My search was stalled. Unless I could find out my birth name, I could go no further. Through my research of adoption in Washington, DC in the 1960’s, I found out that you have to petition the court to open your records to give you any detail about your adoption. I filled out the paperwork, had it notarized and sent it in. They sent it back to me no less than three times as I missed a date, then a signature. This process went on for weeks then finally, an official court document arrived that said I had a court date to unseal my records. This is called a “break seal”. I worked through the DC Family Courts and my contact assured me they would call me with any news. Every 6 months the court date would get postponed. They said that they would only give me my birth name when they contacted my Mother. My Father was listed as “unknown” on the birth certificate. They dripped out a few more details such as her age and that she was healthy and working then no more. The court date was extended every few months. I would get the notice in the mail and just put it in the file.
In 2015 I was lucky enough to work with a pro-geneology professional at Ancestry. Michael Miller. Michael worked through my DNA and built my family tree backward. He and his crew did an amazing job. In December of 2016, I received a 12 page report. There, I had the names of my Grandparents, Great Grandparents and their children. The report revealed that my DNA markers showed I was the child of Marchand on my Mother’s side and Guillet on my Father’s side. The level of detail- names, addresses and phone numbers, was truly outstanding. However, I let the report sit for a bit. I needed more detail. I still had no idea who to call or ask for help. Those people might not know about me and I was not about to start disrupting lives.
Kelly's Journey 