The Lost Fifty-Seven

"He probably had another family in the United States that we didn't know about" went the story author Ron Williams was told when he would ask about his deceased paternal grandfather. As a child, the explanation satisfied, but then it didn't.

The Lost Fifty-Seven: A Genealogical Journey of Discovery, Deception, Secrets and Scandal is a genealogical memoir sharing the author's prolonged efforts to uncover the truth about his grandfather's secretive early life.

Alfred Victor Williams arrived on the streets of Vancouver in June 1947. Within months he was a homeowner with a new bride and a child on the way. He was fifty-seven years old at the time. He lived another twenty years, but when he died, he took with him all details of his first fifty-seven years.

Early research efforts allot few clues, until hints of deception and scandal slowly surface. Along the way, an estranged family is reunited after decades apart.

Finally, with the help of few surviving documents and photographs, as well as genealogical websites and tools, the full story begins to unravel, exposing a lost inheritance, a kidnapping, and a secret identity.

Join Ron Williams in his genealogical efforts to uncover the lost fifty-seven years of his grandfather's life.