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Foster or adopted parents

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++Maid of Kent++

++Maid of Kent++ Report 20 Jul 2011 21:27

Please could somebody tell me how I add foster parents on my tree after the real parents have died. It would seem that in 1841 my gt. grandmother was born and her mother and two siblings lived with an older couple in the 1841 census. By 1851 the mother had gone (I can't find her in deaths) and the three children were still living with the older couple, who by now were entered as the parents. I can only assume that they either adopted or became the foster parents. But how do I add them to my tree as well as having the real mother entered? Any help would be gratefully received.

Flick

Flick Report 20 Jul 2011 22:37

Have you tried to determine whether the 'older couple' were in any way related to the children?

If they were not in any way related, I would think it would be better just to add notes about them........

Is there any evidence of a known father for the children?

InspectorGreenPen

InspectorGreenPen Report 21 Jul 2011 16:53

Commercial programs will let you add alternative parents. E.g. for FTM you then choose how to classify them using one of the following options:-

Biological (the default)
Adopted
Step
Foster
Related
Guardian
Sealed (an IGI classification?)
Private
Unknown

You can do a similar sort of thing with other relationships such as siblings

++Maid of Kent++

++Maid of Kent++ Report 21 Jul 2011 22:18

Hi Flick,
No, I haven't tried to to find if the older couple were related to my gt. grandmother, her brother and sister. They were both born in the 1790s and the children from 1829 - 1841. These children all had the same mother but the youngest, my gt. gran says father unknown on the certificate. Maybe you're right and I should try to find out if there is any relationship between them but I think it will be difficult.

Yes, there is evidence of a father for the other two siblings but he wasn't on the 1841 census. Thanks so much for your help.

Hi Inspector Green Pen,
Thankyou for your information. I do actually have FTM and have never noticed that they have alternatives to parents (maybe because I never needed it at the time) Thanks anyway, will try it.

Pam