Lafayette Hill Man — Abandoned as a Toddler in 1932 — Fulfills Christmas Wish to Find Long-Lost Family

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Jim Scott with two daughters
Image via Justin Vellucci at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Jim Scott, with two daughters.

Lafayette Hill resident Jim Scott, 90, issued a 2016 Christmas wish: to reconnect with possible remnants of his birth family. Scott, abandoned as a toddler in 1932 in Pittsburgh, lost all familial connections. Justin Vellucci chronicled Scott’s family tree search in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Scott recalled nothing of his birth family; he later learned of his abandonment at age two on a Pittsburgh doorstep.

Local police officers rescued him.

He was soon adopted by local couple.

“I was very, very well cared for,” Scott said, reflecting on his upbringing.

He wasn’t even aware of the adoption until 1953, when he applied to the Naval Air Cadets and saw his birth certificate for the first time. His parental line was listed as “unknown.”

Scott kept his past hidden, even as his career as a guidance counselor brought him east to Norristown and he started a family of his own.

When he finally shared the news with his children, his eldest daughter acted on Scott’s Christmas wish to discern any family tree information.

She launched a successful Ancestry.com search that yielded siblings and cousins.

Scott’s unique Christmas present of almost six years ago continues to produce results. As recently as last year, he’s still discovering surprising threads from his lineage.

When he finally connected with one half-brother on the phone, his newfound relation joked, “You owe me 86 birthday presents!”

More on Jim Scott and his Christmas-inspired search for family is at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

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