this pretty much seems like an awesome section... i have always been interested in finding my family history, but i have a few *major* brick walls in my way...

1) my mother died when i was 10
2) she was "adopted"
3) i heard she found her birth mother once, got no info, and has since died
4) i know the birth mother's last name is cooper, but the man with that last name is not my mother's bio father (put 2 and 2 together...)
5) looooooooooooost!
6) abandoned (pretty much) by my father
7) he grew up in foster homes
8) not sure of his birth given last name
9) i'm sure there are others, but it's late and i've had a long night!

any suggestions? i don't even know where to start!

First, always work backwards!
Find her death cert, it will usually list the parents' names if known.
Try to find out who adopted her/what agency was used.
If all else fails, try to contact the LDS in Utah - they keep records or everyone there and might be able to do a lookup for you. Try to remember as many names as you can, and if you can even narrow it down to a specific year (of birth/adoption/marriage/death) that makes their searches easier.
Try to find house deeds, marriage licenses, car registrations, anything with the mother's name on it, somewhere you *should* be able to figure out her maiden name - whether the one she was born with or the one her adoptive parents gave her.
Try the main library for the state in which she was (or was most likely) born if you can, some are searchable online.
If there's any way to figure out/if you know the foster agency surrounding your father, they may be able to give you information surrounding his birth records. If not, they can probably point you in the right direction.

Brick walls are what get most folks 'addicted' to genealogy :D
Hope I've helped you some! I have links for OH and KY if you need any later on (all contain info older than 1960's).

thanks! there are things in there i didn't even think of, like the library thing. i know she was born in texas, but the way she was born was pretty scandalous, the bio mother went in under my mom's adopted mother's name.. so there's no record her bio mother ever gave birth to her! i think i will try to talk to my surviving family to see if they might remember that woman's first name, because i think that would help immensely... and then, on to the library! i'll be in texas in about a week anyhow!! lol *sigh* thanks though, this stuff is so alluring, i feel like a detective in my own mystery.

family history is fun! once you get bitten by that bug its hard to stop.

family history is fun! once you get bitten by that bug its hard to stop.

:agreed:
tell me about it!!

and i JUST found out that somewhere in my adopted family is an ORIGINAL birthcertificate of my mom's (her b/c was supposed to be staged), so now i just have to find it!