Looking for a GENEOLOGY GURU ......?

Question:

Looking for a GENEOLOGY GURU ......?

I need to solve a mystery ..... . . . . . .

My dad had a step father her never knew about until his 18th birthday. Even then, he never met him, the way I hear it.

My father was born with his real fathers last name, of course .... however .......

When his mom re-married, the step-father (and his mom, of course) decided to change my Dad's name into the step fathers name.

What year?
Where ... in what county? In What state?

My dad passed away 3 weeks ago, and now there is no way for me to get this info ........

some people who are really into genealogy are also pretty good detectives ..... maybe you are one such person?

If you are that good with research ... what would you do to get at the facts here?

really appreciate a moment of your time .......

thanks ......

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I know people are trying to help you, but there are a load of questions to ask first.

How old was your dad when he died?
Did your dad even have a birth certificate? Where/when was he born? If he has a birth certificate, you need to get a copy of it (you are allowed has his legal heir).
Do you know when your grandmother died? If so, can you get a copy of her obituary?
Did your grandmother grow up in the area where you live now? Did your dad also grow up in the same area?
It sounds like your grandmother divorced the stepfather. Is that true? If so, then their divorce decree will be very valuable to you. Finding it depends on whether she moved around a lot or if she married a local guy.
Did your dad serve in the military?

To find the answer to your question, you need to ask a lot of questions. It's very probable that if your grandmother remarried in the 30s or 40s, there was no court proceding for the stepfather to adopt your dad. If your dad never had a birth certificate, then there wasn't a public record to be changed. The parents just did it and it was legal and that was that.

If you want help tracking this down, I'd be glad to work with you. It could be easy or it could take months. It all depends on organizing the search and whether grandma stayed put so that the records aren't all over the place. If you want a hand, send me an email through my profile and I'll do whatever I can from here.