r/ancestryinvestigators

I have an ancestor who vanished after 1900. I have revisited it for decade without any luck. Would appreciate a fresh set of eyes.

Benjamin F. Witherington was residing in Thomas County, GA in 1880. He married Susie Richardson in 1889. In the 1900 census he is, “S”, single. Enumerated June 8th.

In 1900, his wife Susan “ Susie” is back in her mother’s household as “ Susan Richardson (maiden name) with a 2 year old daughter Eliza. Aussie is listed as “WD”. Enumerated June 7th. I known women would sometimes claim to be widowed rather than divorced.

I have never found any document related to Benjamin after the 1900 census. His mother died in 1928 and her obituary only lists her living children. He is not included, so I assume he was deceased by 1928.

Name: Benjamin F. Witherington
Born: December 1858, Georgia
Occupation: Wheelwright
Location: Santiago, Cuba** **
Year: 1900 enumeration
U.S. civilian or military-support personnel working in Cuba after the Spanish–American War.

I would like to know if and when he died in Cuba. I know yellow fever was prevalent at the time. Did stay after his contract ended? Remarried? Return to US? Any help would be appreciated

I’ve been looking for my father for years and years and years. I know his name I know his birthdate. I just need to find a way to maybe try and introduce myself to him. I don’t want any money. I don’t need help with anything but I honestly would just like to talk to him.

Hello,

Kind of throwing everything out here. I was looking for any possible information regarding who I believe to be my biological father. The only person I can locate, was last known to reside in Denver. If this is the correct person it would appear he passed in 2020. His name was Cory Brian Shewmake. Hoping there may be additional family members or anybody that may have known him that could give me any insight.

About me… I was born February 9th 1986 in New Mexico. I only have a name to go on and have never met my bio dad. Years ago I reached out to other family members of his that I was able to locate but unfortunately didn’t end up following up on it at that time.

My grandfather was a Capt in the Mexican army under Col. Cantu around 1916/1917 in Mexicali. I wrote to the defense ministry and was sent a form to fill out. It was rejected because they only send records to the individual involved. Unfortunately, grandfather has been dead for many years before I was even born.

Not sure what to do next. I have found several records after he immigrated to New York, but nothing from Mexico.

His name was Leonardo Durand (some records show Duran) born around 1893. Mom thought he was born in or around Mexico City. No maternal last, no marriage records, at least two siblings Ygnacia and Alberto.

Any ideas or help is appreciated.

I’m looking for my biological father in Saudi Arabia — hoping someone can help me
Hello everyone. I’m a Filipino who is trying to find my biological father, who I have never had the opportunity to meet.
His name is Waleed Fahad Alwaalan (وليد بن فهد الوعلان). He is Saudi and, based on the information I have, he has connections to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
My mother is Filipino and she previously worked for my father’s family. My grandfather’s name is Fahad Abdulaziz Alwaalan / Abdulaziz Fahad Alwaalan. I was born from my mother’s relationship with Waleed Fahad Alwaalan.
I have spent a long time trying to find information about him. I have found some information about his family and relatives, but I have not been able to establish direct and reliable contact with my father.
I am not looking for money, inheritance, or anything like that. I simply want the chance to know my father, speak with him, and understand where I came from.
I understand that privacy is very important, and I do not want anyone to share private information publicly. If anyone recognizes the name, knows the family, or knows a legitimate way for me to contact him, I would be extremely grateful if you could send me a private message or point me in the right direction.
I am also willing to provide additional information privately if necessary to verify that I am genuinely his biological child.
I know this may be a long shot, but I’m hoping that someone in this community might be able to help.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Any respectful advice or assistance would mean a lot to me.

Hi everyone, my previous post was deleted by the auto-moderator because I mistakenly included too much identifying information.
I am trying to find the exact Missouri birth city or county for my late mother. She grew up in Inkster, MI, but always told me she was born in Missouri. Her Social Security number was issued in Illinois, so we suspect her family moved shortly after her birth.
Could someone with a premium Ancestry or fold3 account look up her NUMIDENT or birth index extract to see what city is listed?
**First & Middle Name:** \[Leah Nicole\]
**Last Name:** \[Clark\]
**Birthdate:** \[August 17, 1972\]
**Death Year:** \[2018\]
Thank you so much for the help, I really appreciate it!
P.S her and my Padre were never married although engaged so her last name is her maiden name.

