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Adoption in the 1920's

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ProfilePosted byOptionsPost Date

Cynthia

Cynthia Report 22 Mar 2010 14:41

Thank you Eileen. I will pass this info on to the one sibling who is aware of the facts and let her make the decision as to what to do next.....if anything. Regards. Cx.

Eileen

Eileen Report 21 Mar 2010 22:59

These two that were adopted out will be in their seventies now, if they are still alive, so it is fairly unlikely that they will be searching for their roots......they would have tried by now if they had wanted to......and found that for people of their age it is quite tricky....
.....however it would perhaps be worth your spending a few pounds putting a message on the Government Adoption Contact Register..........you can put one on as wanting to find these two people, and also as happy to be found by them if they are looking.

People do sometimes suddenly decide to find things out, perhaps wanting to do it before it is too late.
I had a message on the adoption contact register for fifteen years......last year, at the age of 64, the person I was trying to find, suddenly decided to look for her roots............she was my full sister, adopted separately to me in 1946........I had known about, and been searching for her for forty years....she had no idea I existed. Logically, she must have realised that she was unlikely to find her b.mother..........so why she looked then, I don't know..........next time we are chatting I'll ask her. I had found our b.mother many years ago, and knew her for about 14 years before she died. I also found our b.father's family, sadly missing our b.father, but his later children knew about us.........its amazing what one can find with a lot of chasing up of possible leads...........so keep going.........
Eileen
birth name
born 1944, adopted 1946, found b.mother 1972, finally found full sister 2009

Cynthia

Cynthia Report 21 Mar 2010 19:26

Sorry Jan, missed your reply! Thank you for that....the trouble is that I have two 2nd cousins who were adopted out by their parents in the 1930's ........the rest of their siblings, apart from one I have spoken to, do not know of their existence. They may still be alive so I must tread carefully. Probably one of those things which must be left alone. Regards. Cx.

brummiejan

brummiejan Report 20 Mar 2010 19:46

Cynthia, there is no way of finding this out unless the adopted person - or someone else who knows the details - tells you. The best you can do is look for common ancestors in people's trees. Or register on the contact site obviously.
Jan

Cynthia

Cynthia Report 20 Mar 2010 19:39

Fiddlesticks! Thanks for that Gerry.....but I only know the birth name and not the adoptive name.


Arrrghhh.....hits head against brick wall.




Cx.

FannyByGaslight

FannyByGaslight Report 20 Mar 2010 13:03

Thank you Gerry...

brummiejan

brummiejan Report 20 Mar 2010 12:48

Thanks for clearing that up! Very useful info.
Regards
jan

Geraldine

Geraldine Report 20 Mar 2010 12:38

Cynthia:

It's my understanding that the Index shows ALL the adoptions for England and Wales from 1927.

Brummiejan:

You are quite right and the information is confidential and you cannot find out a persons adoptive name.

After a child has been adopted they are placed on the Adopted Children Register (ACR) and listed in their adoptive name. The ACR holds ALL the details of the adoption (birth names, adoptive names and Court details) and this is held under lock and key in Southport... this Register is NOT for public view by law.

The Adopted Children Register is NOT to be confused with the INDEX of the Adopted Children Register. As the INDEX can be viewed by the public. However, it does NOT show the Birth name As stated above in my previous post adopted children are listed in the ACR and appear in their ADOPTIVE name only.

In order to search the index of the ACR and apply for an Adoption Certificate you will need to know the adoptive name.

Cheers Gerry

brummiejan

brummiejan Report 20 Mar 2010 09:17

Gerry, are you sure about this? Surely you can't find out who was adopted and what their new name was? It's appalling if you can, as this should be confidential.
Jan

Cynthia

Cynthia Report 20 Mar 2010 09:02

Thanks Gerry. Are these local or national adoption registers? Cx.

Geraldine

Geraldine Report 19 Mar 2010 23:49

Sorry Fannyby Gaslight I have only just seen your post.

The public Index to the Adopted Children Register are available for view these Libraries only.

Great Manchester County Record Library. Birmingham Central Library. Bridgend Reference and Information Library. Plymouth Central Library and I believe also at Kew.

The index is set out pretty much like the BMD indexes.

Year (when the adoption was placed in the ACR)

Adoptive name.

Date of entry (onto the register)

No of entry and Volume no.

Cheers Gerry

FannyByGaslight

FannyByGaslight Report 13 Mar 2010 10:07

Cynthia..
I did that a couple of days ago,still await a reply.
But thanks for the suggestion.

Barry.

If you post asking for help ,if you havent already got a post somewhere on here,maybe you can get help with your brick wall?

Cynthia

Cynthia Report 13 Mar 2010 09:24

Thanks for your replies everyone. Seems that several of us have hit the proverbial brickwall - for a while at least!


FBG, maybe you could email the library where the adoption took place and see what they say?? They may be able to point you in the right direction. Just a thought.
Cx.

maggiewinchester

maggiewinchester Report 13 Mar 2010 00:29

My dad was adopted at the age of 16 in 1942. As such he should have known his real surname and adoptive name - but was known by a different name to his 'real' name as a child!!

However, I found his adoptive registration, handwritten at the bottom of the relative page for his birth year.
Then I looked for a birth under his mother's maiden name under his birth year - he was there.
I also found him (handwritten at the bottom of the page again) under his birth name - and under his adoptive name the year he was adopted.


maggie

FannyByGaslight

FannyByGaslight Report 12 Mar 2010 22:43

Gerry..
Question please if I may.

Would you have to go to the library of where the adoption took place to view the index?

The one I am interested in took place in the early 1940s.

Suzanne

Suzanne Report 12 Mar 2010 22:42

hi,adoption wasnt made legal until about 1927,children were just given away,my grandfather was given away in 1915,even though we know who he was given away tooand we know his birth mothers name from his birth cert, thats where it ends,i havnt been able to trace him anytime after his birth until his marriage,what happend to him between these timesnobody knows.good luck in your search.x

Geraldine

Geraldine Report 12 Mar 2010 22:29

The Adopted Children Register (ACR) is not for public view, however, the INDEX of the ACR is available at some major libraries is open for public view.

Children listed on the INDEX of the ACR are listed in their adoptive name in the year the adoption order was granted in the Court. Without knowing the adoptive name it is an impossible task.

Cheers Gerry

Cynthia

Cynthia Report 12 Mar 2010 18:15

Thanks Shirley, guess I'm on a loser with this one then! Cx

Shirley~I,m getting the hang of it

Shirley~I,m getting the hang of it Report 12 Mar 2010 18:11

you cant look at adoption registers they are only open to the adoptee and are closed when they pass away.

Cynthia

Cynthia Report 12 Mar 2010 16:48

Hi Minnie, this lady has appeared out of the blue. I know the rest of her family but she is a complete mystery.

I found her by checking her parents names on freebmd trying to sort the family out into date order (luckily fairly unusual surname). I sent for the birth certificate to make sure and yes, right parents but no one in the family knows anything about her. I am in contact with one of her siblings (who is suitably flabbergasted) and we have decided to stay quiet about it because we don't know the circumstances of this adoption.

The thing is, there is also another birth a 2/3 years later with the same parents names who we don't know about either, and wonder if that child too, was adopted.

It's so strange - there was a family of nine altogether - why have 2 adopted???

The parents were entertainers and used to travel around so all the chldren have been born somewhere different. So helpful - not!!

How do I trawl adoption registers? Am willing to give it a go. Thanks for replying, Cx.