Genealogy Chat

Hi, I've found the emails in this thread very interesting. Like many of you, I'm also trying to trace more information about my Mum's cousin who was adopted as a baby in 1929, so after the Adoptions Act. I've got a copy of his birth certificate which shows his mother (my gr auntie), no father is listed and "adopted" has been typed onto the birth cert. My mum and I would dearly love to find out more, but he could be still living, into his 80s and the last thing he needs is this. Does anyone know if I can find out more, for example his adoptive parents etc, what his name became, or am I caught up with the 100 year rule?

I'd appreciate any words of wisdom, many thanks.

oops didnt see that this thread had the blocked icon on it .but i see some people are still following it .does that mean someone has to set up a new thread to discuss adoptions ?

the threads on here are very interesting and useful . I am trying to find what happened to my grandmas birth mother after 1900 .there are a few clues
on her birth certificate dec 1899 her middle name was a surname which i'm told is a way unmarried mothers had of indicating the father also her profession was draper's assistant.so we looked for possible candidates of that name who lived locally and worked in similar professions .Unlikely to be able to trace him definitely though . by the time my grandma was baptised march 1900 this middle name had been changed to a more conventional one , her mother's own name was shortened (charlotte to Lottie )different initials so i would have missed it on register if she hadn't been the only fatherless child on the book . In 1901 my grandma was "a boarder" with her birth mother's surname only her 1st name was transcribed as May rather than maisie. By 1911 she was listed as adopted though as you suggest there would probably be no legal paper work and she had taken her adoptive families surname .on her marriage certivicate she was "Adopted name "known as unknown fathers surname /birth mothers "surname .So your advice at looking at all names is very valid . I know that she did trace her birth mother who wrote telling her not to contact her again as she was now respectable with a professional son . i don't know when my grandma found her (when she married in1924 ,had her own kids in 30's or when adoption rights changed . My late aunt found this letter of rejection after my grandmother's death and decided to destroy it . So I'm now looking for other clues . Would there be old newspapers with adverts for adoptive parents or court cases against putative fathers .?

Hello,
I have read all the threads and found it interesting and useful, I myself am trying to help my friend, his mother was born in 1933 and adopted a few months later, we have a copy of the adoption certificate, his mother and her adoptive parents have all sadly passed away, my friend is now eager to find out about his mothers birth parents, the birth mother was believed to have been 16 when she had her daughter and the given name was Annie Smith (quite common so we do wonder whether this is actually the real name), this information is all that his mother had been told? But when she was adopted she did also come with a big dowry of money, so we have no idea who's money this was?
We have wrote to the adoption people at the courts and are still waiting to hear off them as my friend has requested the adoption records, what I am wondering about is that he has been told that the admin lady goes to look for the records when she finds them she passes them onto a magistrate and then it is his decision how much information my friend is given, has anyone else have this happen?? My friend is an only child so any information gathered is for his own interest and wont be causing any family issues.

:-)

Michael,

Several points:

You comment that you believe that you were not wanted which is quite a statement to make. Neither the fact that your birth parents divorced or that your mother's new husband adopted you indicates that to me, admittedly as an outsider.

It is quite common where a young child is involved for them to be formally adopted by a step parent. If your mother's new husband formally adopted you then your birth surname would be changed to the surname of your step father. If formally adopted after 1927 then records probably exist and as the adoptee you are entitled to access them. Might I suggest that you consider purchasing the SFFC action pack from:

http://www.norcap.org.uk/sffc_action_pack.php

which will instruct and guide you through the process of accessing your adoption file.

With regard to discovering more about your natural father. You say that you discovered the marriage record of your birth parents. If you do not already have it, obtain a copy of their marriage certificate which hopefully will give you more information about your father such as his age and his occupation at marriage. It may also name his father and indicate his occupation. Even the marriage witnesses names can be helpful. All that information may help you to positively identify your fathers birth date and family. With that knowledge it may be possible for you to follow his life forward from the time he and your mother parted.

I am pleased to note that you display a considerate approach regarding not wishing to cause any disturbance to others and I wish you well in your quest.

Good luck.

Dear Jonsey
I read your message and tip and found it most interesting. I wounder if yu can possibley help me by pointing me in the right Diirection.

I was born in Wales and my real father left around the time I was 3 or so, My mother remarried and as far as I ca tell her new husband adopted me in Torquay where we were living at the time.
Life being Life I find myself an older person and looking back on my life I realise sadly that really I was not wanted and probably adopted to save face. Anyway that being in the past I continue to think about my real father and the family I never did and probably never will know.
I was told sometime ago that my real father died in England around the London area but am not sure. I joined this site and managed to find the marraige record for my Real Father and Mother, I was able to find his name but on thn looking elsewhere was unable to take that match forward. Is there any goverment agency that I can contact to try and get my adoption records and then hopefully progress from there. I wish no harm or hurt to anybody and would only proceed without any disturbances to their lives. I hope you can point me in the right direction as I think about what I dont know continually.

