Genealogy Chat

Hello everyone, Im hoping someone may be able to point me in the right direction.

Having been researching my tree online for a couple of years, it struck me that I didnt have an actual birth certificate for my mother. I looked up in the records and just cant find anything which matches, and so Ive begun to wonder if she might have been adopted and either didnt know herself, or chose not to tell us. (Ive tried GR, FMP and Ancestry)

Mum died in July 2009 and as an only child she didnt keep in touch with her aunts and uncles so I have nobody to ask (we were staggered to find that her mothers side of the family was so big!)

Mum was Jean Elisabeth Wells born 23/08/1923 to William Beasley and Elsie Amy Wells (nee Brooks) and baptised on 30/09/1923 at the Weslyan Methodist Church, Stockland Green, Warwickshire. This also confirms her parents names and birth date.

Please can anyone give me any guidence? It would be much appreciated.
Kind regards
Liz

I am slightly confused. Were William Beasley and Elsie Amy Wells nee Brooks married to one another at the time your mother was born?

!st Marriage for Elsie?

Surname First name(s) Spouse District Vol Page

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Marriages Jun 1912 (>99%)
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Brooks Elsie A Wells King's N. 6c 957
Wells William B Brooks King's N. 6c 957


Andy

Sorry, I can see that the way I wrote it was a bit confusing! Yes they were. William Beasley Wells and Elsie Amy Wells (nee Brooks) married in 1912

Yes Andy, thats the one

Any connection?

Surname First name(s) Mother/Spouse/Age District Vol Page

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Births Jun 1913 (>99%)
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Wells Arnold B Brooks Kings N. 6d 15

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Deaths Jun 1913 (>99%)
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Wells Arnold B 0 Kings N. 6d 7


Andy

Yes, that was their first child, only lived 2 weeks. Elsie also had 6 stillbirths according to a diary I found of Williams.
Sorry, I had put those details in my first post but then clicked on something else before the post button and lost it all!

Elizabeth,

Like yourself I too have had no luck in locating a birth registration that fits even after using all the tricks that I know regarding mistranscriptions ect. Bearing in mind what you have now revealed about Elsie's unfortunate child bearing history I would think that it is quite possible that your mother was not the natural child of William and Elsie.

Unfortunately adoption only became "Official" in 1927 so there will be no official adoption records that you can search. Prior to 1927 adoptions were informal affairs often arranged by doctors or church societies.

Thanks Jonesey
At least it sets my mind at rest that there is someone else who cant find anything!

From what Ive read on other posts, it seems that I may never know for sure who her parents might have been as I dont think adoptions are traceable except for the adoptee.

Anyway, thank you very much for trying.

I hadnt realised that adoption records became official that late. It may well have been arranged through that church where she was baptised then as they were strict churchgoers. Interesting! I shall just have to accept it and carry on with the rest of the family.

Suprising what you find out when youre least expecting it!

I thought this birth registration was interesting - but wrong area. Just wondering if the birth was re-registered or details amended?


From Freebmd births Sep Qrt 1923 - searching using no surname just Jean E

Scott Jean E Scott Marylebone 1a see June 1926
Scott Jean E Scott Marylebone 1a 721

Hi Rootgatherer
I hadnt thought to check Freebmd, so thank you.

I somehow doubt that they would have taken a child from Marylebone as they all came from the Midlands. My grandmother was born Kings Norton, Worcs and grandfather in Tysoe, Warks and they lived in Stockland Green, Birmingham.

I shall look it up myself now as I dont understand the 'see June 1926'
Thanks anyway

Elizabeth, it sounds to me as if she was adopted. Sometimes if an unmarried girl was pregnant she would be sent to 'visit' and aunt or somebody some distance away from her home town, to avoid scandal in her home area. The baby would then be adopted by somebody in the area of the birth.

Possibly the Jean E. Scott was the baby, registered under her mothers name and 'see June 1926' would indicate a new b registration, perhaps under her adoptive parents names?

Huia.

But maybe not, there is a Jean E.M. b in Leicester in Sept 1926, mmn Cornell, and a Jean E.A., mmn Hubbard, b Dorking in Sept 1923.

I dont know the answer.

Huia.

Thanks Huia

That makes sense of the see June 1926 (I looked it up but I couldnt see any connection)

I did find a Williams Jean E (mmn Williams) Sept 1923 Kings Norton 6d 93 which is local to their home and wondered if that might be it.

I guess I'll probably never know for sure. Its funny how these things never enter your head until its too late to ask!

Liz

Please can someone tell me how my Mum would have obtained a passport without a birth certificate? Would a certificate of baptism do as well?

I know that as a smallish child she went on cruises with her parents, probably included on their passports, but I know she travelled to Italy between the end of WW2 and 1951 when she married my Dad and also many times after under her married surname, presumably just the production of the marriage certificate was sufficient to change that?

Thanks
Liz

I am a passport officer, but do not do first time passports so apologies if my info is a bit out.

Children today can apply using an adoption cert, although most adoptive parents re-register the birth using their surname.
Up until 1998 a child was on their parents passport and if I remember correctly I had to take my childrens birth cert to get them added on.

Maybe your mother travelled on her parents passport until she married and would then be on her husbands, so maybe she never had one of her own. I believe it came compulsary to have your own around 2000/2001. Basically the old black ones could have a spouse or children and the burgandy ones could only have children on.

Hope that helps a little.

If you find a name that could be her birth name, you could enter it into the searches on here. You may come accross someone who knows more info about your mum. My mum has told me alsorts of family scandel that has been kept secret. you will be surprised what people know but don't talk about.

Anyway, good luck with your search

Thanks for that Cheryl

Im almost positive that I have seen a passport of here, in her maiden name, but will have to have a hunt through the trunk of memorabilia to find it! Im sure that when she was a small child she would have been on her parents, as my children were on mine in the early 80's.

Maybe they had a re-registered birth certificate at some point although earlier today I put in her name and searched for birth records between 1923 and 1943 and came up with nothing.

Ive tried to find out whether any aunts or uncles (wives!) gave birth toa child at about the same time, but so far no sucess with that train of thought either.

Still, I'll keep wondering, but, at the end of the day, my Grandparents were who they were, a much loved Mum and Dad and Granny and Grandpa.

Thanks again for the help
Liz

Liz,
There is no doubt that your grandparents loved your mother and indeed her grandchildren.
It does sound like you mother was adopted, but if she knew, she never let on. Maybe your grandparents never told her.
It is so frustrating for you as you are stuck with your research, however it's nice to have little things to get your teeth into, if you know what I mean. If we found all of our relatives easily, then it would be boring.
Maybe now that you have more people agreeing that your mother may have been adopted it will spur you on to try to find out the truth.
Maybe you will find family members. Only last year I found that my mum in law had 2 more siblings that she knew nothing of, and she is 67. Her mother had deserted the family and ran off with another man. She had left the 3 children at home alone while their father was at work. The eldest was only 5. Mum in law is now in contact with her half sister.

Maybe you could contact the records office or register office in the area you think you mother was born. They can be very helpful.

Anyway, good luck with you research.

Cheryl

Surely if she got a passport before she was married she would've known she was adopted as she'd need to apply for her birth cert, or ask her parents for it.

Ozi