Month: November 2019

U.S. Soldier’s German Child (The Research)

More than 100,000 babies were born to unwed German mothers in the ten years following World War II. Their fathers, from Allied forces, left Germany without ever meeting them.

             U.S. and German Flags

The children conceived during this time are nearing retirement and are still seeking answers. With the increased popularity of DNA testing, they have an avenue to explore their biological heritage. After all these years, with DNA detective skills, many will learn who their biological father was.

The War Babes Act

According to gitrace.org, “War Babes” was a British-based organization established in the 1980s.  They assisted adults born to American service members during World War II (or other relevant periods.)  In 1989, they took out a class-action suit against the American Defense Department for refusing to release information about GI fathers.  On November 16, 1990, the War Babes organization settled its lawsuit against the U.S. government.  The settlement included:

Many children were born to U.S. service members who knew nothing about their father. With the advancement of DNA technology and the popularity of DNA testing sites, these individuals will soon identify men who might be their fathers. GI Trace has made it possible for those children to obtain military records on their suspected fathers to see if the files match their history.

My Friend, A War Babe

My friend was one of these “war babes.” She was born in Germany in the 1960s. Her biological father was in the Army, and her birth mother was a German woman. The couple had a two-year affair, and my friend was their second daughter.  Her biological mother could not raise two children alone, so she placed my friend up for adoption.

Her biological mother was German, so it would probably be more challenging to find her.  We started researching her DNA on Ancestry.com, looking for information about her father.  Her closest matches lived in the United States and appeared to be Americans; thus, her paternal side.

There was a strong presence in Bradley, Tennessee, and somehow she was connected to the Epperson family. Although I was not sure this was her paternal surname, it was indeed a possibility.  Many of her DNA matches had links to several generations in the Epperson family.

As the weeks progressed, I narrowed her tree down quite a bit.  I created a family tree and added in her DNA matches (according to their trees), and pieced the family tree puzzle together, one person at a time.  There was one cousin match I couldn’t figure out. His family was from Roane County, Tennessee, and had the surname Cook. I looked at his tree and could not find the connection. I then searched his Cook tree for the name Epperson, and bingo! One of his aunts had married an Epperson.  If he was a Cook and not an Epperson, why did he share DNA with my friend?

His aunt (Daughter Cook) and her husband (Son Epperson) must have been the direct ancestors of my friend.  She had DNA from the Cook side and the Epperson side. I needed this hint because my friend matched the Cook side of his tree (his relatives) and the Epperson side of the tree (not his relatives.)  This match helped me figure out who my friend’s paternal grandparents were.

After studying her DNA matches and their family trees, she descended from Joseph Thompson and Mary Mercer from the mid-1800s. I was perplexed. On the paternal line, there can only be eight couples who are 2nd great-grandparents. I was confused because this tree already had eight teams who were 2nd great-grandparents. What was I missing?

We have eight couples (16 individuals) who are our 2nd great-grandparents

The next morning I decided to go back to the tree and see what I was missing.

There it was! She had a 2nd great-grandmother named Elizabeth Thompson on the Epperson side, whose parents were unknown. I researched and discovered that Elizabeth Thompson’s brother was Joseph Thompson, who was married to Mary Mercer. His parents must have been Elizabeth Thompson’s parents.

When genealogists reach a dead-end with someone, it can be helpful to research a sibling, especially a brother, because men generally have more historical records available. I studied Joseph and found him in the census as a son of James W. Thompson. James was her 3rd great-grandfather. Not only was this a significant breakthrough for me, but other researchers had gone years without knowing who Elizabeth Thompson’s father was. Adding the Thompson relatives to the existing tree could be done without adding a new branch.

These breakthroughs left me knowing who my friend’s grandparents were. Her biological father had to be one of their sons. I began researching each of these children and discovered only one had been in the military during the 1960s. As I tracked down his information, I learned that he was married at the time and was the father of three children. This gentleman is deceased now (my friend’s father), but his children are living. Their mother is still living, so any “news” could be pretty upsetting to this family.

The man I believe is my friend’s biological father was Mr. Epperson. He was born in Tennessee in the early 1920s and died in Georgia before 2005. He was in the Army (out of Ft. Benning, Georgia) and served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam as a Staff sergeant.  He was married and had three children at home.

