Help locating lost sibling - possibly adopted?

Question

My mother-in-law, now in her 60's just now saw her birth certificate for the first time and discovered that she had a twin at birth. She was raised by her biological parents, but no mention of a twin ever. She was told of an older sibling that died when he was 7 months old, so she does not believe her twin died at birth or shortly thereafter or her parents/siblings would have told her. She believes he/she may have been given up for adoption. The only thing we have to go on is birthdate and birthplace. Where do we start? Any help would be greatly appreciated. There were other family secrets that are just now coming to light.....this seems to be one more of the skeletons in the closet. Thanks!

Answer 1

There may be a death certificate for this twin. You can find this by contacting the appropriate death certificate offices. To rule out any deaths.

Then, you might start with researching adoption law in the state where the birth took place. It could be as easy as open records, 7 states. Others will help by using an intermediary. Or it could be a closed record state. Many of the older maternity homes are no longer in operation. The records may have been turned over to the state. She can try requesting what is known as the "Non-id" for the adoption from the appropriate state department, citing herself as a birth-sibling. Then perhaps, try requesting the non-id from agencies still in operation... like Catholic Charities. Find out if the state has a registry and get on it. Tool around websites such as http://registry.adoption.com/ .

Answer 2

Register with a search company. Beyond that point, I don't know how it works because that's not how I located my family.

It might be harder in your case because you don't actually have a name to go by...