RootsChat.Com
Beginners => Family History Beginners Board => Topic started by: kaylene on Monday 01 November 04 09:59 GMT (UK)
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Hi
I was wonder if anyone can tell me how I can find or obtain information on the adoption of
William Herbert Hodgkinson b 29.10.1915
William was adopted at the age of 9 by my great gran parents Joesph Frederick Hodgkinson and Emily Walters.
There are a couple of verisons of how he came into the family.
One is that he was a child of a family member and the other was a women asked my great gran to care for him as she was to poor to.
I live in Australia so ime not sure how to go about finding this information.
I would love to no his origins for my family tree if anyone can help I'd much appreciate it
Thanks
Kaylene
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Legal adoption came into being in Engalnd only in 1927. Before that "adoptions" were informal usually - a child was brought up as the offspring of a couple and used their surname or, sometimes, both surnames - his/her birth surname as a middle name.
It was sometimes done that such an adoption was made legal by a donor parent signing the child over to the adoptive parents but there is no register of such documents.
Most such adoptions were of an illegitimate child of a daughter or of a sister so the adoptee was usually a close blood relation. The date you refer to may be significant - his father may have died in the Great War and his mother unable to support him as she would have to find work - perhaps as a live-in servant where no child could accompany her.
You can research a lot on the internet. Obtain a copy of his birth certificate. Find the adoptive parents in censuses - it looks like they would be in the 1901 census. Find their birth details - who were their own brothers and sisters. Many people have great success with such quests.
The mechanisms for all of this will be found on the Beginners Board - how to search for anything of this type.
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Thanks for the information Joesph was only 14 in 1901 and they eldest child. But I will go through and see if I can make a link somewhere in the family
Kaylene
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Hi Again
I'm only new to this today and I'm having problems working out the mechanism's you refer to I have looked at the begginners board but still remained confused could you please point me in the right direction.
Sorry to be a pain
Kaylene
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Kaylee - click on this URL and read all the threads:
http://www.rootschat.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=3996.0