Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA is the highly suspenseful account of an adoptee trying to reclaim the biological family denied him by sealed birth records. This fascinating quest, including the author's landmark use of DNA testing, takes readers on an exhilarating roller-coaster ride and concludes with a twist that rivals anything Hollywood has to offer. In the vein of a classic mystery, Hill gathers the seemingly scant evidence surrounding the circumstances of his birth. As his resolve shores up, the author also avails of new friends, genealogists, the Internet, and the latest DNA tests in the new field of genetic genealogy. As he closes in on the truth of his ancestry, he is able to construct a living, breathing portrait of the young woman who was faced with the decision to forsake her rights to her child, and ultimately the man whose identity had remained hidden for decades. Finding Family offers guidance, insight, and motivation for anyone engaged in a similar mission, from ways to obtain information to the many networks that can facilitate adoption searches. The book includes a detailed guide to DNA and genetic genealogy and how they can produce irrefutable results in determining genetic connections and help adoptees bypass sealed records and similar stumbling blocks.

After killing a man in a duel, Louis Fran ois was forced to flee Florence and his privileged life of a nobleman. He started over in the French colony of St. Domingue (Haiti). He married, took on the Richard surname of his extended family, started his own family and a successful plantation. The Slave Revolt of 1791 forced them to flee. They made their way to Florida, a Spanish colony. Despite enduring the privations of pioneer life and Indian attacks, the Richards survived and even prospered. During the Patriot War of 1812, Georgian rebels devastated the area and forced the Richards to abandon their plantations. Francis Jr. returned and operated a sawmill plantation. He fathered 11 children with his slaves; educated, and provided for them all. Raising 15 children on his plantation during the "Seminole Wars," brother John Charles became the progenitor of a long line Florida Richards. While most members of the "Richard Clan" were prominent citizens, quite a few were of dubious character, and met violent deaths.