Look on http://vitals.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ca/death/search.cgi if you know his name and if he died in California 1940 - 1997. Otherwise, give people an estimated birth date and a state he lived in. Someone may be able to help.

There's not enough information here to give a helpful answer. Gardner "Romie" Gains lived: when, where? Alive now or lived 200 years ago? Which country? Town or city? Do you have any specific identifying information about him (or the son) ... like birthdate, place - marriage (to whom), when, place - owned land? - schools, employment, clubs, anything. If dead, probate or cemetery records .. anything. Beyond all that, I'll say this in general: Genealogy Research should always start with NOW then work BACK in time ... each time noting "event, date, location" and "source documents" to back up each thing noted. Some documents will go further and give RELATIONSHIPS. This is "great"! Bit by bit, you work backwards. What others say .. or what they've learned .. or even what you might find online about families .. are all "clues". Unless and until you check them out, none of it is "verified". A record about a "James Jones" could be "anyone". It's up to you prove it's YOUR James Jones. Learning the "how to go about" researching family lines can then be used for anyone. What will change are the localities .. what's available .. how to get to them .. how to interpret what you're looking at. There are many genealogists (professional and tons of amatuers) around online (on message boards, mailing lists and even here) where you can ask questions as you go along. This may have helped you or been way off base if you're really looking for a long lost brother or something. But even so .. start with what you know then learn what record types exist in your timeline and locality that might help you answer your given question. This answer (while long) is rather like talking about "how to fish" rather than tossing a fish. It's much better in the long run. Hope it helps.