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Beginners => Family History Beginners Board => Topic started by: 5hredder on Thursday 06 February 14 18:43 GMT (UK)
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Hello RootsChatters..
My name's Rory, I'm a complete newbie here, and am searching on behalf of my soon to be (if we ever get to the bottom of this enigma) wife Laura.
It's a bit of an odd one I guess, but please if you can, bare with me..
Laura was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1969 but she doesn't know the name of the hospital.
She has a 'copy' short birth certificate dated 1974 which was registered in the district N.C.2 (we have no idea what this means?).
And finally, there is a baptism certificate from the Pro Cathedral, Dublin dated 1971, issued though in 1976.
Now this is where things drift off mysteriously on it's enigma'ish way..
Under the Names of Parents are her father's name, and the name of a woman Laura doesn't know (and never has). The woman that brought her up as, and Laura always thought was her 'mum' never showed her love or affection of any kind which has made her feel that perhaps she might not have been - the fact that her name doesn't appear on the baptism certificate has obviously raised a million questions which no one can answer - every one's dead.
Laura moved from Tallaght, Dublin (she thinks) in 1973 or 74 to Paisley, Glasgow.
Might she have been adopted? Stolen? Magic'ed?
Honestly, we are at a total loss as to where to go next?
We are getting married in 9 weeks, and she needs her long birth certificate in order for us to get the marriage license. So far though, we can't find any trace of her anywhere.
Please, please, please, is there anyone out there that could help send us in the right direction to at least make a start on where to begin looking.
Thank you so much for your interest, and perseveration..
Rory and Laura :)
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hi Rory and Laura,
You may be better contacting the Registrar Service in Ireland for advice.
There is a contact number for Dublin on this list;
http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/1/bdm/contactus/
(Strangely the Registration Dept in Ireland comes under the Health service -- so don't be put off by the title HSE).
Good Luck
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Hi Rory
I would start by contacting the General Register Office in Dublin during office hours.
http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/GRO_Contact_Us.aspx
As she has her own short form certificate and can name her 'parents' as shown on the cert, she should be able to get a copy.
I'm sorry to hear about the contents not being what she thought they should be. That must be quite a shock for her.
The only think I could suggest is to try and track down one of her father's relatives to see if they can shed some light on this. It's a difficult one to deal with.
I'm sure others will be along shortly who might have different suggestions.
Dawn
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First bit of advice is to make two more posts on this thread (once you have 3 posts you will be able to send and receive PMs (Personal Messages) which might be useful to discuss thatings privately in the future).
Getting the long birth certificate is obviously the priority at the moment but you might also try contacting the church where the baptism took place to see if there might be other information in the records (baptisms of unkown siblings, marriage of the people named on the baptism certificate, etc.).
The date of the baptismal certificate being issued is interesting- perhaps needed for passport, school, etc.
Dawn has suggested contacting the father's family but, depending on the circumstances, the family of the woman who raised her might know things about the past also.
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Firstly, thank you all for your help so far.. 3 new posts are on their way ;)
Dawn has suggested contacting the father's family but, depending on the circumstances, the family of the woman who raised her might know things about the past also.
The only problem with contacting both her dad's and 'mums' families is that everyone's dead.. she has an older step-sister who knows nothing.
I'm going to ring the church where she was baptised tomorrow so with a bit of luck they'll be able to shed some light on things.
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How about their children? someone might remember whispered stories to give some more clues- all depends of course on how much she feels able to make contact and ask questions but best of luck
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How about their children? someone might remember whispered stories to give some more clues- all depends of course on how much she feels able to make contact and ask questions.
Thanks but (there's always a but in this search) we don't seem to be able to trace anyone at all.. it's literally like the family never existed?
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Have you found any obituaries for the recently dead relatives? might gives clues for tracing living people
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Sorry to hear about what must be a confusing and distressing situation for Laura.
I know nothing about Irish registration but I did find an online reference to the so called NC2 district.
I cannot post the link but if you google: adoption certificate Dublin NC2
...you should find references to its being a fictitious district for post-adoption certificates. Notably it also says that the birthplace is always stated as Dublin, even if the birth was actually elsewhere. The one I found was on a website called www.kildarestreet.com.
As I say I am no expert on the area, and I hope you are able to find the information you and Laura need. Please let us know how you get on.
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Thank you all again for your help and kindness..
We had a look at the websites mentioned, but the one that really got us thinking was the last link regarding NC2.. could she be adopted?
...you should find references to its being a fictitious district for post-adoption certificates. Notably it also says that the birthplace is always stated as Dublin, even if the birth was actually elsewhere.
I dragged out the BIG box of photographs earlier and we have spent most of the day going through them, trying to piece together something.. we've found a set of pictures that all look to have been taken on the same day. Laura looks to be about 18 months old and there's also another baby which looks a little younger(?) called Paul - both of them in similar clothing and bouncy chairs. Also in the pictures are two nuns who are holding Laura. Other than that, there aren't any recognisable adults in any of the pictures.. which seems a bit odd?
Thankfully, she doesn't seem to be upset at the possibility of being adopted..
I'll keep you all posted :)
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Hi again Rory
You will no doubt have found it by now, but the full link I was trying to direct you to (but couldn't link to from my Ipad) was this one:
www.kildarestreet.com/sendebates/?id=2008-03-05.76.0&s=dublin+nc2#g91.0
Another resource which may be useful in following up the possibility of adoption is this one:
www.adoptionrightsalliance.com/index.htm
It appears from the information available that it may be a fiddly and slow process obtaining the full birth certificate if it turns out Laura was adopted. Given the tight timescale you're working to, it may be worth your while revisiting the marriage licence issue (I don't know which country you're getting married in) to see whether the identity information she currently has will suffice for those purposes.
The photos do sound intriguing. Are the children's names written on the back - and is there any other writing which may provide a clue?
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Yes, it is all a great mystery. Was wondering when I read the earlier post about this bit about the baptismal certificate "Under the Names of Parents are her father's name, and the name of a woman Laura doesn't know (and never has). The woman that brought her up as, and Laura always thought was her 'mum' never showed her love or affection of any kind which has made her feel that perhaps she might not have been - the fact that her name doesn't appear on the baptism certificate has obviously raised a million questions which no one can answer - every one's dead."
If her father is listed on the baptismal cert. then it sounds like he would have been her father, so, could he have originally been married to the woman on the cert. when Laura was born, mother died/parents divorced/unable to care for Laura/children so they were placed in care for a little while. Then, when he met/married another woman Laura was taken back from care and raised by them.
If father & 2nd wife when to court to adopt her then a new certificate might have been ordered in 1976.
Another point is that although the 'parents' are named on the 1961 bapt. cert. it doesn't necessarily mean that both were present at the baptism. Are there any godparents listed?
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Not sure if this helps, but my mother only had a short birth certificate and had no problem getting married or getting a passport with just that. She was worried about it but was not brave enough to send for the full version, which I did after she died. All was Fine in her case.
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A couple of further thoughts.
If Laura's known father was her natural father, and any adoption was simply to bring a stepmother into the picture, that would be good news as it would make it less likely her name was changed. A caveat to that would be if her natural parents had not been married, in which case her surname may have been changed to that of the father at the time of adoption. If an adoption was by unrelated parents then the chances increase of both given names and surname being changed.
The 1971 date for the baptism is interesting as depending on the precise dates it sounds as though the photos might have been taken about 1971. I wonder whether the children's attire in the photos is in keeping with their being baptism photos? In discussions with the church it may be worth inquiring as to whether a Paul was baptised with Laura.