My Friend’s Adoptive Parents

An American couple in their mid to late 40s adopted my friend. Her (adoptive) father served in the Army (out of Ft. Benning, Georgia) during World War II, in Korea, and in Vietnam.  During Vietnam, he was in Berlin, Germany. He served on MACV Team 100 and died at 48 in Gia Dinh, the Hồ Chí Minh Municipality.  My friend was only eight years old when her father died.

Her (adoptive) mother was very open and shared many details about her adoption.  She impressed upon my friend that her mother wanted to keep her, but finances prohibited it. My friend’s adoptive mother died in 2009.

Coincidences Between Biological and Adoptive Father

  • Both men were in the Army
  • Both men served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam
  • Both men were out of Ft. Benning, Georgia
  • Both men were serving in Vietnam and stationed in Berlin, Germany

Her German Mother

My friend recounted the stories her adoptive mother shared.  Her birth mother, Brigitte Lange, was German, slender, and petite.  She was in love with a U. S. Soldier stationed in Germany and had a multi-year relationship with him.  Their first daughter was born in 1959, and my friend was born in 1961.  When Brigette became pregnant with their second daughter, the relationship ended, leaving Brigette to care for both girls. According to the story, the German authorities would not allow a single mother to have two children and receive financial assistance. Ms. Lange decided to place her second daughter up for adoption.

My friend described the day her parents took her to court for the final adoption. Ms. Lange and her eldest daughter were present. Ms. Lange spoke about meeting another U. S. serviceman and was hoping to marry and move to the United States.

We had no idea what had become of Brigette or her daughter. I searched through many records but was unable to find them. My friend’s DNA matches yielded few clues. All we could do was wait.  We knew Susanne’s sister’s name was Martina Lange, but what happened to her?  We could only wonder.

My research yielded this interesting document.  This child, Martina Lange was the right age, she came over to the United States from Stuttgart, Germany. Had Martina come to the United States with her mother?  Now, we wait.

 

Evolution of the DNA Enthusiast

My interest in genealogy began when my son was a toddler. Of course, having little time to devote to research, I started my tree and relied heavily upon data obtained from other researchers and trees. After many years of tree construction, my husband and I learned about DNA genealogy and both of us submitted our DNA to a local site. As our matches poured in, our questions grew. How could I be related to these people? Why am I not related to those people? Thus, the beginning of the DNA enthusiast. I began a journey of discovery and learned that our family tree paper trail does not always match our DNA genetic trail.

As I began this journey of discovery, I realized that on both my maternal and paternal sides, the DNA suggested a questionable paper trail.  In fact, I suspected some “non-paternal events” on both sides.  This is a term used by many genetic genealogists describing circumstances where the father or mother of an individual is not biological.  There are many factors which might have contributed to life situations, especially hundreds of years ago.  Moving forward required an open mind and acceptance.  The knowledge I gained, would have implications for my family, especially my mother and father.   In my situation, my parents and sister were as eager to learn as I was.  In fact, the stories and research have spurred hours of discussion and deepened our relationships.  If you are considering research, be sure you are prepared for what you might not know.  Non-paternal events which occurred 100 years ago might trigger less emotion than learning someone more recent is not the child of their perceived parent.

This has become a joint venture for my sister and I.  Together, in separate places, we explore our genetic history and our family tree.  We have spent countless hours in deep discussion about our findings.   Our history now has meaning and depth.  The “sad” stories we have discovered have shown us our ancestor’s courage and triumph.  For if the circumstances were any different, we might not be here.

Our father, Jerry, Lisa (left) and myself.

This page is dedicated to our family.  Our mother, our father, and our many other relatives, past and present.   This is our way of paying homage to those who have past on before us.  We hope you explore and enjoy our website and blog.

Secrets of the Past Revealed

When researching situations involving unknown parentage, it is important to start with DNA evidence. Look at the DNA and the matches to identify who the grandparents are. Do not concern yourself with their specific offspring who might be the father or mother you are looking for. In order to do this, there must be independent matches on the male side and the female side.

