ISO Half-Brother, born 10/25/66 Bronx, NY

O'Hallorhan's a fairly common name, as is Bard. Makes it pretty tricky to get anywhere with these names. I did see records mentioning a divorce between Joan and Kevin O'Hallorhan in September, 1970.Any other info could be helpful. Do you know if they moved when Joan remarried? Or if they stayed in NYC? Do you have any information on Joan's family - her parents' names, perhaps? Any inkling of what her 2nd husband's name might have been? I'm happy to try to help, if you've got anything that might narrow down the field...

Double-post... sorry!

Hi thank you so much for your willingness to help. I am just beginning and still unsure of best way to go about it all. The only other info I have is that Joan's sister was Rhoda Bard and was believed to have married name of Pressler. Also believe that Joan was going to bring Daniel up Jewish. Not sure if there's a way to search Bronx mitzvah records. His mitzvah date would have been November 1st or 2nd of 1979 according to his birthday. (Of course that will only work if they stayed in the Bronx which I have no idea... Everything is a long shot but I've gotta start somewhere) No idea of Joan's 2nd husband's name (Daniel's presumed adopted father) as it was purposely kept from my father. I hope to get into the city to search records but need a better idea of best ones to go for 1st. Where did you see divorce record? Do you know if name change records are available?Thanks again!

Hi thank you so much for your willingness to help. I am just beginning and still unsure of best way to go about it all. The only other info I have is that Joan's sister was Rhoda Bard and was believed to have married name of Pressler. Also believe that Joan was going to bring Daniel up Jewish. Not sure if there's a way to search Bronx mitzvah records. His mitzvah date would have been November 1st or 2nd of 1979 according to his birthday. (Of course that will only work if they stayed in the Bronx which I have no idea... Everything is a long shot but I've gotta start somewhere) No idea of Joan's 2nd husband's name (Daniel's presumed adopted father) as it was purposely kept from my father. I hope to get into the city to search records but need a better idea of best ones to go for 1st. Where did you see divorce record? Do you know if name change records are available? Thanks again!

Hm. There are no borough-wide or city-wide records about bar/bat mitzvahs. Each synagogue keeps its own records, I assume, but they don't report to any outside agency. And a bar or bat mitzvah typically happens around the child's 13th birthday, but not necessarily. If you happened to know the temple where he would have gone with his mother and stepfather, you could possibly try to get information there... but they may keep their records private, as well. Do you happen to know (or could you ask about) Joan/Rhoda's parents' names? A birth date for Joan and/or Rhoda would be helpful. If either (or both) of them were born by 1940, they could show up in available-to-the-public census records, which could give a starting point for the search. If your brother was, indeed, adopted by his stepfather, it's not a name-change, it's an adoption. Which means all records are sealed by the court. His birth certificate would have been changed to reflect his "new" father's name. He would not have access to a copy of the original, unless his mother kept a copy from before her new husband adopted him. I saw mention of the divorce record on ancestry.com. I'll try to include the link in a private message, since I'm not sure I'm allowed to post it here...? In any case, I am happy to help, but I'd need more information in order to be helpful, I think...