Genealogy Chat

Due to an ancestor with an unknown father and a named mother, was adopted by another couple, who then went on to have three children of their own, I am having trouble adding this information to my tree.

Is there a way to add another "mother/father/spouse" without the existing information being automatically deleted. I can't add anything else to this part of my tree until I can solve this problem.

I'm probably missing something simple that is plainly obvious to everyone else but me and will feel suitable stupid when someone tells me how easy it is to do.

Thank you, in advance

Valerie

You might have sorted it out now but try the following

Assuming you've already added the birth mother, its probably already assumed an unknown father. 'Marry' the birth mother to the adoptive father, then the adoptive father to the adoptive mother. As long as you've clicked the birth mother's name, the box will give you the option to 'add' a relative - Sibling, Spouse or Child

Unknown birth parent - Birth parent (f) - adoptive parent (m) - adoptive parent (f)
Unknown m Mary Smith m Simon Black m Jane White

You might want to note that Mary Smith and Simon Black were't actually Partners.
If you choose to, you could make an additional entry for the adopted child as the child of her new parents, using the name they gave her/him. Again, you might want to cross-reference this in the notes field

You won't automatically delete the previous entries - all you've done is create a new family. If you went into Full Tree view, all the entries you've made will be there.
For instance, my grandfather married twice. If I were to click on my mother's name, I will see her siblings and her parents, but not her step-mother. If I click on her father (my grandfather) name, then I can see the name of his second wife as well as the name of his first wife and their children

The way that I read Valerie's post is that the child was adopted by another couple, not the birth mother and her new husband, in which case the child is not blood related to the adoptive parents.

I agree Margee but to show both birth and adoptive parents, you have to marry them off to each other. Birth mother to Adoptive father, then Adoptive father to the Adoptive mother. The child then created/added in the name they gave him/her as their child . Notes to explain what you've done.

The adoptive parents may not be blood related, but the adoption does make their Ancestors the childs Ancestors.

The original Birth Family isn't lost, just hidden while the tree owner works on the adoptive family and their Ancestors. Because the adopted child has been brought up by the adoptive family, most of the time their ancestors and other relatives are more 'family' than the those related to the birth mother/parents.

I agree that adoptive parents are family. However in genealogy I don't think that the adoptive parents ancestors are the ancestors of the adoptee. Furthermore I completely disagree with marrying off the birth mother to the adoptive father.

How would you suggest Valerie gets around the problem of showing both families on GR? Yes, you're correct that the two sets of parents aren't actually 'partnered', but can you think of another way? Including an adoptive family may not be technically correct, but Family History, as opposed to Genealogy, is a hobby and should be able to cater for all opinions.

As far as I'm aware, its not possible to add a completely unrelated person on GR unless you've done so on an offline tree programme then uploaded a gedcom. If Valerie does have such a programme, that might be the answer. Of course, a new upload will wipe out any in-put she's done solely on GR.

My suggestion would be to have a family tree program on one's home computer and forget about the GR tree. It leaves a lot to be desired.

I don't understand why anyone would have their only copy of their family tree online, especially on GR.

Welcome to the Community boards Valerie.



(I'll let Valerie know how to find her replies) :-)

My suggestion would be to create a duplicate of the adoptee, connect these 2 as if they were married, then add notes to both individuals to explain.

I haven't done this on GR, but my tree on another site is set up like this. I wanted to trace both the birth parents and the adoptive parents of my grandmother. So grandmother (in her adoptive name) is linked as spouse to grandfather, and is also linked to what appears to be another spouse, who is in fact herself appearing in her birth name. This has enabled me to add parents and earlier generations for both birth and adoptive families.

Anne

Thanks to all for replying and offering suggestions, which are really appreciated.

It is very interesting looking back through the years and I expect that if we had all the time we REALLY need and an unlimited source of ready cash, then everything we find out would slot into our respective family trees without hassle, because we could afford to pay an expert to do it for us.

However, for me at least, I am enjoying being able to trawl through all the records, some days it all falls into place and I seem to just get the right thing, at the right time. Then other times - as with this - although I have the basic information, the problem has been adding it to the existing tree, in such a way that is not confusing to anyone else who asks to view it.

While, I'm aware that finding out what (if any) connection there may be between Beatric Milner/Bertha Jane Gentle/and Samuel Lowe is probably an impossible task, I keep hoping that one day luck will be on my side and it will all become clear. Maybe they were neighbours or worked for the same household and come across that information on a Census by chance, while looking for something else.

I was about six years old when my grandfather found out about his biological mother, I vaguely remember (who I thought was) my great grandmother and recall visiting her a few times with my grandfather. He, was unaware of his adoption before she died and although I was so young at the time, I remember the discussions that took place and the upset that this news caused. Of course, none of the conversations actually included me, but I knew "something" wasn't quite right and kept quiet.

I'm looking forward to getting back to the tree and adding the suggestions you have given me. I have already added notes to the three records that apply, so that's available for cutting and pasting and will carry on from there.

Thank you

Valerie

Just to let all of those who helped me with my Genealoogy problem so long ago. A few months ago I finally broke through my brick wall.

My grandfather and his three siblings were all very like - it was not obvious to anyone that he was not a full brother to the others. The answer came to me, literally, in a flash of light, while looking through some old photographs.

I knew that Bertha Gentle was not his birth mother and that Beatrice Milner was definitely his biological mother as I have his birth certificate. Samuel (his adoptive dad) died in 1924, so I never met him or saw a photograph of him.

So why the familial resemblance. Then the fog lifted. The obvious answer was that Samuel Lowe must therefore have been Vernon's biological father.

I did some researching along that route and eventually it was confirmed that was indeed the case. My Grandad died in 1983 and I made a promise to myself that I'd find out the information before I made that journey myself.

Thank you all for the suggestions and advice you took the time to offer me.

Valerie McCaffery