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I am having difficulty narrowing down my search for my maternal grandmother, Kathleen Stanford. Unfortunately, because my mum was adopted, and chose not to pursue finding her birth mother, I have very little information about her, and nothing at all on one whole side of my family tree.

My mum, Muriel Agnes Stanford, was registered at East Brighton Sub-District on 6th April 1926, having been born on 24th February 1926. She was left in the care of the midwife who delivered her, Alice Upton, who basically fostered her unofficially, and eventually adopted her legally in 1933.

The only information I have on my mum's birth mother is from her birth certificate, which gives her name, and the fact that she was a hotel barmaid at the King's Head Hotel in Cuckfield, Sussex at the time of the birth. No father is listed on the certificate.

I have tried searching for Kathleen Stanfords who would have been of child-bearing age in 1926, and who have a local connection to Sussex, but I have been unable to narrow the search below 2 or 3 possibles.

Is there any other avenue I could pursue? I understand relatives of adopted people are not privy to information held on the adoption.

Any advice would be much appreciated

Simon

Who registered Muriel's birth... Was it her natural mother?

I was wondering whether she would have gone back to work in Cuckfield and would show up in marriage records or electoral lists for that area in the following years.
If she married and you could be fairly sure it was the same person, her father's name should be on a marriage certificate.


Gwyn

Thanks Gwyn, yes, it was her natural mother who registered her.

I'll explore your other suggestions. The difficulty is I have 2 Kathleen Stanfords in close proximity to Cuckfield (Godstone, Surrey & East Grinstead) from the 1911 Census, when they would have been 12 or 13. It's the being sure, that is the problem.

for ref her birth

Birth Record Name Muriel A Stanford
Year of Registration 1926
Quarter of Registration Apr-May-Jun
Registration District Brighton
Registration County Sussex
Mother's maiden name Stanford
Volume Number 2B
Volume Page 245

Marriage Record Name Kathleen M Stanford
Year of Marriage 1929
Quarter of Marriage Oct-Nov-Dec
Registration District Eastbourne
Registration County Sussex
Spouse's Surname Clarke
Volume Number 2B
Volume Page 235

Spouse Match: Kathleen M STANFORD married Alfred B CLARKE

Name Alfred B Clarke
Year of Marriage 1929
Quarter of Marriage Oct-Nov-Dec
Registration District Eastbourne
Registration County Sussex
Spouse's Surname Stanford
Volume Number 2B
Volume Page 235


a possible marriage

Thanks PollyPoppet, I had found that marriage, but again I couldn't for certain link that Kathleen Stanford to my mum.

This is the difficulty I have, with so little info, it always ends up "a possibility".

But thanks for your efforts

Trouble is that she may have been working in Cuckfield but that doesn't mean that she actually came from the area.

My grandmother had her first child out of wedlock and she went a long way from where she belonged to have the baby. She was working as a barmaid and cook at an Inn in Aldershot at the time of the birth but she actually came from Lincolnshire.

I would have thought that your Kathleen Stanford was likely (although not certain) to be younger than 12 or 13 in the 1911 census.

Kath. x

There are three births on FreeBMD for surname Clarke with mmn Stanford.

Have sent to Simon by pm as they could still be living.

If Simon can find them, you never know. If they are his mother's half-siblings, Kathleen might just have told them that there was another child.

sorry i deleted the deaths they didnt match lol think im losing the plot its an age thing lol
PP :-D

Thanks Kath, you're right, she had gone from Cuckfield to Brighton, but she may have originated even further afield?

I think it was mentioned in WDYTYA that women often went to the coast to have children out of wedlock?

The story my mum tells is that a policeman brought her mother to the nursing home when she was found heavily pregnant on the streets. My mum's guardian was a midwife to the upper classes but also helped destitute women on occasion. She adopted my mum and another girl.

What about the address for the birth? Does that lead anywhere?

What about the 1925/26/27 electoral registers for Cuckfield? See if there are any Kathleen Stanfords.

I have looked at births for Kathleen Stanford between 1900 and 1910 (which would make her 16 to 26 when she gave birth) and these are all I could see (unless there was a middle name on the birth certificate):-

Name: STANFORD, Kathleen
Registration district: East Retford
County: Nottinghamshire
Year of registration: 1908
Quarter of registration: Apr-May-Jun
Mother's maiden name: Not available before 1911 Q3
Volume no: 7B
Page no: 11

and:-

Name: STANFORD, Kathleen
Registration district: Kings Norton
County: Worcestershire
Year of registration: 1908
Quarter of registration: Jan-Feb-Mar
Mother's maiden name: Not available before 1911 Q3
Volume no: 6C
Page no: 406

Kath. x

Before 1928 only women over the age of 30 and who paid rates had the vote, so unless she was over this age when she gave birth then she wouldn't be on the electoral register.

Kath. x

Hi Janice,

The address given was the nursing home where my mum grew up, so a dead end there I'm afraid.

How does one see electoral registers? Are they available online?

Cheers

Simon

Oh yes - sorry, not doing joined up thinking here!

There are three 1908/09 Kathleens in trees on here, and an interesting one -1913 in Portslade, not a million miles from Brighton. It would make her a young teenage mum, but that could be why she was destitute. possibly worth following through and /or e-mailing.

Old electoral registers are not online. They are usually at the main library for the area or the County Records Office. They can only be searched by address and not by name - but I don't think they will help you for the date you are looking at.

Kath. x

Thanks Janice, I had excluded post-1910 births previously as too young - I had assumed that it would have been remembered in stories that she had only been a child herself, but maybe not...

Can a minor register a birth in the UK?

Thanks Kath, yet another hurdle, hadn't factored in discrimination on women's voting rights!

As far as I know any mother can register a birth no matter what her age.

Kath. x

What about following up on this one? Granny is called Agnes which is your mum's middle name.

Name: Kathleen Mary Stanford
Age in 1911: 2
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1909
Relation to Head: Granddaughter
Gender: Female
Birth Place: Hampton Wick, Middlesex
Civil parish: Felpham and Middleton
County/Island: Sussex
Country: England
Street Address: Middleton Manor Bognor
Marital Status: Single
Registration district: Westhampnett
Registration District Number: 85
Sub-registration district: Yapton
ED, institution, or vessel: 2
Household schedule number: 106
Piece: 5366

Frederick Stanford 78
Agnes Stanford 60
Frances Stanford 37
Elizabeth Geere 57
Edward Stanford 26
Mary Stanford 23
Kathleen Mary Stanford 2
Ida May West 19
Winifred Rose Clark 17