New Ross adoption 1904.

[Cooper-Furlong]

Hi, my great-grandfather (William Cooper) was adopted in New Ross around 1904. I am looking for any documents or information relating to his birth / Baptism / parents. When older relatives of mine have been to New Ross the locals have been aware of his adoption to the Cooper / Henberry family but declined to share more information. Apparently after the birth he was placed into a cart and taken to his adoptive family during the night. His mother was unwed and possibly from a farm or large property. His father (?farm employee?) moved to Australia. The adoptive parent's names were Samuel and Bridget Cooper. Can anyone help? Is there anyone left in New Ross who knows the story? The adoption makes it difficult to find documents. Thankyou!!

[aghadowey]

Welcome to Rootschat. Formal adoption didn't come into place in Ireland until much later so unless the adoption was arranged through a solicitor there probably won't be any paperwork to find.

Do you have a birth certificate for William? was his birth registered by the adoptive parents or before they took him in?

Have you found any of the family in 1911 census?
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/

[Cooper-Furlong]

Thankyou for your reply!
In 1911 he is living with his adoptive parents at 23 William Street, New Ross.
I don't have a birth or baptism certificate. When William was much older he tried to obtain his own documents in order to apply for a passport. His local church in New Ross wrote a letter stating that they tried in vain to find any documents.
So, we don't even know where or by whom he was baptised. I could just try contacting each church for any matches?
Also, William was raised Catholic but may have been from a Protestant family, as they were landowners. So, it could be either type of church.

[shanew147]

here's the family on the 1911 census for reference

  Henbury Household, William St, New Ross

p.s. your first post stated that you were searching for William Cooper, not Hennbury - did he use his mother's maiden name later in life ?


Shane

[Cooper-Furlong]

Thankyou, Shane.
Very observant of you! We only knew William as 'William Cooper'. The Cooper / Henbury family is the only one that matches. I.e. Dad (Samuel), mother (Bridget) and William. Both the names and ages match for all three. William's son does recall the name Henbury as being familiar. I do not know if and/or why there may have been a name change.

[shanew147]

Do you have any certs (e.g. marriage or death) for William ?

If he's the correct William... then I wonder why he chose to use his mother's family name, rather than his adopted family & father..



Shane

[Cooper-Furlong]

I have William Cooper's marriage certificate:
Marriage to Mary Furlong 1930 in London
William aged 26 yrs
William listed his father as Samuel Cooper (deceased, worked as a stoker in the Merchant Service)

So, the 1911 census I have could be the wrong one. William could have lied on his marriage certificate.
But this is still the best New Ross match I have on census and he definitely grew up there.

I think the next thing I need to find is Samuel and Bridget's marriage certificate.

[Cooper-Furlong]

William's son, also named William grew up and went to school in Wexford (sent over from London in WW2). He does not recall any aunts or uncles on this side on the family. But, he does recall children named Henbury approaching him and saying they were his cousins.
Any Wexford / New Ross Henbury's out there?!

[Cooper-Furlong]

There is a 1902 marriage between a Bridget Cooper and Samuel Henneberry in New Ross (Jul-Sep quarter). I just have an index for this marriage, I should obtain a copy of the document.
In the 1901 census Bridget Cooper is unmarried.