and best of luck in the future.

Ghekko

That's wonderful news. Delighted it's all working out and best wishes for a happy future with your family.

bessboroughboy

Absolutely brilliant news, well done!