We asked ChatGPT how Charlotte Frazier looked at the age of five. This is what it produced, and we think it's pretty close.
The Missing Child
Scheduled for publication by Torchflame Books on May 26, 2026, “The Missing Child: The Life She Lived and The Life She Missed” is Paul T. O’Connor’s chronicle of his research into his mother’s life and the lives of the family that gave her away at the age of one month. It is his first book after he spent his career writing for newspapers and teaching. The story opens with O’Connor and his sister finding their mother’s private papers just hours after they buried her and proceeds as he searches public records, private memorabilia and DNA results. It is a genealogical mystery and a paean to a remarkably resilient woman all in one.
It is a story both sad and uplifting, of a girl who refused to be defeated by life and who grew into a strong, independent and resourceful woman. As a family member once said, “She was a Ms. before the term was invented.” It is also the story of the family that placed her in Hartford’s St. Agnes Home in 1917 and never came back to reclaim her, but which did not forget “the missing child.” Charlotte Frazier O’Connor did not change the world, but she changed the lives of the people around her and always for the good.
Author Paul T. O’Connor
Paul T. O’Connor is a retired journalist and journalism professor. For 30 years, he did both at the same time.
He spent spent more than 40 years writing for newspapers, publishing thousands of both signed and unsigned articles. Most of his career, he covered North Carolina politics as a columnist and editorial writer. Because of this expertise he was a regular panelist on both public and commercial television programs, and was also interviewed on CNN, C-Span and public radio.
For 30 years, he also taught in the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s prestigious school of journalism as a permanent part-time assistant professor and at other universities on an adjunct basis. For two semesters, he taught in the English Department at what is now UNC-Pembroke and for two more, he taught in the Master of Public Administration program at N.C. State University.
Today, he proudly points to his many former students who are continuing our rich tradition of independent journalism from the White House to city halls around the country.
A native of New Haven, Conn., O’Connor holds a bachelor’s degree in American Studies from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s in journalism from the University of Minnesota. He lives with his wife in Durham, N.C., and has one son.
"The Missing Child is a fascinating family mystery and a loving portrait of an extraordinary American mother. A deeply engaging book."David Zucchino, two-time Pulitzer Prize winning best-selling author of “Wilmington’s Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy.”
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“The Missing Child” is a poignant account of the stigma that children placed in the foster home/adoption world often carry through life. In Charlotte O’Connor’s story, however, we see how two adorable grandchildren lifted this shame from her.”Lee S. Varon, LICSW, a clinical social worker, former director of The Adoption Network and author of “Adopting On Your Own” and “Single Adoptive Families.” She has also written children’s books on adoption-related issues.
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O’Connor’s wonderful biography of his mother, follows in part a verse of an old hymn known to all. For Charlotte O’Connor once was lost, but thanks to her son, now is found. “The Missing Child” is a painful story of a hard childhood, a hard marriage, a hard struggle to raise two kids — but ultimately a story of triumph in the stability, success and devotion to her memory those children shared. Life was tough for Charlotte, but she made it through. In this book, grace is hers at last. How sweet the sound.
Jim Jenkins, retired editorial page columnist for The (Raleigh, NC) News & Observer.
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“In The Missing Child, O’Connor brings his journalistic curiosity and professional investigative skills to solve a mystery at the center of his family’s history, the unknown circumstances surrounding the birth and adoption of his mother, Charlotte. Throughout the narrative arc of his genealogical detective work (substantially assisted by his sister, Charlene), O’Connor weaves memories of his mother and the people she (and he) called family. It is clear that O’Connor grew up with these people feeling loved and cared for, especially by his mother. He does not, however, shy away from describing challenges and complicated dynamics within his family, making the story feel authentic to the experiences of its readers. Without being overly sentimental, The Missing Child is, at its heart, a loving gift to Charlotte O’Connor.”
Cindy Waszak Geary, author, Ancestral Landscapes—Searching for my place in the world.
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“The Missing Child” is for anyone who wants to understand how DNA testing (especially Ancestry DNA, 23andMe, and GEDMatch) sheds light on the intricate workings of 20th century American immigrant families.”
Richard Teichgraeber Ph.D., professor emeritus of history, Tulane University.
An adored mother who struggled to get her family out of poverty, a closeknit family whose home was New Haven, but whose roots were Irish, and a secret his mother did not want revealed. Could the author solve the mystery of his family’s past? An intimate family saga and a genealogical search told by the author, a former journalist and professor, using his skills and perseverance to undercover a story he had no idea could be true. A page-turner I could not stop reading. Perfect for libraries and book clubs everyplace.
Edith Netter, author, “The House at Schumannstrasse 7.”
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Endorsements of “The Missing Child: The Life She Lived and The Life She Missed.”