Adoption

[Viktoria]

 How would you trace a child -now dead-who was adopted through The Methodist Adoption Society.
 This child was "advertised" in a Methodist newspaper possibly The Christian Herald and duly adopted but informally. Some years later the adoptive parents were informed that the law had changed and it was necessary to formally adopt the child. However they lived in a very remote area and a trip to wherever this had to be done was an enormous undertaking for them, they forsaw no difficulties. needless to say when his parents(adoptive) died he was included in their modest wills,sharing with the daughter they had after the adoption. he was mentioned in both cases as My adopted son-----. he therefore had a quarter share of his father`s and a half share of his mother`s estates exactly as his "sister"had inherited. However when he died she was not considered as a relative even though what he was leaving was partly what was his share of  her parent`s estates. She got nothing but did not contest the will because as she said-"he was my brother" and nothing can change that, he won`t be anymore my brother because his money comes to me. An admirable attitude and reflects the strong Christian principles of her parents . This was a number of years ago but She would like to know a little about her brother . The estate is settled so there is no gain for her just the satisfaction she wants. The adoption took place in the 1920`s I think judging by her age and his when he was adopted. He arrived in the baby clothes he wore and just a baby powder box and swansdown powder puff. Very sad. Viktoria

[suttontrust]

It could be worth contacting the Methodist church to ask whether the society's records still exist.

[slfd]

Although your letter re adoption is old would you please contact me on (*) cheers Sandra

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[Viktoria]

It`s a bit sensitive, the people concerned are  and have not been interested in any monetary gain.
They were more sad he was not considered their relative.

I could do some research as the adopted person seems to have kept his mother`s maiden name( well she was not married)as a middle name ,and  I could do a bit , but when I mentioned that I had briefly looked into it his sister said not to bother, it really did not matter.
I have to respect that of course but I did find out something quite unintentionally when looking for census returns etc and that was that the husband in the  couple who adopted him was himself adopted.I would not have expected that to be known , but maybe it was and they wished it to be kept private. Again I did  respect their privacy ,and did not mention what I had accidently found out .
Just in case they did not know, it was not for me to tell them.
I have not the right to look into it further.If the present day family are satisfied then I`ll have to leave it there.
They are just not curious,  for example--an old photo which was sent to me and which I thought may be  of their great grandparent is still unidentified months later. They`ve only to match it with another in an old album and consult another descendant for verification, but two or three months later they`ve not got around to it. But they are such lovely people as you will see from my first post
and live in the present , unlike me always in the past! Cheerio. Viktoria.

[slfd]

Hi Viktoria, I doubt your message of 30/4 was in reply to me so am sending this one to show this is a genuine search. Sorry that you cannot email me direct apparentley its out of bounds. My mum in law died a couple of years ago and shocked us all by saying that she had given birth to a baby boy in London as she was sent there by her parents from Gloucestershire for this purpose. She was 16 or 17 at the time. She would not give us any further info as she felt so bad about it. Her maiden name was Collett, is this the middle name of the one you are researching. The birth would have been about 1926 or so, that is if she was correct in her memory. We would as a family love to find out the truth good or bad. As we did not have further info we did not know where to look. Hope you get in touch. Cheers Sandra

[Viktoria]

Oh ,I am so sorry I am of no help,that is not the name nor could it have been a slight spelling difference.
It was worth a try though wasn`t it? I don`t feel able to say just what the name was, I`m sure you understand, not my "property" for want of a better phrase.
 I sincerely hope you find out, what an aching  hole in your heart there must be.
                                                                     Kind regards. Viktoria.

[slfd]

Hi Viltoria, yes it was worth a try, pity no good tho. We have tried the Adoption dept at Southport but without a full name they could not help. Also tried a few options in London but its like looking for a needle in a hay stack. He would have been in his middle 80's so the chance of him still being alive is slim but would still loved to have known where and what happened to him. If only they had talked a little more in those days but it was far different to now of course. I feel so sorry for the girls who were forced to give their babies away. Hope you find what you are searching for and thanks for replying so promptly. Cheers Sandra