For Chicago North-West Siders........?

I did a search for Cookie for you, and although I did find quite a few ladies with the name it would be impossible to know which one of them it is with out a surname. Have you any idea how old she would be and what their child's name is, where the son/ daughter was born. I really would like to help but this is a tough one.

Do you have any idea which neighborhood they were living in? The NW side is still bigger than most US counties in population. Just out of curiosity, was Bill a practicing Catholic? When he died, did he have a Mass of Christian Burial? If he did, then the parish might be the very best place to start. Otherwise, I'd suggest a visit to the Sulzer Library on Lincoln, which is one of CPL's "regional libraries" to visit their local history archives. It should have all the neighborhood newspapers available and you can go through to see what kind of write-up your brother got...and if Cookie's surname was listed.

ETA: There's one possibility, but it's a longshot. IF...and it's a big IF...Bill is listed on the child's birth certificate and if Cookie had his SSN, it's possible that Social Security Survivor Benefits were paid to her on the child's behalf for 18-19 years. If that happened, then the Social Security Administration would know who Cookie is and would be able to find her.

Generally, the SSA can accept a letter and forward it to someone for good cause if you can give them enough information to identify the person you're trying to find. They usually want not only the person's full name, but also DOB and parents' names. You don't have that. But do you have Bill's SSN and DOB/Date of Death? I'm not guaranteeing they'll do it, But if you go to your local Social Security office and explain the situation and that you're trying to locate your long-lost niece or nephew, they might be willing to at least look and see if benefits were ever drawn off his SSN. If that's the case, then you can see if they'll forward a letter to the now-adult child. You would have to keep the letter very simple and simply ask that if they person is ready to meet his/her father's family, you're hoping to connect and give the information that will help you both connect.

Here's more information on the program.

http://www.ssa.gov/foia/html/ltrfwding.htm

I would not suggest just sending them a blind inquiry. Rather, go to the nearest Social Security office and discuss it with them to see how this could be done without breaching confidentiality. Under FOIA, I think you do have the ability to find out if anyone drew benefits from his account without them having to disclose the person's name and breaching any laws. Start with that approach and see where it leads you.

Colleen, sorry to hear about the loss of your brother. Gentle, friendly tip.. yahoo prohibits posting personal live info here. That does not preclude HOW to find a person.

Step aside from Cookie for a moment. WHAT was brother doing at the time? in school? working somewhere? Zoom in on the framework. Example.. if he was working somewhere, can you locate that business, try to find someone who may still work there? His buddies? the guys will still have the same names, unlike Cookie who is probably married by now. In other words, look for a person who may have run with your brother, and who can possibly give you a correct name.

The more you can narrow things down, the better you may be. It is possible there was a court case, ie for child support, or maybe to terminate rights/ adopt the child. You may have to go to the locality to run some of this down.

No guarantees.. but just some ideas.

Unfortuately, if you have no "real" name for Cookie and there were no mutal friends that knew your brother and Cookie at that time, there is not much you can do except maybe hire a private investigator