Genealogy Chat

Hi we have recently gained access to my husbands adoption records, so we now have a name, DOB and address his mother was living at the time. Any suggestions as to what to do now, every site we go on seems to want money and while we don't mind paying for information we want that information to be useful. Any helpful hints gratefully received.

Take things carefully. If you put ... Adoption.. in the search box on these pages, there is alot of helpful advice. Good luck. Gwyn

Hi Lynne The main thing is to proceed with caution, and be patient. Birth family tracing is a very emotional area and each step needs careful thought. The wheels also grind very slowly, and sometimes the waiting is agonising, but it's better than jumping in with both feet and getting the whole thing wrong. A good organisation to try is NORCAP. They do charge but it's not huge amounts because they are a registered charity. Their information is always up to date and correct, and you do have access to a counsellor at any time (you only pay a joining fee, you don't have to pay every time you speak to someone). Technically, you would now trace the birth mother by looking in the BMD indexes for a possible marriage (and remember to verify each step by purchasing certificates) and then looking on current electoral rolls to find where she is now. Please make sure your husband is aware and prepared for the fact that his birth mother might have passed away (this happened to someone I was helping) and also that other members of her family may not know that she gave a child up for adoption. Good luck! Mandy :)

Yes, there are some excellent threads about Adoption on this board Like Gwyeth said. You could also have a look at the GRO section on Adoption. http://www.gro.gov.uk/ Regards Ann

Lynne, did you read the Adoption threads?