AmeriCymru: Hi Janet and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. You have been busy unearthing your family roots. Can to tell us a little about what you have found?

Janet: Hello Ceri and everyone here at AmeriCymru. I am very happy to be interviewed here today.

You ask me what I have found. I found a life I never knew I had before my adoption at age 5. After my adopted mother (Alberta Raymond-Mancini) died in August of 2000 I became curious about my birth mother. And so I started a search that would at the time, only take me two months. I was able to find The Children's Home I was placed in by my birth mother, (Mary Margaret Morris-Lener) , the women who worked there and took care of me and my biological family, which I never knew I had. But to this day I still am able to meet relatives I never knew I had. My adopted mother and I were very close and after she died I felt the need to also grieve my birth mother's death, who had died at age 39 and I was only 4 years old when she died. I did not know who she was or anything about her until I started my search. From the time I met her last living sibling, my Aunt Catherine. This took place in 2003

AmeriCymru: Genealogical research scares some people. How easy/difficult haver you found it to trace your family roots?

Janet: My search happened very rapidly. Once I found the women who worked in The Children's Home they knew alot of information about my biological family. In fact one of the women gave me my first picture of my biological father. One of them knew one of my Uncle's. So I was already off on the right foot. I made great strides in my research. I have since learned a lot about my Welsh/Scotch/German and Irish roots. The only information I found online was my biological father's date of death. Then I started listing questions on ancestry.com and genealogy.com. Also local social groups, who I found very friendly and helpful. I spent countless hours searching the microfilm at the Uniontown library.

AmeriCymru: What advice would you give to anyone attempting genealogical research for the first time?

Janet: If you are starting your search expect to spend many hours searching online. I can say from experience it is a lot easier to search now then when I started. Mine was all on foot. Now you can sit at your computer and search genealogy sites for free. It is amazing to me now what is available online. . Once I found something it always lead to another question and I loved every single minute of it and it has become a hobby of mine now.

AmeriCymru: Can to tell us a little about your experiences at the Uniontown children's home?

Janet: From what I can remember from The Children's Home, is that we were like a large family. We were cared for as their own children. We had play time, school time, meal time and went to Sunday School together. We all played together and everyone seemed to get along. I don't remember any family coming to see me. My twin brother and I wee placed in the home together so we were always together. We had been separated from the whole family once we went into the home. So we only had each other.

AmeriCymru: Care to tell us more about the Morris family reunion in 2003?

Janet: When I arrived at the Morris Family Reunion in 2003, you would have thought I was never separated from the family. Morris is my biological mother's maiden name. I had met a cousin on Facebook and about a week later I was ask if I would like to go to the reunion. I said I would love to. I was told it was a potluck dinner. So I brought a cake that said Morris Family Reunion 2003. When I walked into the pavilion everyone greeted me just like family. I had the best time of my life. When I explained to everyone who I was they said your part of the Morris family. I have thought about this quite a bit and realized that is my mother's blood line and that is the connection. I wish I could explain to you what I felt. Even though my mother's has been gone for years it is like I am still connected.

AmeriCymru: Where can people go to read your blog online?

Janet: I started a blog recently and here it is. www.janetlmancini.com

Finding My Life Through The Children's Home

I would appreciate it if you would read it and comment. If you have any questions please feel free to ask me.

AmeriCymru: What's next for Janet Louise Mancini?

Janet: My next step is to have my book published this year. It is my hope to help someone who is thinking of starting their search for roots and to not be afraid of what you will find. You will find good and bad but you make the best of it, decide for yourself how it will affect you and move on.

AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of Americymru?

Janet: I feel very blest to have had the life I have been given. It was my biological mother's decision to place my twin brother John and I in The Children's Home. She wanted us to have a better life, which we did that she could not provide.

This is how I actually ended up here at AmeriCymru a few years ago, trying to search my Welsh roots. I have met and made many friends here and have learned a wealth of information about the Welch people and culture. I am very greatful for that.

Thank you so much for your time.

Janet Mancini