My great grandfather was born to a single mother in 1898. She never disclosed who the father was, or if she did, it was kept secret by anyone who knew. She married a man within a few years of my great grandfather’s birth, and my great grandfather assumed his stepfather’s last name. It is unknown if he was ever officially adopted.
I first became aware of my great grandfather’s illegitimate birth when I first began diving into my genealogy. There were a few theories as to who the biological father was: a traveling businessman, a married man, or even a relative. The most well believed theory was that of the traveling businessman who was passing through the town that my great-great grandmother lived in.
Finding the name of my biological great-great grandfather has been on the top of my genealogical to-do list for years.
I recently visited Vergennes, Vermont-the birthplace of my great grandfather. I spent almost two hours in the archival library of the City Clerk’s office looking for a record or document that may clue me in to my family’s true identity. I admit, I was skeptical of finding anything. After all, there are at least two other genealogists in my family who are researching this particular man, and they have never found any information that could solve the mystery.
I first looked for a birth record for my great grandfather using his name at birth (his last name at birth was that of his mother). When that search failed to turn up anything, I performed the same search using his “adoptive” name (remember, I still don’t know if he was ever officially adopted). Another fail. One more thought: I would go through each birth that took place during the same month that my great grandfather was born.
There weren’t that many births that month. Maybe between 10 and 15-give or take. In that list was the birth of a male without a listed name. He was born on the same date as my great grandfather, and to the same mother. Of course this has to be him! And what’s more-a father is listed, and he was a businessman! Mystery solved!
What a moment that was; to be staring at the name of my biological great-great grandfather who nobody has ever known until now. I am so happy that I decided to make the trip to Vergennes, even through all of my skepticism that I would find anything related to my great grandfather’s birth. This is, by far, my greatest genealogical feat yet. Now to confirm my Native American and Mayflower lineages!
Photo: My great grandfather, George Dewey (Holcomb) Baker