Assisi Mother & Baby Homes

[Dav63]

Rosinamangan hi its Dav63.
Just saw your post, long time since I e looked at site. Cant work out how to reply to you yet . Hope you see this.

[Dav63]

Rosinamangan hi I'm trying to access Personal Messages.  Dav63 here, born in 63 at Assisi.

[rosinamangan]

Hi Dave, seen your message and trying to work out how to add an enclosure.

[Ed67]

Hi all,

Only just found this resource - having only found out that I was adopted (about 3 years ago, when the family of my then-recently deceased mother came searching), deeper investigation showed that I was born at Assisi in Hammer Lane in March 1967.

I have since had contact with that side of my family but would be interested in the conditions that were there at the time.

My current challenge is to try and find my father's side of the family. We have a name, a rough birthdate and the fact that he was Irish (and returned to Ireland before I was born) but not much else. If anyone has any tips on where to go from here - much appreciated.

Cheers

[rosinamangan]

Have you got your adoption file? If not, it might really help you to have it. Mine had where my BF came from. Sadly, it's worth checking deaths for that name, both in the UK and Ireland as people frequently moved between the two for work. If it's a common name, and also remember if you were known as John, your actual name might be Patrick but you were called that to differentiate in a family. Sorry if I am painting a bleak picture.
If you find out where he came from, a lot of villages pages on FB and they are brilliant for all the old pictures; football teams, social events.
Best of luck

[NatsWSC]

Hi all.  I'm John.  Born in Assisi Mother & Baby Home, March 2, 1967.  Birth mother and father from Wexford, Ireland.  From Assisi I went to Sheringham and was adopted from there by an American couple stationed in England.  Adopted father was in the US Air Force.  They took me to the US when I was about 2 years old.  Bottom line, I've had a great life with an awesome adopted family and extended relatives.  I met my birth mother and birth father in 2008.  They married a couple of years after my birth and adoption.  They had 3 daughters, who are all married with children.  So know I have an entire second family in England, Ireland, and Scotland.  It's been an amazing experience.  My birth mother's time at Assisi must have been difficult and traumatic.  She doesn't like to talk about it and I stopped asking because I don't want to upset her about this time of her life.  I located my birth family using a woman based in the UK who does that kind of thing for a living.  Her name is Celia Heritage and she found my birth mother very fast with minimal information I was able to provide.  Hope this helps some of you. 

[NatsWSC]

Rosina, I had never heard what you said "if you were known as John your actual name might be Patrick".  Can you explain that a bit more?  My birth mother gave me a name, which I know, but my adopted parents renamed me after adoption.  But both names are very similar.  Thanks, John

[rosinamangan]

What I meant by the naming thing. Because of large families with a lot of people with the same name, which was a hangover from the defined Irish naming structure is First son after paternal grandfather, first daughter after paternal grrandma, on a daily basis, names could be confusing. So while a person might be christened Patrick John, to differentiate from his dad having the same name, the son might be known as John or Sean. It makes tracing more interesting.
Interesting about Sheringham and the US Air force connection. Not sure where I read this, but because of the airbases in Norfolk, Sheringham sent a lot of kids to the US. Glad you had a good adoption and reunion.

[MC2019]

Hi there,

I've read through the posts. I just wanted to include myself here. I was born at Assisi in 1958. My mother only ever spoke of Assisi with a lot of love. She loved the nuns and she was treated well by them. She kept her baby (me) and that must have made a big difference to how she experienced her time there. I am named Frances after Assisi. I believe that for my mother at least this place was a refuge and a place of safety and tranquility.

best wishes