[Fords2x]

Vermont Catholic Charities claims my birthdate is 10/21/71. I don't know if this is true or not, however it is what is on my birth certificate. (Not original)

I am in this forum as my last name is obviously french, and I'm hoping to find my birth family. On the VCC paperwork that I've found thus far, it states my nationality is French.

All I know is my mothers last name is/was St. Ong, she gave birth to me at age 14 or 15 in Bennington Vermont at Henry W. Putnam Hospital at 11:10 pm. I weighed 8 lbs, 5 1/2 oz, and was 19 1/2 inches long. I was baptized on 10/30/71. Apparently I did well in SJCC nursery, however I don't know what SJCC stands for.

One sibling on maternal line was diabetic.

It's sad, but it's all I know so far. I've been told that my birth parents were very young, however the ages aren't specific. 14 and 15, or 15 and 16.

Anyone with any information please feel free to contact me. I've been searching for 5 years, and would really like to get in touch with them someday. I hold no ill will towards them, just trying to find the missing pieces.

[lunargirl]

Nothing concrete, sorry, just some tips and guesses.

When researching St. Ong, also look for St. Onge with an "e". Spelled that way, it's a fairly common name -- although an "e-less" spelling is more distinctive and easier to find. Also, when using the 'Net and other search engines, also try the variations of the name, but hyphenated, because in French, there's no St then period, but a hyphen.

Check Bennington's Catholic churches, or the local Catholic children's services for the names of their creches/orphanages during your birth year. SJCC could stand for something like St. Joseph/John/Joan/James/Jude/etc. Children's Creche. I don't see why VCC wouldn't provide this info if you wrote them a letter asking for it.

Also, I know that the acronym for a Jesuit priest is SJ, which stands for "Society of Jesus", on the off-chance it refers to that.

After you've done local and surrounding Bennington research, do check areas where there was much French Catholic settlement -- esp. Quebec, Maine and to some extent New Brunswick. You might look for a genealogist who's done research on that family name -- some families have books, and if you're lucky someone's done the St. Ong's.

But now that I think of it, VCC must be able to provide you with at least this piece of information: the nationality of your bparents.

Good luck!