My father was adopted, so is there any way I can...?

Question

My father is now deceased and was adopted. Are there any DNA tests or any other kinds of test I could take to figure out my ethnicity? I really want to know because, my mom tells me Im Italian and German, different websites tell me Im Spanish, Portuguese, Scottish and British. THANKSS!

Answer 1

could bee

Answer 2

Only a DNA test will identify the markers of your origins. Such as, I'm from Scots grandparents but I know I have mostly Viking blood in me, due to the trading between the two nations over the centuries.

Answer 3

I'm SO glad you asked this question! I was just about to. My mother is adopted, and her real 'mother' refuses to talk to her and no one has ever known the father (we don't even know if her 'mother' did), so we've been really interested in this subject as well! Good luck and I hope you find what you're looking for!

Answer 4

do you by chance have any info on your birth father such as date of birth, location of birth etc.? I'm only asking because i myself and going through a similar situation however i'm the one who was adopted and am told that i'm part indian through my birth fathers genealogy. I however was fortunate enough to meet my birth father at the age of 15 though never looked into my genealogy until just recently and have discovered that yes indeed i am part indian through his blood. My next step is to find my origonal birth certificate which my mother claimed before her death was destroyed in 1985 when my step father adopted me however ALL THE INFO ON THE REPLACEMENT BIRTH CERTIFICATE I HAVE has all my info (well my birth info) on it except my last name has been changed as has my fathers name and info changed to my step father (adopted father's) info. I feared i'd never be able to prove that i indeed am who my birth fathers family knows i am legally though my Uncle Melvin was a cop for many years and tells me that the origonal birth certificate is NEVER destroyed though my mother could have had it sealed but yes it can be unsealed to obtain a copy of my origonal birth certificate.

I found the hospital where i was born listed on my birth certificate and i did a yahoo search to see if indeed it still exists and called it just this past Friday and indeed it still exists though is called something else now.

When i told the lady who answered the phone my situation... she lead me to thee place all the birth records were sent and gave me a number to there and i called though it was too late to get anyone so i left a message and will probably get a call back from them tomorrow concerning this.

My advice is to 1st get the info on your birth father and find out for sure who he is and then start researching your genealogy which takes alot of time and patience but if you're devoted the answers will come eventually.

In this search i've gotten very lucky and stumbled upon a family tree online that to my surprise started with my fathers birth mother and i contacted the man in charge of the tree. To my surprise i've discover this man is some far off distant relative and my grandmother is the last person he had listed to add to the family tree and only had as far as her birthday not really any info on her other then that and her parents and grandparents though not really very much info on them really. The last week i've devoted all my time in helping him to update the info for my grandmother and everyone and everything since her as well as my great great great great grandparents and a bit of info on them that i've uncovered.

You could get lucky as i have and things will just fall into place for the most part. My grandmothers fathers side is traced clear back to the 1500's though her mothers info only to the 1800. we have a long way to go but one step at a time and one person at a time and we'll get there. It's easier that her fathers side has been updated so far back so mainly we only have to worry about her mothers side which i've learned there is a series of books that i can purchase through far off relatives who live right here in PA which will date  that side of my ancestors back to the mayflower days so i'm very excited to be able to obtain those. There is a series of four of them and the most expensive one is $20.00 so it will be worth getting them just so if nothing else i can get this family tree updated and make copies for all my children so they themselves can have all the info they may want or need on their family tree for future use or passing onto their children. Good luck in your search honey! ~HUGS~FROM~BECCA~

Answer 5

Your Mom must know, just listen to your Mom.

Answer 6

NO WEBSITE is going to know what you are, since they don't have any proof of who you actually are, or samples of your DNA.  Yes.. you can have dna testing done, but it will give you what is called HAPLOGROUPS... that is, a broad and very very old group of persons from (say) Europe, but NOT a specific country.

If you absolutely never are able to verify dad's biological family, dna is the only option there is.  I would not assume that adoption ALWAYS means you have a brick wall.  There are adoptions that were informal (not sealed records), or someone in the family knew who the bio parents were.

If you are able to learn who the bio family was.. then once you reach records pre 1930, you can research them in the census (in the US), which will tell you what the place(s) of birth were.

Answer 7

Boomer Wisdom has given a good website to visit and "Wendy C" is partially correct (considerably) about the Haplogroup when doing a DNA test.

I suggest, if it is possible, to obtain a copy of the adoption papers which should (certainly in Australia) include the original birth certificate plus the adoptive birth certificate. With the name of your father's  birth father, apply for a DNA test with a DNA research program of that family name. (i.e.  with me it is the "Burgess DNA Project", based in the USA. You can look on the web for the project.

Once you have done the DNA test, the Haplogroups will be determined and you will have access to a larger website that shows which groupings you fall into, and where they are located around the world, and also possible relatives that you have never known about on the male side.

On the female side, you may be able to find which of the five "prime mothers" group you belong to with the Female DNA microchondrical (that is spelt incorrectly) typeing.

You will probably find that you have a wide spread of origins of your Haplogroups spread all over Europe and even into Asia and the Middle East. I have a few Pacific Islanders in my listings although I cannot work out why as I am basically of British stock (Irish, English and Scots).

If you are doing your Geneaolgy, I suggest you join "Genes Reunited" which is British based, but you can find relatives from all over the world. The site is:

http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/

I hope this is of assistance to you.

Answer 8

Couldn't you just trace your father's birth certificate from the Adoption register?

Answer 9

This is a very difficult specialty within Genealogy. It takes a lot of research, but the results are quite amazing. I've seen miracles performed by experienced genealogists who understand adoption procedures, usually leading to uniting mothers with sons, or uniting a child to ancestors.

This site might help you understand resources and techniques available: http://www.cyndislist.com/adoption.htm

Good luck in your endeavor.