77 year old adoption mystery solved

[scotthiggy]

Hi all,
Just thought i would share this success story with you. My father was born in 1932 and died in 1995. He was adopted shortly after his birth, but throughout his life, he never expressed an interest in who his birth parents were or ever tried to find out who they were. (It would have been very easy for him to visit Park Circus registery with his birth certificate....but he just never did) After he died, i took it upon myself to try and find out who his birth parents were. My mother always suspected that his adoptive mother's sister, might have been his "real" mother, but this proved to be not the case and resulted in a lot of time wasting and dead-ends. At the start of this year, I upped the ante and spent many an afternoon at GROS,Park Circus and online to Scotlands People etc. I contacted Birth-Link who advised me that since my father was deceased, I had no right to be able to view his original birth certificate.....BUT...i could write to the court that was involved with the adoption, and ask if I could view it for medical reasons. I proceeded to send the same letter, every 2 weeks to Hamilton Sheriff Court, for about 3 months, stating that I was getting married in July and I wished to view my fathers birth certificate, as my fathered suffered from a heart condition and a mental illness and that I felt it was my right to know if these medical conditions ran through his family.

Three months after sending the 1st letter to the court, I got a phone call from them to confim from that the Sheriff Clerk had looked at my case and considered my appeal to view the birth certificate....I was asked if I could come in person later that week.

I was understandably hyper, on the morning of my visit to the Sheriff Clerk's office. On a arrival I met a lovely helpful girl who took me into a large empy, conference room. She left me alone for 5 minutes, then she returned with a brown envelope. She was very trusting and mearly said that "photograghs and photocopying were forbidden". She then left the room and left me alone with this 77 year-old brown envelope with a beige ribbon tied round it. The envelope itself looked fairly new at first glance, but opening it revealed documentation helt together by rusty paper clips.

The enevelope contained my father's birth certificate stating his real name and his mothers name, address and age. As he was illigitimate, no father was mentioned on the certificate, but an old lawyers letter was also in the envelope that stated his bith fathers name and employer (no age, or address)

Now that i had his mothers name, I trawled through the on-line records at Park Circus and Scotlands people and found out that his mother got married in 1943 and had 2 children. Unfortunately, I couldnt find out when his mother died, so I assumed that she must have moved out of Scotland. I went on to Genes Reunited and.....to cut a long story short...made contact with my father's mother's grandson, who is 8 years younger than me. 3 days befor I got married in July, I met my father's mother's son (his half brother) and I have also been in contact through e-mail with my father's mother's daughter. (his half sister)

....but the best part of it all is....about 2 months ago ........I met my father's mother!!! She is 98 years old, but unfortunately suffers from dementia, so she Is not able to remember anything. She had a huge secret which she kept from everyone for so long.

Persistence and perseverence does pay off folks.

[ninatoo]

Wow! Well done...but I have to ask...how did they react when you contacted them?

[scotthiggy]

Wow! Well done...but I have to ask...how did they react when you contacted them?

Totally shocked and a wee bit in denial (they had no idea and knew ABSOLUTELY nothing of this), although they quickly accepted the facts. If some revelation about my wee mum came as a bolt out of the blue, I'm sure that I would have did the same! They have been very nice and we have become quite friendly. Its amazing when old photos are compared between us and the family likeness becomes apparent.

Illigitimacy brought shame and disgrace in days of old, so these things were hushed up and fotgotten about

[Rach]

Congratulations and well done. So glad that your determination has had such a positive result. I'm sure you are still up in the clouds!
Rae

[Andrew C.]

I presume they where of no connection to the family that brought your father up as first suspected?

[scotthiggy]

I presume they where of no connection to the family that brought your father up as first suspected?

No, there is no connection between the families that I am aware of. Unfortunately, I am unable to trace my father's birth father. He has too common a name and I virtually know nothing about him (see earlier post http://www.talkingscot.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=14475)
One thing that does puzzle me is that my father was born to a woman who was a devout catholic, yet his adoptive parents are Church of Scotland. My mum says that in the olden days a catholic child wouldve been adopted by a catholic family and vice versa....perhaps there was a connection between the families??

[joette]

Scott once a Mother has signed adoption papers she has no say where her child goes.Whilst some did try to match a child up using similar backgrounds/appearance etc sometimes it was just a case of taking what was avaiable-nowadays there are more prospective parents chasing possible children.
I suposse that's why so many Mothers used religious agencies to handle their adoptions then.

[lynne kathrine]

Thats both amazing and a real inspiration for me to solve and persevere with family search, thanks for sharing that i have a friend who will find the viewing of adoptee's birth certificate due to medical reasons really useful.

xx

[scotthiggy]

Thats both amazing and a real inspiration for me to solve and persevere with family search, thanks for sharing that i have a friend who will find the viewing of adoptee's birth certificate due to medical reasons really useful.

xx

It would be very useful Lynne Katherine, if your friend "laid it on pretty thick" with regards to the medical reasons. There are a lot of local authority jobs-worths around so your friend will need a lot of perseverence and persuasion also! Best of luck!

[LesleyB]

Just a note for anyone who is searching in a similar way:

who advised me that since my father was deceased, I had no right to be able to view his original birth certificate.....BUT...i could write to the court that was involved with the adoption, and ask if I could view it for medical reasons.

