how to start- have read many posts...

I am doing this for an older friend who does not use a computer. She is looking for BF. He is probably dead- almost certainly. Knew BM, but she refused to say who BF was. Looking is a bit difficult, as my friend does not want me to put her name online at all. She knows when/where she was born. She actually had a Court Order to get original certificate and was in Austin, but a lawyer showed up and was able to block it- I do not understand how. I am not from Texas, so I do not know the laws. Please guide me on how to help her. Thank you.