u/DogTrainer24-7-365

My great grandmother was born in 1880. The father on her birth certificate died in 1877. Mother died soon after child birth. She was taken in by a neighbor but no formal adoption was registered.

Would you include the ancestors of the recorded father?

Would you include the family that took her in as an adopted family? And subsequently research their family line?

All input and suggestions will be considered. Thank you!