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 MY SEARCH BEGINS |
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 Hello, my name is David Merrill Branson. I am an adoptee that was born on May 9, 1969 in Johnstown, Pa at Conemaugh Valley Memorial Hospital which is located in Cambria County. I have created this page with hopes that the right person will come along that knows something about this. Hopefully, my Birthmother will see this, but for anyone else who knew of her situation, PLEASE contact me by clicking on my Email link below! Since 1992, I have been searching for my Birthmother and Birthfamily, concentrating on my Birthmother since she is the only one that I have information on. Hopefully, someday I will find my Birthmother and I will finally be able to find a link to my past! I was first told that I was adopted when I was about ten years old, My adoptive parents and I were on the way home from the grocery store one evening when they told me as I sat between them in the front seat of the car. All that I can remember saying was "I don't want to talk about it right now". But, of course they continued to tell me the rest of the story. They told me how my parents were both going to college when my mother got pregnant and they decided that they couldn't afford me. So they placed me for adoption so that I could have a better life than what they could've given me. I don't remember too much about how I felt about this news but as I got older and seemingly wiser, I knew that I wanted to meet my Birthmother. At first it was more curiosity than anything. That changed when my wife at the time Michelle, became pregnant with our first child. I never anticipated being asked about my medical background, and of course I was. When I wasn't able to answer, I experienced such a terrible feeling of emptiness like I had never experienced before. That experience lit the fire that now burns strong inside me and drives me every day to find my Birthmother. It was then that I started my search. Then my curiosity turned into an undescribable thirst to retrieve what was once mine and taken away, my birthright. I need to find that last piece of the puzzle. The piece that will complete me. That piece, Mother, is you. Come help me finish my puzzle. I must say that I was raised in a loving home. My father is now a retired preacher and I guess you could say that my mother is a retired preacher's wife. I grew up in the church and my parents did their best to teach me how to live a respectful life. My parents always gave me everything they could. The most important thing is that they gave me love. I love them too and have a great relationship with them to this day. I hope that they are not hurt by my desire to find my roots. It's hard to explain to someone who doesn't live their life as an adoptee. But they should know that I do not intend to hurt them and that they are always going to be my mom and dad. I had very little information to go on. The only solid piece of information was the attorney's name on my birth certificate. Or so I thought. I called and spoke to a secretary who informed me that James Mayer, the attorney that my parents hired for my adoption, had passed away. She connected me to his successor, D.C. Nokes, who offered to help me in my quest. He informed me that the first thing to do was to ask the Cambria Co. Court if there was any record of my adoption before proceding any further. Within a few weeks, I received a letter from Mr. Nokes stating that I was on record as being adopted in Cambria Co., and that I could pay him $140.00 to have him ask the judge to open my records, noting that he could say yes or no and that there were no guarantees. Of course, he neglected to inform me that the chance of opening adoption records was practically nil, but at that time I was none the wiser. I decided not to place that $140.00 bet on the judge saying yes, and abandoned my search for about four years. I never stopped thinking about searching, I just didn't know how to go about it. Then one day I picked up the Wichita newspaper and saw an article called Family Connections. It contained many stories of adoption reunions and some resources that would be useful in searching. I immediately called a local searcher who put me in contact with some Pa. searchers. Finally, I found an exceptional searcher named Bob Mulvehill who's organization is called Lost Loved Ones. Bob coached me on what to do and the proper ways to search. I registered with the I.S.R.R. first and then sent for the Adoptees packet from the court which contained all of the necessary petitions. I sent in the petition to request non-identifying information, and impatiently waited for approval. I received the authorization from the court and promptly sent the $35.00 non-ID fee to the court. I received my non-identifying information from the Cambria Co. Court on March 15, 1997. It arrived by registered mail. When the letter carrier came to the door I was in the shower. After getting dressed I stepped out onto the front porch to check the mail and saw the little card that they leave in the mailbox when your not home. I looked at the zip code and recognized that it was from Pa. Knowing that it came from the court I immediately became excited, but at almost the same instant became upset because I realized that I had missed the letter carrier. Just then I looked accross the street and saw her so I ran accross the street waving the card in the air and yelling like I just found a million bucks! I caught up to her and signed for the letter. I ran back to the house and ripped open the envelope. I started to frantically read the non-ID information and almost as soon as started reading it, I was done reading it. I read it over again and said aloud "that's it?". There was so little information contained in this letter that I just couldn't believe that I paid $35.00 for practically nothing, plus the $20.00 to petition for this information, or lack of. Although I didn't get what I expected, it was still more than I knew before. A few more pieces to the puzzle had been filled. The following is the information that I received, verbatim. MY NON-IDENTIFYING INFORMATION FROM THE COURT VERBATIM This adoption record is relatively small. It indicates that you born on May 9, 1969, at Conemaugh Valley Memorial Hospital, Johnstown, Pennsylvania. You were placed with the Cambria County Child Welfare Service on May 15, 1969. Your natural mother consented to your adoption on July 31, 1969. Subsequently, you were placed with your adoptive parents on August 27, 1969 and on April 13, 1970, the court ordered your adoption. Your natural mother was 20 years old when she gave birth. Her religious affiliation is listed as unknown. Your natural father's name is not a part of the record, and no name was listed on the birth certificate. This file contains no medical information. No other information exists in the Orphans' court records. The natural mother inserted nothing into the file. I'm sorry that I have nothing else to report to you. The court wishes you the best of luck in the future. The law clerk that researched this information signed her name, so I called her to try to get some more information. Ironically, I found out that she was an adoptee! But at the time, she had no interest in searching and acted like it was just something that people shouldn't do. The social worker told my adoptive parents that my Birthmother was from Tennessee, but I hadn't been able to verify that until recently. I asked her what state my mother was from, and of course, she couldn't tell me, but then I asked if she was from Tennessee and she said "Yes". I took that answer with a grain of salt since I really didn't have a solid verification that she was. |
