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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Topic started by: Yuitsu on Tuesday 31 January 12 19:24 GMT (UK)
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There is probably an answer on google, but I can't quite get the search terms right.
Heres the context.
My great grandmother - Born 1909. On 1911 census, with family listed as adopted daughter. (Oddly, she never called herself adopted, always fostered.) Here she has her birth mother/fathers surname. Sometime between here and 1923, when her foster mother died (foster father had died a few years prior) her surname was changed to her foster/adoptive parents. Despite being placed with them from a very young age (at least 18 months old, if not earlier), she was always aware they were not her real parents.
Questions:
How loose/interchangeable were the terms fostered/adopted? (I've come across the term nurse child on earlier records, which I understand is more or less fostering.) Is there likely to be any official record of her surname change? Or even any adoption record?
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Adoption didn't get a legal status until the 1920's.
Before then it was just an informal arrangement.
See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/256128.stm
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See RootsChat Topics on Adoption http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,253490.0.html
Stan
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My grandmother always called herself fostered too and always refered to them has her foster mum and dad even though she had a written adoption agreement she seemed to use bot hon various documents even though there are no family connection or link to both family's..