A Family United

Francesca had been searching for her father for over 15 years after her mother passed away in 1990. Following years of unsuccessful searching, in 2006 a friend recommended she try looking for him on 192.com where she finally found some of the answers she was looking for.

192.com is the UK's leading people finding website. As well as searching directory enquiries and current and historical Electoral Rolls, the site also provides access to the birth, marriage and death register from 1837 onwards.

It was on the death register that Francesca sadly found a listing for her father. He had passed away several years earlier in London, not far from where Francesca was living at the time of her search. Using the information she found on 192.com, Francesca sent away to the General Register Office (GRO) for a full copy of his Death Certificate. When she received the full certificate she was surprised to find out that her father had two names registered, as shortly after he arrived in England from Barbados in the 1950's he had changed his name.

Armed with this new found information, Francesca contacted the registrar at the hospital where he had died to find out what more she could discover about her father. She was told that the next of kin details they had for him were for a daughter, living in Trinidad. A daughter that Francesca knew nothing about!

As the registrar could not give Francesca the number directly, she offered to call the daughter for her. Shortly after hanging up, the registrar called back and told Francesca she had spoken to her new found sister in Trinidad and she would be calling straight away.

Two minutes later the phone rang and the first words she said were, "Francesca, I have been searching for you for 20 years!".

Francesca said "I could not believe what I was hearing! I never knew that I had half sisters in Trinidad. I knew nothing of my roots."

The sister explained that their father had left Barbados in 1950 to come to England and was supposed to send for them all, a total of five half sisters! He never did and soon after arriving in the UK he met Francesca's mother, with whom he had Francesca and her two siblings.

Francesca's sister went on to explain that she had found their father in 1993 and had come to London to visit him a few times. Whenever she had enquired about his second family he always changed the subject and said they were fine and living in Kent.

After many emotional calls the two sisters decided to meet in Trinidad. Francesca says "I had to see for myself if this was all true."

After her trip, Francesca now believes that she has found a new part of her family. She says about her new sister, "She filled in all the blanks for me, so now I know where I came from. The only sad thing is I never got to meet my father, I had so many questions for him."

Francesca went on to say "Thank you 192.com! I am at peace now and when someone asks me where I came from, I can tell them."