John Smithers of Raleigh, NC had spent more than six decades looking for clues about the father who abandoned him, his sister and their mother when he was just a baby. At 82, he had about given up on ever learning what happened to James William Smithers. He had long suspected his father got in trouble with the law and fled abroad. Decades ago, it was easy enough to disappear, and Smithers' father had seemingly vanished into thin air.
On the other side of the world, Lucinda Gray had always wondered what her father's life was like before he moved mysteriously from the United States to Australia. She had spent years just trying to find out his real name.
In mid-December, Smithers and Gray learned their elusive fathers were one and the same. DNA provided the proof.
You can read the full story in an article by Ruth Sheehan in the News & Observer website at: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1454594.html.
UhOh! Johnny Smithers, you got some 'splainin' to do. I wonder if they'll ever know why he left North Carolina.
I love stories like this one. They promote perseverance and hold out the hope that the goal will be reached. Very nice.
Happy Dae·
http://ShoeStringGenealogy.com
Posted by: Dae Powell | March 24, 2009 at 11:46 PM
Hey Dick,
Love the new beige, brown, sand or tan colored background.
Bob
Posted by: Robert E Pentecost | March 25, 2009 at 12:52 PM
Props to Colleen Fitzpatrick, Ph.D., for doing all the hard work to connect this family. She is the author of two of the
best-selling books in genealogy. One of them, Forensic Genealogy, has been widely recognized for its innovative forensic science approach to genealogical research. She has been featured on NPR's Talk of the Nation radio program (July 2005), and has written cover
articles for Internet Genealogy (June 2006), Family Tree Magazine (April 2006) and Family Chronicle (October 2005).
Colleen also writes a regular column for Ancestry magazine and her web page features a weekly photo contest to keep those researching brain cells limber. http://www.forensicgenealogy.info/
Posted by: MarilynH | March 25, 2009 at 11:13 PM