If you know the original name of the person who was later adopted and the date of birth, there is nothing at all to stop you going to New Register House, or Park Circus and looking up the original birth entry. If you do not know the original name, then obviously this is not an option. Also, often the court records will hold much more than just the birth details e.g. a written medical report on the child, some info about the biological mother and/or father, and the signed forms,signed by those putting the child up for adoption, completing the legal adoption. Each record is likely to vary so some may hold more, some may hold less.

Best wishes
Lesley

[scotthiggy]

Just a note for anyone who is searching in a similar way:

who advised me that since my father was deceased, I had no right to be able to view his original birth certificate.....BUT...i could write to the court that was involved with the adoption, and ask if I could view it for medical reasons.

If you know the original name of the person who was later adopted and the date of birth, there is nothing at all to stop you going to New Register House, or Park Circus and looking up the original birth entry. If you do not know the original name, then obviously this is not an option. Also, often the court records will hold much more than just the birth details e.g. a written medical report on the child, some info about the biological mother and/or father, and the signed forms,signed by those putting the child up for adoption, completing the legal adoption. Each record is likely to vary so some may hold more, some may hold less.

Best wishes
Lesley

Very true LesleyB, knowing the ORIGINAL name of the adopted person would save a lot of hassle. Unfortunately I didnt have that luxury and had to really roll up my sleeves.
With regards to the court records, my fathers original birth certificate does NOT mention his father, as he was illigitimate, but there was a lawyer's letter held with the birth certificate which stated my my dad's fathers name and also stated some interesting facts ie such as where he worked and that he went "missing" around the time when my father's mother fell pregnant!! It also mentioned details on my dad's adoptive parents such as how much they earned etc etc

[nelmit]

Just a note for anyone who is searching in a similar way:

who advised me that since my father was deceased, I had no right to be able to view his original birth certificate.....BUT...i could write to the court that was involved with the adoption, and ask if I could view it for medical reasons.

If you know the original name of the person who was later adopted and the date of birth, there is nothing at all to stop you going to New Register House, or Park Circus and looking up the original birth entry. If you do not know the original name, then obviously this is not an option. Also, often the court records will hold much more than just the birth details e.g. a written medical report on the child, some info about the biological mother and/or father, and the signed forms,signed by those putting the child up for adoption, completing the legal adoption. Each record is likely to vary so some may hold more, some may hold less.

Best wishes
Lesley

I'm not so sure about that one Lesley. I once tried for a friend - I knew both the birth and adoptive names - but on checking at Park Circus both were marked NRH.

Regards,
Annette

[LesleyB]

Hi Annette

I'm not so sure about that one Lesley. I once tried for a friend - I knew both the birth and adoptive names - but on checking at Park Circus both were marked NRH

At NRH I have looked up one, using the original name, so it is certainly possible there. Maybe there are restrictions which apply at Park Circus? I don't know, as I've not tried there. I was just assuming that the same birth records would be at both places, so maybe my error on that assumption.
The person only exisits in the records as the original name, there is no birth entry in the adoptive name, as that information is not open to public view as far as I am aware.

Scott

my fathers original birth certificate does NOT mention his father, as he was illigitimate

It is not specifically because your father was illegitimate that his father's name is not mentioned. If a couple were not married, then they BOTH had to go along to sign the register when reporting the birth. If the couple were not married and the father did not go to register the child with the mother, then his name could not be mentioned in the birth registration. I've seen a good number of examples of both - children whose parents were not married and no father mentioned in the brith entry, and children whose parents were not married and where both parents have turned up to register the child, so both parents are mentioned and both have signed the register.

Best wishes
Lesley

[Bastonjock]

As an adopted person i know one or two things about this matter.It appears that when an unmarried young woman was told by her GP that she was pregnant,the body that dealt with it was the Church of Scotland in a general sense.The young woman was then sent away out of her immediate area and put up in a home for such girls.my birth mother spent her time in a house with a familly.I was with my birth mother for 5 hours then taken away.

There is no information what so ever on your fathers name,it does not appear anywhere on your process papers (BIg brown envelope),the only person who knows that answer is your birth mother.

I have recently made contact with my birth mother and thats the only way that you can find out your biological fathers name.

having read a book written by a young midwife who worked for the sisters at a Convent in Ireland ,all i can say is that i was shocked at the way young women were treated by the Nuns.Having spoken to my birth mother she tells me that the Church of Scotland were supportive and helpfull,even to the point of getting her a job at a Childrens home to help with the emotional side of it.

[lynne smith]

In my working days I worked for the government agency that involved the protection of children, but private adoptions were also being done. Not many, but some. In private adoption, if the natural parent or parents approved of the situation (two religions), the adoption could take place via a lawyer. If or when the christening took place in the Catholic church, the non Catholic adopting parent had to sign and promise to bring the child up Catholic. Anyway that's what happend in my side of the world. Never, ever would a Catholic child be placed in a Protestant home and vs versa, through the government. How did it happen? A doctor, a nurse, a friend, etc. Things have really changed in the last ten or so years, there are open adoptions, yearly contacf adoptions, etc., and only if the birth mother approves. I have a by marriage nephew who found his biological father, but the biological mother refused contact. I am very happy for you that your searcfh proved to be a good experience, most do not, and it leaves a bitter taste. Good for you!! Lynne Smith