This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/QKQBAIB/1382.3 Message Board Post: Sandra, Here are my ideas: 1. I checked the Braxton County, WV 1930 census. I assumed maybe your birth mother was not married. I found a Renaua Stout born about 1923. Her parents are Cochier Stout and Matida Stout. The age is right to be your birth mother - remember this may not be her. You should check the 1930 census for the names Gladieux and McElwaine. 2. If your adoptive mother was your baby sitter she must have lived close to your birth mother in 1944 - 1946. Where did your adoptive mother live in those years. 3. I would send for Sandra Sue Stout's birth certificate from Braxton County, WV - do not mention you are adopted. A clerk just may send it to you!! Do you have a current birth certificate with your adoptive parents? If so, I would think the adoption was final. Some states are letting some adoptive have access to these records. I do not know about WV. 4. Check out high schools in Braxton County, WV. E-mail them and ask them to check their year books from 1939 to 1944 for a Rena Stout. Tell them she was a baton twirler and may have been part of a high school group. Ask if they can scan the picture and send to you. 5. Call every Stout in Braxton County, WV. 6. Was Dottie older or younger than you? Where was Dottie the last time you wrote to her? I would check all Stout marriages in that county. I think you may be able to find her - bet she is looking for you also. There are web sites were you can post information - no not pay a fee. Remember your birth mother loved you. She wanted you in a better place than she could provide at that time in her life. Happy hunting and never give up. Kathie