I haven't seen my Dad for over 25 years, my Mum left him and then came in with another bloke one day and informed us that this was our new Dad and that was that.
She won't give me his proper name but I know the name everyone called him and he was well known where he lived, she won't tell me where and when he was born, in fact we no longer speak so I'm never likely to be able to find the information out at all now all I know is he lived in a little Lincolnshire village.
About 16 years ago she did manage to track a phone number down for him (after years of harrassment) and I had a brief conversation with him but she decided she didn't like it and burned the number and his address that I had written down as well as the phone bill.
Back when I spoke to him he was waiting for pretty major surgery on his heart so I'm not even sure if he is alive now and if he is he is in his 70s and when we spoke he did tell me I had brothers and sisters (he said all in all he had 16 children by goodness knows how many women) but I don't know their names apart from a brother I had who died and three older sisters I have whos names are my middle names (although one of them died as well I don't know which one).
I have tried the salvation army, trawled through public records (which is hard because I only know the shortened version of his name not the full name) called local pubs and shops where he used to live some of who knew him but didn't know where he was now and the local police station who couldn't do anything to help, as well as going on missing people and family tree and similar websites.
What else can I do? I feel like there is a huge part of my history I don't know and I would like to even just know if he is alive or not and maybe try to track down his other children. There is also the fact that my sister died from SIDS before I was born (according to my Mother) as did my son and I had a daughter who died from a genetic illness which there is no trace of on my Mothers side of the family and I would like to know my family history from his side to be able to tell my children.
Could someone give me any more ideas of what I can do to try and find out where he is or is it a lost cause? I don't know where to turn anymore its like banging my head off a brick wall and I'm just about ready to give up 
Hello everyone,
To retain some RL privacy, we've edited out some names and replaced them with a B. Hope this has no effect on reading this amazing thread.
Thanks.
MNHQ
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This is my very last resort - ideas needed to help me find my dad, brothers and sisters
MissyMooandherBeaverofSteel · 30/05/2013 20:30
Thank you MacMac he was hanging around the streets and because he got the train up he slept for a few nights in the local park according to a friend of my Mothers (she told me years later). I've put his name ^ up there, even if he doesn't want it online he will have to contact me to tell me so 
and if he is still alive he might google himself and stumble upon Mumsnet.
I have just sent an email to the paper so hopefully they will be in touch in the next few days.
Thank you, I have PM'd back.
I have a couple of numbers to call tomorrow and I am just setting up a 192 account so I can have a look at a possible address on there.
I have tried ancestry.com but again it comes down to not knowing his proper name so I got nowhere there, I haven't heard of findmypast so I will check that out just now.
I will keep you all updated, I am going to call the pub and shops again tomorrow and wiil hopefully hear back from the paper soon if I don't get anywhere with the numbers I have been given.
I can't tell you all how much this means to me 
I have nothing helpful to add but best of luck OP, this thread has really moved me.
Good luck
OMG is there nothing that MN cannot do?!
Really hope you find your family OP.
Wow MN stalkers on the case now 
I can't begin to tell you all how grateful I am for you help and messages and for wishing me luck.
I know my Dads Dad, I guess I should call him Grandad really, was the son of a Canadian Indian and had a nickname that was passed down to my Dad something like 'Big Canada' or 'Big Indian' or similar, I remember everyone called him by the name.
He was a massive guy who had bushy dark brown curly hair (that my daughter has inherited) and dark brown eyes (that my son has inherited) and the son he had who died was called Billy he was in his 20s and he was in a car accident or he was hit by a car, I have one photo of me as a baby with his daughters/my sisters, they are called Marianne, Joanne and I think his daughter Sharon died from SIDS but it could have been one of the others and they would be prabably in their 50s now. Apparently he had 3 sheep that he named after me and my brothers too 
and his favourite song was Golden Brown and he used to have a record of 5,4,3,2,1 that he played and danced to all the time too.
Thats all I know about him and my siblings.
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