Fostering Tayport (Ferry upon Craig )1915

[MonicaL]

Although adoption laws came in to effect in 1930 in Scotland, from what I have read, it wasn't really until after the second world war that things really firmed up in this area (WW2 brought its own headaches regarding the care of babies and children unfortunately).

It is such an inpenetrable area to research as you very unlikely to find any proof of anything really. Records being closed off and unaccessable, or "lost"  and really honestly lost or destroyed. Women were sent off all round the country to have their babies. There were all kinds of charitable or otherwise groups, religeous organisations and private facilities for these women and their babies. Not just babies, as older children were also needing care. MASSIVE and harrowing subject this which has so many layers.

I think your approach is the most likely to result in success as you have found with your father's details.

Monica

[shelly 65]

Do you think i should stick in there try all the avenues i can? when nov. 14th comes along i am praying that there is more info on where he was placed to be given away.hopefully i will see that,
getting a bit long in the tooth!!!
Cheers Monica ,you come over as very experienced which is very good for me,i love the searching but limited in my grey matter where to go half the time.
 

[MonicaL]

My experience and nearly everyone else here on RC comes from doing what you are doing now...learning as you go!

Regarding keeping going, absolutely! Every year new sources come online or are made available. Also, I have seen old posts here on RC coming alive again because someone years later has made a connection to a post or simply been able to add some new info. Stay hopeful and positive 

Monica

[shelly 65]

Cheers Monica,
                     you are an inspiration,i will keep plodding on,every one i have met on RC ,are soooo helpful,i am staying with it.hopefully we will chat again.
                                                                                 
                                     

[shelly 65]

Hello Monica,
                  i was thinking about Thomas Connelly,when David married Rachel he changed the boys name to Connelly(in 1898 Ireland) maybe not in writting) like my dads name not done through legal procedures(?)..i looked up the WW1 deaths could not find Thomas James Magee....
i did find Thomas Connelly but found him in Ypres ..but cannot get his parents names.
i remember my dad saying his brother died in the first world war by gas...
Thomas James Magee..baptism/birth..17/1/1896..Achadowey..co,Derry..(rootsireland.ie)
thanks..

[MonicaL]

Shelley, I was reading this today http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/scottish-soldiers-wills-to-go-online-in.html  and wondering whether we could pick up on Thomas this way, via a will entry?

NRS/NAS http://www.nas.gov.uk/onlineCatalogue/ have just three entries with not enough detail to make anything really, except the one that we think now is the Thomas from Newton Mearns who died end of July 1917:

Will of 242297 Private Thomas Connelly, 5th Bn., Gordon Highlanders, Cause of death: Killed in action, Belgium, Theatre: France and Flanders, 31 Jul 1917 (our Newton Mearns Thomas I think).

Will of S/10564 or 10564 Private Thomas Connelly, 2nd Bn., Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, Cause of death: Killed in action, France, Theatre: France and Flanders, 07 Mar 1917

Will of 20868 Private Thomas Connelly, 2nd Bn., Royal Dublin Fusiliers, formerly 3063 Scottish Rifles, Cause of death: Killed in action, Gouzeancourt, France, Theatre: France and Flanders, 21 Mar 1918

Monica

[shelly 65]

Hello again Monica,
                           i cannot remember what site i looked up to get this info on Thomas i probably have got it wrong,when i found the name (a few years ago now} i thought "yes" must be him with the info my dad had given me,but now i realise without seeing his parents names i really have no proof.What i know for sure is his birth date and birth place..so maybe i will have to dig deeper.
I have written to Edingburgh to see if they can release any info on the death cert.,of the Thomas i have found..Poor Ethel on the back burner for a wee while.
    Cheers Monica.

[MonicaL]

Ethel is there for another day, we won't forget her 

Regarding Thomas, daft question from me. From what your father said about Thomas, he definitely died in active combat abroad during WW1 rather than got injured and then either came home to die in the UK or died some years later from the effects of the war?

I wish we could find some service papers that could help with his regiment and numbers etc. There are some deaths showing for a T Connolly  (I am searching as Con*ly to try to pick up on spelling variations) where no age is included. This can mean that there is missing personal information including next of kin details recorded. Sometimes you can find that information from other sources thought (as we did with the details for the Thomas from Newton Mearns). I have been looking at this site that I mentioned earlier www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead.aspx

Monica

[shelly 65]

Monica,i am looking up the Ancestery site for ww1 soldiers who died in action,strangely i have came upon a Thomas (born in dundee) only one in the 3 i have looked at were born in Ireland,
Shankill Belfast,(this is where Davids mother was born),the one in Dundee interesting David&co were just outside Dundee at some point in there life,this Thomas died 11/11/1914,a few days before my dad was born and taken in by David/Rachel..gosh this is a real puzzle,i will have to try and find more info., on these two..the other one i found was born Glasgow maybe wanted people to think that, as they were there in 1902/3/4/5/6...so many little fibs told inccredible...
The other thing i am sure of is that Thomas died by a Gas attack in ww1...
Oh dear here we go again,i also remember him saying that another brother died in Dundee logging accident i cannot remember the name or when,better to leave that one alone+another one..c u Monica....