Looking for birth father Robert Hoffman, b. Buffalo, NY
Hello,
I am searching for my birth father, Robert Hoffman, who according to my birth mother was born in Buffalo, NY and was living in Cleveland, OH ca. 1966 when she first met him. He was apparently married with children at the time, and had a sister named Barbara (Hoffman) Ballou, who was for a short time also my birth mother's roommate in Cleveland. Barbara was possibly separated or divorced at the time, and she waitressed at a bar in Cleveland with my mother.
Robert and Barbara were not much older than my birth mother (who was 22 in 1966) but I have been searching for Hoffman with a range of birth years between 1935 and 1945, so far without success. There were six or seven Robert Hoffmans in the Cleveland City Directories from about 1965-1968, none of whom I have been able to trace to the present day. The one Barbara Ballou whom I did find in the directories for 1966 was at the address where my birth mother also lived, but not for 1965 or 1967. Nor are there any Barbara Hoffman/Ballou marriages in Cuyahoga County, OH.
I did track one Barbara Ballou in the Cleveland area who married a Kurek, but she was much older than my birth mother and her maiden name was Ballou. Another Barbara Ballou I found who was about the right age was African-American, and my birth mother has stated that her roommate/coworker was caucasian.
I began my search twenty years ago, and found my birth mother shortly thereafter. However, her memory of events from this period is not good, since she and Hoffman were not together very long.
I restarted my search last year in conjunction with having my DNA tested at FTDNA, though I only have 42 matches and nothing closer than suggested 4th cousins. I have searched through data and family trees at Ancestry.com and Worldconnect at Rootsweb, and I have been getting help from "search angels" recently. I hope to cast a wider net here.
If any of the names are familiar to anyone who reads this forum, I would be happy to hear from you. I am cross-posting this message on the Hoffman and Ballou Family Fora, as well as the Erie County, NY, and Cuyahoga County, OHsubpages.
Cordially,
Chris