Victorian adoption / baby farming?

[misschelle]

Hello all, I'm new here and hoping you might be able to help me with a bit of a puzzle regarding my 2nd great grandfather (Harry) and how he and his little brother would have found themselves living with another family.

Harry was born in Stepney in 1857, and his brother in Islington in 1862. On both birth records only their mother's name is listed, no fathers, and I can't find any other records to connect them to their mother. I can't find Harry or his mother in the 1861 census.

The 1871 census shows that Harry and his brother were living with a 'Monthly Nurse' called Sarah and her family in Islington as 'boarders'.
They remained with the family at least until Harry married in 1887 and he must have been very well cared for because he stayed close-by to them for most of his life, even returning to the same street to raise his own family.

I found their biological mother listed living at a pub in Whitechapel in 1851 and at various addresses around Middlesex as a servant or lodger until 1911. She never married and died in 1914, leaving £5 to her niece. There is never any mention of her children.

I wondered if anyone had any experience or knowledge of child boarding during this period and the sort of circumstances that would have placed Harry and his brother in Sarah's care?

I've read about baby farming and how monthly nurses often adopted children for a small fee.
Would this be a likely explanation?

Would there be any kind of records to explain this? If yes, how would I find them?

If anyone can help, I would be so very grateful.

Many thanks!

M

[KGarrad]

Welcome to RootsChat!

Formal, legal, adoption didn't come into being until the 1920's.
Before that adoption was usually an informal affair, although a local church may have been involved.

In the rare case of a legal adoption, there may be paperwork around somewhere - maybe the local Record Office?

Have you checked the GRO Index Search for the births?
They list Mother's maiden name on almost all births from 1937 until 1916.
For illegitimate births, the Mother's maiden name is replaced with a dash "-".

You have to register, but it's free to use
www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/Login.asp

[andrewalston]

It seems likely that the two illegitimate children came to be under the care of the Board of Guardians.

Rather than having children in the Workhouse proper, the boards often set up Industrial Schools to provide training and a basic education for pauper children.

In 1870, an order was made to allow children to be "boarded out" to foster parents, as this provided an approximation to a "normal" family life. It was also seen as economical.

Have a read of Peter Higginbotham's site, www.workhouses.org.uk/boardingout/ .

[misschelle]

Thanks KGarrad

Perhaps it was an informal affair in that case as I haven't found any official adoption records.
I had hoped I might be able to find an explanation.

The only link we have found is the fact their carer was a 'monthly nurse'.

Yes, I found both Harry and his brother's birth records through the GRO Index. Their mother's maiden name was listed on both, no father on either.


Thank you Andrewlston

I see, I will research this some more, thank you.

Yes, this was before fostering became a thing which is why I thought perhaps it could be related to baby farming. Perhaps when Harry's brother was born, both children were sold to the monthly nurse, Sarah?

I will check that link now, thank you.

[avm228]

Is there any reason not to share their full names?  With a bit more information on the people involved we might be able to help you fill in the gaps.

[stanmapstone]

See Bastardy and Baby Farming in Victorian England
http://www.loyno.edu/~history/journal/1989-0/haller.htm

Stan