Genealogy Chat

Not sure if anyone can help but any guidance appreciated.
My mother died in 1983 and have since found out she was adopted but all paperwork has been misplaced including her birth certificate.
No relatives still alive on that side of the family and would really like to try and find out about her real parents.
He death certificate states she was born in Woodbridge, Suffolk and her date of birth was 9/8/44.
I really don't know where to go with this so any tips would be useful, thanks

What you might be able to discover depends to an extent on whether your mother retained her birth registered forename(s) when she was adopted.

If she was born in Woodbridge, Suffolk on the date you have as her birthday then her birth would have been registered in the Deben Registration District. If her birth was registered within the prescribed 6 week period allowed then her birth should have been registered in the September Qtr of 1944.

It is a long shot I know but there is only one female birth that now shows in the index for that Qtr in that registration district. As it happens the child's mothers maiden name is the same as the surname that the child was registered under. That in itself seems to indicate that it may have been an illegitimate birth which may have led to the child being subsequently adopted.

Good luck with your quest.

Very very grateful - thankyou!

Can you help with where I can get access to that index please? Thankyou

I have sent details by PM.

Most birth certificates of adopted persons are annotated with "adopted"
But this is NOT 100%. My Mother's birth certificate doesn't.

Who registere her death? would the person have known where she was born or assumed they knew?

adoption records usually die with the adoptee, so it is unlikely you will get much info from any official source

Her place of birth is also on my birth certificate so I know it is definitely Woodbridge, Suffolk. My Dad registered her death but he didn't know she was adopted until a few years later.

Have you tried inquiring with the Social Services Dept where she was born to see if they have adoption records for her? they would cross reference her adopted name which you know with that of her birth name. Its worth a try.
Good luck

That isnt something they will do Peter, they will only do that for th adoptee themselves.

That isnt something they will do Peter, they will only do that for th adoptee themselves.

That isnt something they will do Peter, they will only do that for th adoptee themselves.

The Social Services Dept will tell you if they have records for her but they wont tell you anything else, not yet anyway. There are moves afoot to change the Law to be able to give the information to the next of kin after the death of the adopted person.

Thanks Peter - I'll try that and then wait for the law to change!

The adoption records in the UK are closed for a 100 years after the date of adoption. So I wish you luck as you may have to live a long time. Hopefully the law will be changed soon so you are more like us in New Zealand. Here an adopted person or the mother of an adoptive out child can indicate they want the records left open so the adopted out child can find her later when an adult. So each can find the other with a bit of luck and research. Surely when the adopted person is dead, the records should be able to be found more easily. I just hope I live to 2029 so i can find out about an adopted cousin. Good luck, Ana

Wylde one

not sure what you mean by adoption records are closed for 100 years - they are not. They are availible to the adoptee when they apply to view them. They, more often than not have to be veiwed with a social worker and are not just handed over but there is no 100 year rule in the UK

Thankyou for all your input and advice. I may - more by luck than anything else - have managed to get hold of my Mothers original birth certificate (the dates and place match up and it is annotated as 'adopted'). The name is one that matches on a tree on this website but the 'tree holder' is not responding to messages.

:-D Hey just reading your story, My mums best friends father was adopted and never knew or tried to find out who they were.

When he passed away my mums best friend was doing her family tree and realised that she didnt actually know who her real biological grand parents were.

So she wrote to the courts where her fathers adoption took place (This was found on the adoption certificate) She made it perfectly clear it was only for her family tree and guess what ;-) Yes she got the information.

I did the same regarding my grandad because he was adopted, unfortunatly the courts where his adoption took place only have records dating back to 1950.

Some places will give you the information, some wont, some may not even have it anymore.

However i havnt given up, im in regular contact with my MP and im part of a campaign thats backed by BAAF to change the legislation which would allow people like us to access the birth records, these are what are held by the General Registrar Office, they are the ones with all the linking information that will always exist.

Dont give up love, where theres a will theres a way :-D