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Beginners => Family History Beginners Board => Topic started by: Johanna M on Monday 27 May 19 11:57 BST (UK)
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Hi, I'm new to the forum and just wonder if anyone can help point me in the right direction with my research. I've researched my deceased adopted maternal grandmother's history and know a lot about her birth family (Kent), her birth (ST Michael's Fellowship home for unmarried mothers in London, 1919) and her subsequent adoption in to a family in Swansea in 1920. I've always wondered why a baby born in London would have been adopted in Wales, whether there was a family connection (no one still alive knows what this could be) and whether the adoption was registered somewhere. St Michael's Fellowship have been incredibly helpful, but their records simply state that my grandmother lived in their home with her mother until Christmas Eve 2019, that she was fostered by a foster mother in Croydon after which she was adopted, with the adoption being arranged by the family. Her adoptive family already had 3 children, so it's always been a mystery as to how and why she ended up with them. I understand that adoptions before 1926 were privately arranged, so I may be reaching a dead end, but thought it might be worth asking if anyone has any advice. Many thanks, Johanna
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Hi and welcome to Rootschat, Johanna.
Looks like you've already done a lot of research!
When you say the adoption was organised by the family, do you mean the birth family or foster family?
Was St Michael's run by a religious order/ faith?
Looby :)
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There is always a possibility that the baby was advertised in a newspaper?
The Adoption Act was brought in to curb the proliferation of babies being sold in such a way :-\
But an adoption arranged by a Church or Church Society would be the most likely course.
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Many thanks for this - some useful pointers.
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Records said that the adoption was arranged by the birth family.
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Welcome from me too.
Have you considered DNA testing in case it shows up any links between you and descendants of the Welsh family?
It does seem a little unlikely that a family with 3 children would be going to significant lengths to adopt an unrelated infant from some distance away - unless perhaps they had suffered a loss themselves.
Did the family in Wales go on to have further children?
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We haven't considered DNA testing and this is actually a very intriguing idea. Yes we've always thought it strange that my grandmother was adopted in to a family with three much older children already - 23 (could this person have been her father we're wondering?), 17 and 15 when she was adopted. Thanks so much for suggesting such an obvious idea which we haven't thought about!
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Welcome to Rootschat!
I think it's definitely worth considering that the 23 year old could possibly be the father. Pity there wasn't a census taken at about that time and you could find out where he was. Was her original birth name kept, or was it changed? Quite often with an illegitimate child there is a clue to the father's identity in the name given. But of course a DNA match would be all the evidence you need!
Kindest regards
GS
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Thanks for reply - her birth name was changed to a name with the same initials! Her birth name had a very unusual middle name (Dudley - which is a strange choice for a girl right??) but there are not Dudleys we know of in her adopted family.
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“Dudley” may be your best clue short of DNA - it’s not uncommon to find a natural father’s name reflected in the child’s given names.
If you did want to DNA test, have a look for good deals on test kits now & in the coming weeks (ahead of Father’s Day, one of various dates in the year for which discounts are typically offered in the genealogy market).
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The 23-year-old son may well have served in WWI. If so, look for his service records and see where he was around the date of conception.
Carol
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These comments are so helpful -thanks very much. Can I look on service records for free, and if so how much info do I need - I have name, age, and where he was from.
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Fyi. we know from records from the home for unmarried mothers where my grandmother was born that her mother was only 16 when she gave birth, and the reason for her admission was recorded as "violent attack" (which we're assuming was rape). So the Dudley may not have been the father's name.... mystery. So good to talk about this with others who are interested though...
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If you want you can send me a PM (personal message - press the green scroll symbol underneath my username in the left margin) and I can help you look for a service record. Unfortunately many records from WW1 don’t survive, but I agree it is well worth a look.
I have just seen what you said about the circumstances of conception/birth. That must make it much less likely that the child was named after the natural father. Have you looked in the British Newspaper Archive (or Findmypast) for any relevant press reports?
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I have just seen what you said about the circumstances of conception/birth. That must make it much less likely that the child was named after the natural father.
Terrible circumstances indeed. Therefore I would tend to rule the 23year old son of the adoptive parents out as a potential biological father. Surely the birth family wouldn' t organise adoption to them under those circumstances .
Looby :)
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Yes it IS unlikely isn't it. We wondered though if in those days any out of wedlock sexual relationship (especially one with such a young girl) might have been recorded as an "attack"... difficult to know if the family were just trying to save reputation...
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Thanks so much for everyone's help. Found out yesterday that my grandmother's adoptive mother had a history of adoption from London in her own family (she had a much younger sister on the 1891 census who it said was adopted and who had been born in London). And that she had lost a child at 13 herself - perhaps sparking an impulse to adopt my Grandmother. Still speculation but this seems a very likely conclusion. Support much appreciated to get this far.
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Fyi. we know from records from the home for unmarried mothers where my grandmother was born that her mother was only 16 when she gave birth, and the reason for her admission was recorded as "violent attack" (which we're assuming was rape).
I wouldn't make that assumption. Another possibility is violence from a member of her own family when it was realised that she was pregnant.
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We haven't considered DNA testing and this is actually a very intriguing idea. Yes we've always thought it strange that my grandmother was adopted in to a family with three much older children already - 23 (could this person have been her father we're wondering?), 17 and 15 when she was adopted. Thanks so much for suggesting such an obvious idea which we haven't thought about!
Are you suggesting the 23 year old may have been the baby's FATHER? But no sign of "Dudley" in that family?
Surely if the (possible) father's family adopted, the "odd" name would be indicating the MOTHER..... or am I losing my marbles??