Submitted photos Pictured with Dan Bracey, a retired Jamestown elementary school principal, are his sisters Sue, Barb and Susan. A yearslong effort to track down information on Bracey’s adoption led to the discovery of seven sisters.

By KATRINA FULLER

kfuller@post-journal.com

JAMESTOWN — Sometimes the smallest steps lead to the grandest journeys and the best rewards.

Dan Bracey and his wife, Elizabeth, started out on such a journey several years ago to gather information on his adoption for medical purposes. Little did the former Jamestown elementary and middle school principal know he would end up connecting with seven sisters and their families he didn’t know existed.

“The story kind of starts a long time ago because we tried to get information on my adoption for just medical purposes for our own kids and for myself,” Bracey said. “After my wife had gone through ancestry.com looking to find any history of my family … in April of 2016, my youngest sister made a couple of matches. My wife was a little skeptical of it at the time because you don’t know — but in April 2016, they were exchanging emails to ancestry com and then put two and two together.”

Bracey discovered he had two sisters at that time — but was astounded a month and a half later to find two more sisters had popped up on Ancestry.com.

“I was proctoring an SAT test at the high school and (Elizabeth) picked me up and I said ‘Hey, what’s new?'” Bracey said. “And she said, ‘You’ve got two more sisters.’ At that time, there was Sue, Susan, Barb and Debbie. Then, we found out Debbie had a sister, so there’s another one.”

The sisters he and Elizabeth located at this time were all on his mother’s side. They gathered together on July 4 that year in Albany, as that was where they were all born.

“The funny part is, Sue and Susan, they were raised in Albany,” Elizabeth Bracey explained. “For some reason, Dan is the only one who ended up here. They actually went to the same church and didn’t even realize they were sisters. They knew they were adopted and they knew of each other.”

When Bracey’s adoption files were opened, he discovered that he had previously resided in an orphanage in Schenectady.

“I came down here when I was three,” he said.

Elizabeth said Bracey remembers coming to the area on a train.

“He was the only one to come this far down,” she said. “Everybody else was really raised in the Albany area, and he ended up down here. We always joke and say it’s because it was to meet me.”

Bracey said his wife continued to do research and discovered that he was what was considered a “booth baby” at the time. Elizabeth discovered Bracey was born at a “Booth Hospital” in Buffalo.

“I think they were run by the Salvation Army and they were basically hospitals where kids were adopted from,” she said. “He was born there, but somehow ended up back in Schenectady.”

Bracey then continued his search on his father’s side, which brought up more connections a year and a half ago. A cousin reached out to Elizabeth, asking if Bracey had any relatives in Poland. Elizabeth said he didn’t that she was aware of because he was adopted. The cousin asked a few questions, and they arrived at the fact that Bracey’s birth name was Frank Anthony.

“She said, ‘Oh, wow, that was my uncle’s name,'” Elizabeth said. “So he met his sister on his father’s side.”

“So that brought the total up of half-sisters for myself to six,” Bracey said with a laugh. “Then last year, another sister appeared because her grandson was curious about his ancestry. He went through ancestry.com and the breadcrumbs lead back to another sister, Pam, a year ago on my mother’s side. So the grand total is seven sisters — six on my mother’s side and the other one on my father’s side.”

Altogether, Bracey found seven sisters: Sue, Susan, Pam, Cecilia, Donna, Debbie and Barb. Barb, unfortunately, passed away two years ago due to a brain tumor, however, Bracey was able to meet her and form a connection before that occurred.

Elizabeth said there are a few gaps in the birth years between all the sisters, so they are waiting to see if any other siblings come to light.

“We’re just waiting to see if there’s some maybe brother along the way,” Elizabeth said. “It’s been nice — we’ve been really lucky. His adopted family had a brother, and that was in a very small family. I have a big family and his family has now way outnumbered my family. Some are in Texas, Florida and Albany.”

“I have hundreds of nieces and nephews I didn’t have before,” Bracey beamed. “It’s kind of funny when I send out birthday cards, I try to find childish ones because we never sent birthday cards to each other. We’re sending Christmas cards, Thanksgiving cards — we’re sending all those. It’s been great.”

While some of the sisters were reluctant at first, their relationships have grown stronger and has been a source of joy and connection for the Bracey family.

“It’s odd because my daughter and Dan’s sister Sue’s daughter — if you saw them, they look almost like sisters,” Elizabeth said. “They look so much alike. It’s just kind of neat because growing up, he didn’t have a face to connect with and now there are all these people.”

Bracey said he and his family visited Texas a few years ago and had the opportunity to bond with their cousins. They have developed a kinship with their cousins in various ways over the years, which has been incredibly valuable.

A few years ago, four of Bracey’s sisters and a few nieces and nephews visited Jamestown and were able to meet his sister-in-law, Sara, and her family along with his wife’s family. The group spent the long weekend traveling throughout the county and visiting with one another.

Elizabeth said when they meet a new sibling or family member, it is an amazing experience in which the connection is almost immediately felt.

“It’s not awkward — nobody feels awkward,” she said. “I kind of feel bad it didn’t happen sooner, but beyond that, everybody’s very welcoming.”

While Bracey is glad that he is finally able to fill in the blanks in his familial medical history, the biggest reward has been forging new relationships with his newly discovered family members. He and Elizabeth visit with his sisters in Albany three or four times a year. Before COVID-19 hit, the group gathered for a July 4th picnic which included great-nieces and nephews.

Currently, the group uses technology to keep in touch.

“About once a month, we get on Zoom with each other,” she said. “We all get on Zoom on a Sunday night just to keep up with everybody,” Elizabeth said. “Actually during COVID when we were stuck at home, we were doing it once a week.”

Bracey said he is thrilled that he has made these connections with his family. He encourages others who might be curious about their possible relatives or family history to try ancestry.com or other such services.

“It’s good for medical information, which was the first reason we did it — but we never would have imagined I had that many sisters,” he said.

Elizabeth said she has noticed a difference in Bracey since this all began — in a very good way.

“It’s filled a hole,” Elizabeth said. “Dan’s always been an even-keeled, thankful, pleasant, funny, always glass-half-full type of person. This has made him even — I would say happier — but just more fulfilled. The hole is filled, but it’s not like you ever thought anything wasn’t because he was OK — he was good. But to have all these people — he’s got a huge family now.”