u/Puzzled-Big-4913

Hi everyone

For months and months everyday I have been spending hours trying to figure out who my great great grandmother's family was. She was orphaned in Montana in the 1890s and there is absolutely zero documentation about her. Only an intake log from the orphanage on the day she was admitted that gave no answers. So what I've been trying to do is use my dad's ancestry dna matches to triangulate her potential family. Based on her orphanage intake log (which gave no answers on family but did suspiciously include details that seem to apply to an indigenous chilld) and some of my dads DNA matches that have Red River Metis ancestors, I believe she was Metis, and probably Little Shell given the geographical location she was found and the time frame, probably taken from her family. The problem is, like I said there is no documentation available outside of the orphanage intake and my dad's dna matches have me going around in circles. I've managed to pinpoint some matches that descend from the same family line but I cannot narrow it down and I am getting so frustrated I am about ready to give up. This makes me sad because if she was Metis, I would absolutely want to get involved with the culture and learn the language and feel proud to know our heritage. I just don't know where to go from here. Someone I spoke with recommended St. Boniface Historical Society but on their website it says you have to know your family line already that they don't help uncover that, but again no documentation and we have no idea who her family was. I've also been in touch with Little Shell tribe enrollment and they are trying to help me figure it out but I was hoping someone might know any other recommendations that could help?

Thanks in advance!

Needing maybe some words of advice or encouragement maybe I'm not sure.

Just feeling really defeated in my genealogy research. I am trying to figure out where my great great grandmother came from as she was reportedly an orphan.

The first problem is, I don’t know what orphanage she was at... I know the state she was in but no idea which city or orphanage specifically.

Also, all the children orphanage records from 1890s in her state are sealed and only available to the closest immediate family member which I don't know if I would even qualify for since my father is technically a closer living relative to her than I am and he has other extended estranged family who would technically be a closer living relative to her as well.

I don't want to give up but I feel totally stuck 😣

I am suspicious that my father's great grandfather was not actually born to his parents and might have actually been a stolen Indigenous child or stolen or adopted hispanic child. My dad has taken an ancestry test though and there is nothing besides European that shows up. Could it be possible that his great grandfathers DNA didn't show up enough to register? His great grandfather does not look like any of his siblings or parents, has a dark complexion and completely different eyes, does not have a birth certificate and is from the Dakota Territories. I have pictures of him and his brothers that make it hard to believe he is related to them as they are German and all look German.