Researching For A Friend

I just finished researching for a friend. Her family has always been curious about her mother, Beverly’s biological father. Her grandmother, Nellie was six months pregnant with Beverly when she married in 1934. Over the years the family speculated that the father of the child was a man born in Italy. After some in the family took DNA tests and discovered no Italian heritage, the speculation continued and evolved to fit several scenarios that might have been possible. I offered to take a look and see what I could find.

Start With The LEEDS Method

The LEEDS method helps researchers group matches and divides them into four separate groups which are likely the four sets of grandparents. I used the LEEDS method to group her matches by the family they descended from. The LEEDS method was developed by Dana Leeds. It helps group DNA matches to determine the four sets of grandparents.

DNA Color Clustering: The Leeds Method for Easily Visualizing Matches

This is the chart I did with my friend’s DNA. She only has (so far) 10 matches who share between 100 and 400 centimorgans (listed here.) Her closest matches (the top two) she shares grandparents with.

Ellis/Marsh was an unknown part of her tree. The Crookshank/Allen part of her tree refers to her great-grandparents on her father’s side.

Research First

My next task was to do as much research on her entire tree. I wanted to build it out as far as I could in every direction. I started with her mother and father and worked back to her grandparents. I filled in the Ellis line as if they were grandparents and researched that line. When I was finished I understood her ethnicity estimate. She had relatives who immigrated from England, Norway, and Germany within the past four generations.

Success

My final step was to try to figure out how Mr. Ellis and Nellie met. I researched every census from 1910 to 1940 for each of them. I couldn’t figure out how they were connected. I looked for yearbook information and census information but could not put the two of them together. Finally, I discovered a 1925 Iowa Census with Mr. Ellis in it. I then began looking for Nellie in the 1925 census. For some reason, I could not find her in the 1925 census in Iowa. I looked more closely at Mr. Ellis’ family and BINGO…he lived next-door to Nellie’s parents. For some reason, Nellie and her bother were not listed but her parents were (they were the last two people on the page.) Perhaps they intended to list the children on the next page and forgot.

I began my research looking at the DNA and narrowed my search down to Mr. Ellis. I ended the journey with the discovery that Mr. Ellis and Nellie were next-door neighbors. Nellie had grown up with the man who fathered her daughter.

Using the 1930 Census to Push Through Immigration Roadblocks

While building a family tree for a friend, her grandmother, Beatrice Elizabeth Robinson was a dead-end for me. She was born in England in the early 1900s. She was living with her in-laws in Marshalltown, Iowa in the 1930s with her husband (Otto Pull) & children. It was easy to establish facts about her life from 1930 and later, but information about her life in England and subsequent immigration was challenging.

  • Born in England
  • Married At Age 19
  • Father Born in England
  • Mother Born in England
  • Immigration Year 1923
  • Naturalization- Alien
Beatrice E. Robinson (Maiden Name)

I was able to establish her maiden name was Robinson when I found her social security information. I then began looking for a woman named Beatrice Elizabeth Robinson, born around 1907 (from the census) who arrived in the United States in 1923 from England and found this…

This Beatrice Robinson had two brothers, John, and George, and a sister-in-law, Martha Robinson. The next of kin information was an aunt named Mrs. Riding in Liverpool, England. The sister-in-law’s father was Samuel Lee in Gloucester, England. On the far right side, the Robinson children were heading to Davenport, Iowa. The sister-in-law was going to Detroit, Michigan. I proceeded to add these individuals to my tree and began researching each of them. I needed more information to determine if this was the correct family.

If this was Beatrice Robinson and her brothers, why was their aunt listed as their contact in Liverpool? Had their parents died? Did they move to the United States with an older brother and his wife? Why were the children going to Davenport, Iowa, while the sister-in-law was going to Michigan?

I began researching George N. Robinson, born around 1913 in Liverpool, living in Davenport, Iowa around 1930. I found this…

This was them! Their parents must have left the children with an aunt while they settled in the United States. There is a transcription error on this census and the mother should read Elizabeth Robinson, not Engla Penninger.

Never give up. When you hit a brick wall, go back to all of the documents you have and look for clues you may have overlooked. If you have an ancestor who immigrated from another country, check the immigration records. If you find someone who might fit, research them until you prove or disprove them.