Elusive adoption

[olinda]

My ancestor is shown on the 1891 census as aged 9, adopted, born in Bristol and living in Cardiff. His adopted name was Bertie (Albert) Nippers.
All I know is that he was adopted before the 1891 census - where can I start to trace his original name ?

[avm228]

Hi there,

Formal (regulated) adoption did not exist in England and Wales until 1927, so there will be no civil records of his adoption.  If he was adopted from a workhouse or religious/charitable institution there may be some records, but obviously not traceable until you know what his original name was.

Many informal adoptions in the 19th century were within extended families (orphaned children being taken in by aunts & uncles etc) so he could have been born Albert Nippers - though I don't see such a birth registration on FreeBMD.

Are there any family legends about the circumstances of the adoption?  It might be worth tracing the siblings of Bertie's adoptive parents in 1891 to see whether a nephew was born in about 1882 and subsequently orphaned.

NB the 1891 family looks rather odd - parents supposedly aged 26 and 25 with eldest children aged 16 and 14. (RG12/4395 folio 55 p16)

Anna

[avm228]

NB the 1891 family looks rather odd - parents supposedly aged 26 and 25 with eldest children aged 16 and 14. (RG12/4395 folio 55 p16)

The family is in Cardiff as "Neffers" in 1881 with rather more realistic ages for James (27) and Elizabeth (26): RG11/5278 folio 116 p49


This looks likely to be their marriage in Cardiff, Dec 1872

Elizabeth EDWARDS
John NIPPERS

on same page, 11a 531

Anna

[Dave Francis]

...and by 1901, Jim Nippers was aged 47 and Elizabeth, his wife, was aged 46. Bertie was still with them. [RG 13/4981 folio 108 page 28]

[Hackstaple]

Dave and Anna have done a lot of good detective work here. The name seems to have puzzled transcribers as it 1901 it is transcribed as Neppers, so we have Neffers, Nippers and Neppers and perhaps elsewhere Nipper.
In 1901 Bertie age 19 is no longer shown as adopted but as son and is shown as born in Wales.
Living in the house are 3 Selby's plus a "nephew" Jim Nippers [transcribed as Sim Neppers]. This looks like a complicated extended family.
Anna is right, one should find Bertie, with much searching, as the son of a sister of James or Elizabeth or of a brother of James. "Adopted" children of this period usually kept their original surnames, by the way.

[olinda]

Thanks Anna, Dave and Hackstaple. I'll do a bit more digging and your ideas are welcome.