I need help/advice. My great great grandma (Mary) was adopted but we found out through ancestry that my great grandpa (Larry, Mary’s son) has some connections to Mary’s father Orville. My theory is that Orville is Mary’s biological uncle. Orville had a sister named Helen and she went to Liverpool England through 1913 and 1915. Mary was born in 1915 and Helen never married. I have used all the hints and I’ve searched all of the ancestry records available. So my question is… Is there anyway I could find something else out? I am desperate to find out who Mary’s parents were, so if anyone can help please do!

Edit- I put the family tree in the comments

Hi! I’m trying to break through a very strange genealogy brick wall and wondered if anyone here might have access to records or a family tree that could help.

I’m looking for Johann Josef Wahl (also shows up as Johannes Josef Wahl), born 1899 on 19th of October in Treis, Germany (Treis an der Mosel, now Treis-Karden, Cochem-Zell).

What I know with reasonable certainty:
-Born 19 October 1899 in Treis, Germany.
-Moved to the Netherlands in 1936.
-Lived around Cuijk, St Agatha,North Brabant.
-Was a fruit grower.
-Married a Dutch woman and had children in the Netherlands (don’t have a specific date but he was married before 1924)
-His Cuijk family card explicitly identifies him as German.
-He remained German until his Dutch naturalisation after the war.
-The official 1956 naturalisation assessment states that during the war he was called up by Germany for military service, initially received a deferment, and then went into hiding in 1943.
-He was subsequently naturalised in the Netherlands in 1957.

The strange part is that I can find very little about Johann before WW2 or before moving to the Netherlands. I’ve searched both versions of his name, as well as records connected to his wife/wives, but I haven’t been able to find a convincing German birth/baptism record, marriage record, or other documentation identifying his parents.

His children are a bit easier to trace, so it’s not simply that the family left no records.

I also found a MyHeritage search result which appears to associate Johann with eight siblings, including people named Johann Wahl and Nikolaus Wahl, but I can’t see the underlying tree or source records without logging in. I’ve tried searching for those siblings independently, but there are far too many people with those names to identify them confidently.

I’m particularly interested in finding:
-Johann’s parents
-his 1899 birth/baptism record
-his siblings
-his marriage record(s)
-any information about his life in Germany before he moved to the Netherlands in 1936.

If anyone has him in a family tree or can point me toward the relevant Treis records, I’d be extremely grateful!

EDIT: So from asking around and doing as much digging as I can, most likely explanation as to why he moved the family from Germany to the Netherlands was economically motivated by trade policies affecting him as a fruit seller in Germany. Still working on getting a birth certificate for him.

Hello all! Usually I come onto here from my other account helping others, but this time around, I need help with a sibling of one of my ancestors to knock down a brick wall and put some info to rest.

Meet **Joseph Donovan.** He was born on January 26, 1909, in Somerville, Middlesex, Massachusetts, to Jeremiah Joseph Donovan (1882-1948) and Mary Estella (née Burchill) Donovan (1887-1947). Joseph married Gertrude sometime between the 1920’s to 1935, and Joseph’s appears on every census that has been released to date (within his respected time frame). He died sometime in 1962, and, according to my family and those who knew him, died without children and still married.

Here’s my issues:

1. I have no clue about his wife, where she is from, or her story. The census data shows she was born around the same time he was, in the same area, and that she never worked in her life. No clue on her death date.
2. I have 0 obituary for him. There might be one on GenealogyBank Historical Newspapers Obituaries, but I lack an account to see that. *If someone could find that for me, you have my enteral respect!!!*
3. I cannot find a resting place for him, and no one alive from my family knows either. I want to link him and his many siblings together on Findagrave and cannot do so until I figure out where he was buried.

Thank you all for your help or your time reading. I can clarify any and all information.