Finding A Former High School Classmate

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So often we lose track of our former classmates but thanks to alumni associations it is possible to keep in touch after being separated many years.

When I was growing up there were 17 kids in my neighborhood that went from the first thru the twelfth grades at the same schools.  We spent the first nine years at Bailey and the next three years at East.

East High was a school that was fed students from three Junior High Schools, so there were lots of kids from other schools that were merged together in high school.

Those of us who grew up in the same neighborhood knew the parents and siblings of others our age.  We probably knew where the father worked, and where the families attended church.  So we had lots of clues to find someone.

But we did not know much about the students from other schools that we did not meet until high school.  We did not know the street where they lived, we did not always know other members of their family, unless it was a sibling in a class ahead or behind ours.  It was not unusual to only know someone by a nickname.  With so little information how can we find them?

Years after graduating from school we might want to look up someone that we have not seen in a long time but where can we begin if all we know is a name or nickname from high school?

With today's social media sources it is possible to find someone on the internet with only a name.  But of course a common name it is going to be more difficult.  If the person cannot be located easily on the internet the search might be time consuming.  It might require a trip to a library or archives library to look for all families with the last name of the person you are looking for.....but what if the classmate's parents were remarried and they live with a step-father or other member of the family with a different last name? 

Finding someone with only a name or partial name can be difficult.   Depending on how much information is known will determine whether or not the person can be located.

It would be nice if all you had to do is pick up the phone and call the Board of Education to ask for more information.  But unfortunately privacy laws prevent some information from being public. 

If you have tired and been unsuccessful in locating someone and need to consult with a professional, please contact me and let me see if I can help.  Privacy laws protect some information, but there are many ways to find public information at libraries, court houses, archives, and on the internet.