I found my niece!
My oldest brother and his first wife had a daughter in 1965 (I was born in 1963). They divorced, and the wife remarried, moving away with my niece when she was about 6 or 7. We completely lost touch, including my brother. From time to time, I would think of Lesley but I didn't think it was my place to look for her while my brother was still alive. It also seemed like a verboten subject. I couldn't understand not knowing at least where your child is, whether or not you have contact, but that's the way it was.
My brother died in 2006 and after discussing it with my remaining brother, I set out on the search again. To make a long story short, a new group formed on
Facebook for people searching for lost relatives, and as a long-shot for giggles, I wrote one of the first messages with my search. Someone wrote me back and said "I believe this is your niece!", with a profile. The woman's name, parents' names, and locations matched! So, I carefully wrote a message, expecting either a cold brush-off or nothing.
When I got home today, there was a message saying "That's me! I'm your niece!" She shared memories of my parents (her grandparents), and still has a picture book with their writing in it that she kept for remembering them. Her mother's new husband was the "dad" who raised her, but she had thought of us growing up. She remembered me as a little girl, more like a sister than aunt and niece.
I have a feeling a reunion of a different sort will occur
.