Finding out more about adopted child

[ariedl]

I had either never noticed or completely glossed over the fact that the 1901 census for my maternal great-grandfather's family shows that an adopted son was living with them. I mentioned it to my mother recently to see what she knew about him, and she had never heard anything about this individual or even that her mother had an adopted sibling.

Here's how the family is listed in the 1901 census for Dundee:

Name | Relation to Head | Age | Profession| Where Born

• Patrick Keenan | head | 30 | Yarn Draper | Dundee
• Martha Keenan | wife | 26 | - | Dundee
• Ethel Keenan | daur | 1 3/4 | - | Dundee
• John Ross | adopted son | 5 | - | Dundee
• Mabel Keenan | daur | 3 mo. | - | Dundee

Address: 256 Hilltown

If the name rings a bell, yes, this is part of the Keenan family I've posted about previously, here: http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=634180 and here: http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=721873. I didn't add this to those threads as it didn't seem to fit.

I did a little searching on ScotlandsPeople for a birth or death, but as the name is fairly common, am unsure how to proceed without more information. The name Ross has never popped up in the many (many, many, many, many) searches I've done related to the Keenans before, and John Ross does not appear on the 1911 census with the family. As I'm not sure where he was born, who his parents were, when he left the Keenans, when he died, etc., I'm baffled as to how to proceed.

I'm hoping that with all of the knowledgeable people on this board, someone may know of a resource that's useful for researching an adopted individual, or may just have experience and be able to offer some advice on a plan for my future research. I appreciate and welcome any advice.

Thanks--
Alec

[Rosinish]

Hi,

Were the family at the same address in 1911 

If so, it may be worth looking for a death within the 2 dates but you would need to find out which area it would be registered.

There are only 18 on SP in that time frame & would only be 23p to check the index 

Annie

ADDED..............Sorry..............18 Angus & 10 Dundee City

[suzyvan]

Hi,
Would John Ross [adopted] be a child that Martha had before her marriage to your Patrick Keenan?

[Rosinish]

Hi,
Would John Ross [adopted] be a child that Martha had before her marriage to your Patrick Keenan?

I think if that is the case..........he will also be registered under Martha's maiden name if she wasn't married to the father so worth checking that 

Annie

[ariedl]

Were the family at the same address in 1911 

The family was on the same street, but had moved from 256 to 54. I don't know Dundee well enough to know if that's a big move or not!

I did check deaths, but I didn't think to limit the time frame to the next census, which would have made sense! I just tried it, and only came up with 3 results for all of Scotland! Unfortunately, none appear to be likely (locations were Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and West Lothian). Thanks for the suggestion, though!

[ariedl]

Hi,
Would John Ross [adopted] be a child that Martha had before her marriage to your Patrick Keenan?

That's a good suggestion, but Patrick and Martha were married in 1894, so John Ross hadn't come along yet.

[RJ_Paton]

As many adoptions at that time period were often within the wider family unit it may pay to check family connections with the surname Ross.

e.g if Martha's maiden name was not Ross - could she have had a sister who married a Ross or could it be one of Patrick's sisters who married a Ross ?

SP throws up only one of the latter ( Isabella Keenan & Colin Ross but in Glasgow )

[ariedl]

As many adoptions at that time period were often within the wider family unit it may pay to check family connections with the surname Ross.

Thanks for the tip. I've looked on SP for any marriages between Ross/Hutchison (Martha's maiden name) or Ross/Keenan, with no results in the right time frame and city. As far as I know, Martha's only sister, Jane, never married. Patrick Keenan had three sisters, one of whom married a McLean, another married a Dolan, and again, as far as I know, the third never married.

Not sure where to go from here, unfortunately. 

[Rosinish]

A female wouldn't need to be married for the surname of the child to be the same as the father, as long as the father was present at registration of the birth.

I also think that the word "adopted" was used although not done officially.

Is it possible a sister died young & John was her illegitimate son 

As mentioned, an illegitimate child with a different surname would be on SP under mothers maiden name too, so doing a check for a birth for John under both names on index (free) may help for coinciding year in Dundee.

I believe the Hilltown area would be under Dundee City on SP 

Annie