I'm looking for my maternal grandfather who was probably a married man.

Question

My grandmother, although married to a man named Hudgins, told my mother that her biiological father was a man named Booth. However, there are no Booths or Hudgins in my DNA matches. I have found some names that I think could help me, but I'm wondering how to approach the DNA matches. Most likely my maternal grandfather was already a married man. I don't want to upset newfound family, but I really want to know who my grandfather was, and get to know my cousins. This part of my family has always been missing. Any advice on how to handle this sticky situation would be much appreciated.

Edit: My mother died in 2003 at the age of 60.  Most likely, her father is already dead, too. Her name was Ruby Tommie Hudgins. Two names keep coming up that I think have to be on my grandfather's side. Criddle, Holder. And I've included my mother's profile.

Answer 1

I think the best approach, if you haven't tried it yet, is to look at the 1940 census for your grandparents and check the entire township, county or city to see if there is a Booth that might work.  Then enter that Booth here and extend it out a ways to see if you can get a list of potential cousins and contact them to see if they've had a DNA test or would be interested.  The relationship would likely be close enough for an almost certain match if you have the right Booth or eliminate him if there isn't a link.  I didn't check your grandmother's age when your mother would have been conceived, but you might also find it useful to check school yearbooks for Booth men as well.