Adoption records

[Biggles50]

Thanks all - it looks likely that we will be unable to view the adoption details, from the advice you have all given.

Just to give you the full background - my husband originally thought that his cousin was his actual sibling, which is why we ordered the birth certificate and why we can't speak to the cousin about it. This stems from something that was half-said by my mother-in-law when she was very ill before she died. She indicated there was a family secret, and when we looked at her funeral wishes, she had provided four readings, when there are three (known) siblings, which we thought was odd.

My husband's parents married four years before my husband's elder brother was born, and in those four years, his cousin was born. We both thought that perhaps my husband's mum went off and had a child (his 'cousin'). So, when we received his cousin's birth certificate, it had no father listed, and they were born miles away from where they lived.

So, we think my husband's mum had the child. We think she gave a false name on the birth certificate, namely my husband's aunt, who then 'adopted' the child. The aunt never had any other children.

Does this all sound feasible or far-fetched?

 We have no way of knowing whether the cousin is an actual sibling as we can't ask.

which is why I wondered whether the adoption record might shed some light on what happened. It seems odd that the aunt's name is on the birth certificate, but also that the child was 'adopted', even though they lived with the aunt (their named mother) their whole life.

It's intriguing, and unfortunately there are no older relatives left to ask!

Your statement highlighted above is factually incorrect.

You can easily prove the relationship!

I have already suggested that a DNA test is taken.

If your Husband and the “Cousin” both take an Ancestry DNA test then the results will show the level or the actual biological relationship between them (if indeed there is or is not one).

As you seem to have run out of paper records then DNA is the only route open to you to solve or otherwise any theory that you might have.

Good luck in your quest.

[Josephine]

Is your mother-in-law's sister deceased? If yes, are there any records pertaining to her that might contain any clues? (A will, an obit, a funeral record, a cemetery record?)

It does seem odd that she would have had to go through an official adoption process, when her name was on the birth certificate.

Wouldn't the mother's name on the birth certificate have to be amended if it was discovered or admitted legally that it had been falsified? (If so, both the mother's given name and the surname would have had to have been changed, because your mother-in-law's legal surname was her married name.)

Did anyone else in the family have the same given name(s) as the woman who raised (and presumably adopted) your husband's cousin?

Did your mother-in-law have any other sisters who were old enough to have had a baby at that time? Or any cousins?

You don't necessarily have to have older relatives to ask: sometimes people tell their children the family secrets. I've heard a few stories about someone not knowing s/he was adopted but all their cousins (or some of their cousins) knew, because their mothers told them at some point.

Did your mother-in-law have a will? Aside from her funeral wishes (I don't understand what is meant by having four readings instead of three), did she make any provisions for your husband's cousin?

Good luck!

[Josephine]

P.S.

Do you know if your husband's cousin was born in a hospital or a maternity home for unwed mothers?

[aghadowey]

My husband's parents married four years before my husband's elder brother was born, and in those four years, his cousin was born. We both thought that perhaps my husband's mum went off and had a child (his 'cousin'). So, when we received his cousin's birth certificate, it had no father listed, and they were born miles away from where they lived.

So, we think my husband's mum had the child. We think she gave a false name on the birth certificate, namely my husband's aunt, who then 'adopted' the child. The aunt never had any other children.

Did the aunt (cousin's adopted mother) ever marry? if so, how many years before or after cousin was born? If aunt had the child and was unmarried (as birth certificate seems to indicate) but later married and new husband (who may or may not have been father of child) adopted child that might explain the birth certificate with 'adopted' on it.