Hi Jonesey thank you very much for your reply.. As you quite rightly guessed, Mary Dolan was a young Irish girl, The birth certificate states that she was a domestic servant of 34 Brondesbury rd Kilburn.It was quite a nice 3 storey house! The thought is that maybe somebody in the house was the father but we dont know, its just a thought. We have been unable as yet to get hold of the adoption files but we do have the adoption certificate. It is so frustrating, but when I see all of the success stories on Genes reunited I still feel there is hope for my friend Maureen to find out about her birth Mother

I worked with a lady back in the eighties who had adopted a son. She and her husband had two very great friends who wanted to adopt but were judged to be too old. This lady and her husband therefore adopted the child themselves and then handed him over to the other couple to bring up! I don't quite know how they managed with follow-up visits etc - although they lived very close by and acted as "aunt and uncle".

What a nightmare though for the child when he wants to know who he is!

Irene,

Unfortunately attitudes towards unmarried mothers were very different back then than what they are today so young ladies who found themselves in that position either went or were sent well away from their family home to have their child.

With the mother's surname being Dolan there is a strong possibility that she was either Irish or of Irish extraction.

When you say that you have the address where she lived I am assuming that this was what was given as the mothers usual address indicated on your friends birth certificate. Have you investigated that address to determine whether it was a family home or a lodging house at the time of your friends birth? If it was the former look into the people who owned the house to see whether or not they might be related to the mother. Unfortunately if it was the latter then the chances are that it may simply have been the place the mother was temporarily staying in during the latter stages of her pregnancy whilst she awaited the birth.

Is any occupation shown for the mother? If there is and it was an unusual occupation then look at things such as Kelly's directories to see whether there were any businesses nearby that might have employed someone with those skills.

You have probably already done this but if not, look for Mary Dolan marriages taking place within the general area in the few years following the birth.

Good luck.

Can anyone help me please?? for years we have been trying to trace my friends birthmother. Mary Dolan!! . she gave her up for adoption in 1936. We have the hospital she was born and the address where she lived but no fathers name.We have been down all the routes of finding her but still no trace. Has anyone got any suggestions please ?

many thanks Irenex

Hi Jonesey,

Yes she is 100% positive that the details on the birth and death certs(she sent for both certs) for the baby born April 1947 are her adopted parents

I will ask her to get in touch with Norcap.
Thanks
Jonesey for all your help.

Sue

Sue,

Is your friend is 100% sure that the child whose birth was registered in April 1947 was the natural child of the couple who she now believes were her adoptive parents? A copy of that child's birth and death certificates should contain sufficient information to prove or disprove that.

If proven then obviously if she was born in October of the same year she is obviously the child of a different mother.

I am no expert so I would suggest that she contacts Norcap (http://www.norcap.org.uk or Tel 01865 875000) who should be able to advise her of the best course of action to take to try to discover her true parentage.

Good luck.

Jonesey,

Heres a mystery for you.

I have a friend from when were 2/12 yrs old.

She has just looked for her bith(1947) on differnt sites and can't find it anywhere

She now thinks she may have been adopted but her adopted parents must have destroyed all the paper work as when her Dad died there was very little paperwork to go through.

She now knows that her (adopted) parents had a little boy in April 1947 but he died and she was born October 1947.

Do you know where she could go to find out the info she needs as this not finding her birth details has really upset her as she thought her parents were her birth parents.


Sue

Thank you for your help Jonesey

On the marriage certificate it said that Williams father was called Henry, and that he was deceased. His occupation had been a labourer. Thanks for the link i will try
Jerseylily.

Rita,

As adoption was only formalised in 1927 obviously no formal records will exist. You say that this happened about 1890. Have you looked for him on the 1891 and 1901 UK census records to see if you can pin that down? Have you seen your husband's grandfather's marriage certificate to see what, if anything is shown about his father?

I am afraid that my knowledge of procedures and records regarding Jersey is woefully lacking but there is a Genes Reunited member, Jerseylily who often helps out with matters relating to Jersey. May I suggest that you contact her in the hope that she may be able to assist you. A link to her thread is shown below:

http://www.genesreunited.co.za/boards/board/ancestors/thread/1120035

Good luck

Hi Jonesey

I know that my husbands Grandfather was adopted from Jersey by an uncle and aunt in 1890 or there about. He was born in 1879 and died in 1967 in Wolverhampton. Have you got any suggestions how i find out any more information please.
Rita

I am 99 % sure my mother had another child after me she could have used 3 names to register it if she did !!! we are talking 1944/50s and I belive she left in in the hosital after giving birth of course it could have died but I don't know how to start a search on this one Jennu

hi lesley yes there should be one for birth if it doesnt come up for the area you are putting in leave the area open if that doesnt work try putting the year 1950 give or take 4 years if by the time you have done give or take ten years it doesnt come up check the spellings good luck

I have met someone recently who I could never find a birth cert for. Indeed he was adopted as I had guessed -he gave me his birth name and date of birth, but is not interested in tracing his family I did look for the record and could find none.

Should there still be one for birth, it was in 1950.