I had an aunt that had a child and put it out for adoption. You need to follow any lead no matter how small. Did he come to america? Did he become a citizen? If he became a citizen after 1913? He had to fill out an in depth paperwork, where he came from? who his parents were? date of birth?, etc. ship he came over on. Passenger list might give you a clue. The church he was bapitized in in Germany. You have a lot of work ahead of you. The story could be true that he was an orphan and maybe not. My father's family didn't want to talk about my grandfather coming over from Germany. I looked at marriage records in St. Louis, Mo and cam up with 5 brothers and sisters. Good luck, Pat Huck