Adopted son of Florence Edith Davis.

[lizzieliza]

Hi.

Just wondering if anyone can give me some advice please as not sure at all where to look for the following information:-

Florence Edith Davis born 1889 Battersea, became pregnant aged 14 years. She was made to leave the family home. The child, a son, was born in 1903 and soon after adopted. We have no idea where the child was born, but can't imagine that Florence, alone, would have strayed too far from her home town of Battersea!
Although it would be amazing to find information on the adoption, what we are really looking for is the birth certificate of the child. But without a name for the child we are pretty stumped.The birth registers on-line don't give the mother's name for this period in time. Is there any hope of finding a birth registration in a case like this?
Many thanks for your time.
Liz.

[groom]

I really can't think of anyway that you can do this with the little that you know. Just looking at Wandsworth registration district for 1903, there were about 27 male births. You also have no guarantee that she stayed there. There were no official adoptions until 1927, so there will be no records of that.

Have you found her in 1911, was she still in the same area?

[lizzieliza]

Hi.
Yes, she was taken in by a local family and remained with them until her death aged 86.
Liz

[louisa maud]

I do believe this has been dealt with before with almost the same replies

Louisa Maud

[groom]

I do believe this has been dealt with before with almost the same replies

Louisa Maud

Gosh, you have a good memory - you're right it has, and I replied there as well!

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=437187.0

[louisa maud]

There doesn't appear to be a baptism for a child single mother with her names as far as I can see so far, there is a possibility the birth could be the following year depending on when the poor girl became pregnant

Louisa Maud

[groom]

Can I ask how you know this, Liz, is it a family story that has been handed down? If so, I would be a bit cautious as to whether dates etc are correct as we all know how things get changed slightly as they are passed on.

[StevieSteve]

Possible plans of attack

1a List all male Davis births in Wandsworth - 25+ in 1903, not looked in 1904

b Rule out all the online baptisms - 11 in 1903, not looked in 1904 or later

c Examine & rule out those in the 1911 census

d Do we know whether the child survived past 1911? If so, rule out as appropriate using the death registers

Take stock of where you're at


Or

2a Assume child born in a Workhouse / Workhouse Infirmary

b Check the records for an admission date / entry in the Creed registers for Florence.

[groom]

Trying not to sound too negative, but the chances are if the baby was "adopted" by a family, his name would have been changed, so even if you were lucky enough to find his birth, the trail would probably go cold as there would be no records of adoption.