Thank you for the info on the Stetters. I'm just trying to find some connection somewhere. I've been at this a very long time with very little to show for it.

My mother always thought there was something "odd" about the adoption. The Starrs were in their 40's when they adopted my father. Their daughters were late teens. She also thought that he was probably illegitimate, but no one knows for sure. She tried to find out what she could. My father always felt that his mother didn't want him, so he had no desire to know. It has crossed my mind that whoever his parents were, they just couldn't take care of him. But the Starrs weren't well off either. There is still the possibility that one of the daughters was his mother, but I really don't think so.

I have letters that were written to my mother from someone who supposedly knew the birth family. Apparently my mother, for some reason, got a name and wrote to them. In one of the letters, it says my father was born in a boarding house in Philadelphia in winter 1917 and his mother's name was Bertha Powell (who eventually married someone named DeCoursey). The Powells were from in Galena, MD. Not even sure this is the right child. I have no idea who gave my mother info to contact this woman who knew the Powells.

I have the ORIGINAL adoption certificate with the raised seal. It says "Orphan's Court." I realize that a lot of ages at that time are just estimates. The certificate says he was "about the age of 3." That was in 1918. I don't know if they would estimate a 1 year old (assuming he WAS the child of Bertha born in 1917) as a 3 year old. But could be.

I search on and off. I go through periods where I am convinced I will just never know. But I haven't totally given up yet.

Thank you.