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| MY SEARCH CONTINUES |
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Since receiving my non-ID information, I have been contacted twice for a possible match. The first was an inquiry from a Birthfather, and the second from a Birthmother. But unfortunately, after comparing information, things just didn't match. I call the courthouse once a month to see if my Birthmother has placed a waiver of consent into my file. I have to check with them because they don't just call you when a Birthparent has placed a waiver. But after many months of calling, I think that the Orphans' court clerk finally realized how serious and anxious I am with my search. She said that she would call me if a Birthparent ever placed anything into my file she would call me and asked if she could call collect. Of course I said YES! And she actually seems like the kind of person that would do that, unlike most people that work in that kind of positiion who think that adoptees have no right to search. I read that adoptees can place a waiver of consent also. I asked a different clerk at the court about this and she told me that it wouldn't do any good because they wouldn't tell anyone inquiring about me. She said "your Birthmother doesn't have a right to look for you". I couldn't believe she said that! I was furious, but held back all of the things I wanted to say in response to her pompous attitude. |
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HERE ARE SOME PICS OF MY FAMILY AND I! MY EX AND MY DAUGHTER! THIS IS MY BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER CARINA! MY SUPER COOL SON SHAUN AND A PIC OF ME! MORE PICS OF THE KIDS AND A FEW OF MYSELF!A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MYSELF I'm 6'2" tall with thick, sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. Some people think I look like the actor Anthony Michael Hall. I work for the largest manufacturer of commercial aircraft in the world. Michelle and I are now divorced. We have an energetic thirteen year old son named Shaun David and a precious nine year old daughter named Carina Brianne. And they can't wait to meet their Grandmother Judy! I am now engaged to an extremely wonderful woman named Teresa. She also has two wonderful children of her own. We have been together for over five years and I have never been happier. Teresa is super special to me and I love her so very much. No wedding date has been set yet. I haven't had time to update in awhile, but I do now! Check back for new updates! |
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| SEARCH STATUS AND MY FAVORITE LINKS! |
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On June 12, 1998, I mailed a petition to the Cambria Co. courthouse. I sent it via registered mail so that I would have proof that they received it. The petition was to request the court to authorize a search agent to search for and contact my Birthmother to see if she wants to meet me. On June 23, 1998, I received a hearing order for Sept 11, 1998. The hearing was a success!! The judge granted my search! The designated searcher is a very kind and caring person who is doing her best to find my Birthmother. We have been in touch through email with updates. I've been a very lucky person this past week, and pray that the doors continue to open. Another bridge crossed! October 1, 1998, I talked to the search agent today and found out a few more things I didn't know or wasn't sure of. She told me that I was 6 lbs. 9 oz., and that my Birthmother was in fact from Tennessee! It seems to her that the relinqushment was voluntary and that the Children and Youth Services didn't step in and remove me for some reason from her. That's a comforting thing to know. She went back to Tennessee after the relinquishment and that is the last known address that she has for her, so that's where she'll start the search! June 1999, this month I found out that my Birthmother's first name is Judy! Also, she was born in 1948, twenty years old when I was born on May 9, 1969 and twenty-one years old when she signed the relinquishment papers on July 31, 1969. That makes her 56 years old right now and probably places her in the Class of 1966. Stay tuned for more updates! NOVEMBER 29, 2001. BAD NEWS TODAY. I have sent numerous emails and have left messages to the appointed court searcher over the last two years that have gone unanswered. I FINALLY got a reply today from the new searcher at Children & Youth Services. Here is the email. I am writing to you as the newly appointed search agent of the Orphans' Court of Cambria County. Susan Klisanin is on educational leave as of July 2001 and will be until May 2003. I periodically check her e-mail and found your most recent letter regarding the status of your search. When I took over the position from Ms. Klisanin, there were three searches listed as outstanding, yours being one of them. My investigation, which was reported via memorandum, to Judge Thomas A. Swope, Jr., was as follows: A contact was made in the late summer of 2000 to your birth mother and at that time she was not willing to have her identity revealed. The investigation revealed nothing further. I spoke to Judge Swope today and he indicated that I should contact you via e-mail to report the above information. I have no access to internet at my office, but can be reached through our phone number. To date the search has been completed and officially closed via consent by Judge Thomas A. Swope, Jr. Sincerely, Amy Arcurio Supervisor Cambria County Children & Youth Services Needless to say, I am very disappointed to hear this. I am also angry that I wasn't contacted with this information. Also, I have no verification that this information is even true. How do I know that the searcher didn't just give up and made up this reason to close the search and get it off her desk? Perhaps I'll never know. I am going to make every attempt to get some kind of official document or something stating and verifying that this actually happened. Until then, THANK YOU for visiting my site! Please sign my Guestbook! CLICK HERE TO GO TO ADOPTION LINKS! CLICK HERE TO GO TO ADOPTION WEBRINGS!  CLICK HERE TO GO TO PA LAWS! CLICK HERE TO GO TO ADOPTION POETRY!Burn custom audio CDs with Acoustica MP3 CD Burner!
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