Find Living Relatives

Hi all, I've just found out that I have a brother/half-brother. Unfortunately, I don't have a a name or DOB. Is there any way to search via birth mother name in any type of database, records office etc?
I'm 41 and live in New Zealand.
Thank you :)

Presume the brother was born in New Zealand

Don't know how those records are held but if you share the same mum then probably you can look using her surname


Other than that is there any older family member who could gve you more info ,even a birth year may help

EDIT - Not applicable but leaving anyway

If he was born in England search as has been suggested by mother's maiden name on http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl
To limit results, select the most likely registration districts and time frame.

They only go up to the mid 1960s and even then aren't complete. Subscription sites would have them to 2006.
You could try familysearch.org who may hold the more later ones than freebmd.

Its would extremely difficult to isolate the correct birth if its a common mmn. Unless the biological father admitted parentage, the birth reg would be in the mmn only eg Smith (child's forename) mnn Smith if she was unmarried. The husband of a married woman is assumed to be the father even if he died before conception!.

Should you decide to buy certificates to verify your suspicions, then purchase the certs from http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/ . They cost £9.25 each and inc ww p&p. Your credit or debit card company would handle the currency conversion.

Is a UK adoption involved somewhere along the line? If so, you might want to add your name and that of your birth mother (if that is the parent you share) to the adoption contact register
https://www.gov.uk/adoption-records/the-adoption-contact-register

Hi Shirley
Yes, I'm 99% sure he was born in NZ and yes, we share the same mum. I'm hoping someone in the family may help but given that no one has said anything until now I'm not too hopeful!
Thanks though.

Was he placed for adoption? Or where you? It might be worth contacting the NZ adoption team to see what they can suggest

http://www.cyf.govt.nz/adoption/contact-our-adoption-team.html

This link looks as if its an unofficial adoption contact site; there might be others
http://www.adopteeconnect.com/p/a/6

Thanks for the info, much appreciated. He was adopted out in NZ, I wasn't, I've done some research in NZ and it seems unlikely I'd be given any info as I'm not a birth parent, only a sibling.
Will keep looking though!

Your best bet is to search for all and every unofficial reuniting sites and add your mother's name to those. If he is interested, he might do the same.

Would the NZ agencies accept a letter to hold on his file?

Add your and your parent's name to your tree on here. Anyone related wanting to make contact with his birth family, would use the Seach all trees facility on this site. Have you already searched for your parents names? If they are listed on anyone elses tree, send the tree owner a message asking how they are related. Explain you are their daughter and looking for a possible sibling. They might remember something they were told about the adoption circumstances even if they aren't the person you are looking for.

As there are a number of dormant accounts on GR, you can check at any time to see if sent messages have been read by looking in your 'sent message' box. Unopened messages have an envelope icon next to them. Do bear in mind that the UK is entering its main holiday season.

Edit the opening title to include your mother's name eg Son of xxx xxx nee yyy? The xxx xxx would be picked up in an internet search.

Don't delete your account. As long as you make sure the GR account is linked to your main email address, you could still recieve personal messages (PMs) if someone cicks on your name.

I agree with everything Detective has said with one little nuance

I would make the name in the subject line

son of Mary Jane xxx yyy zzz

where 'Mary Jane' is the full given names, xxx is the birth name and yyy zzz are married surname(s)

someone searching the internet is more likely to search by a woman's birth name than by her (first) married surname I think

but for good measure, put 'Mary Jane yyy' in the body of your opening post :-)