Genealogy Chat

I would have thought the adoption cert lead is the one to chase up, through the court/SS or whatever the procedure is. If Mike was conceived/born in 1946, this was not long after the war and there were a lot of babies 'available' as a result. I know of several cases from this era where childless couples made arrangements with pregnant single girls to adopt the child straight after the birth, and took the baby as soon as the Mum was ready to leave the hospital. The adoption process began straight away and only took a few weeks - 6 months sticks in my mind as the time for the formalities to go through. Does this tie in with the paperwork you have? It would explain the proximity between home of birth mother & adoptive parents. Could the story of abduction have been used by the adoptive parents as a cover for the child, in their eyes to protect him? Jay

Have you tried the Archives of the Bristol Evening Post, the main newspaper for Bristol, they would have been sure to cover this. for reference, you can call their Library Dept on 0117 934 3262, though they do charge search fees. Myfanwy

Just a thought - could it be that Ms Cook abducted him and registered him as hers - then due to red tape / beaurocracy that registration had to be voided and the only way to do it as far as the GRO was concerned was for the biological parents to 'adopt' him. I really do not know about the legal complexities but this is the only reason I can see for the biological parents having to 'adopt' him.

Hi Carol As a midwife I can honestly say an abduction of a baby from a hospital in 1946 would absolutely have made the newspapers local and nationwide. What about the times digital archives amongst others. I must say Jess point rings true with me why would the natural parents have to adopt him. It seems a little like my aboriginal massacre story told about my grt grandfather. Good luck in finding the truth Regards Tania

I dont understand why his bio parents would have had to adopt him. If the senario he was told is true, surely his birth reg , made by Miss Cook would have been declared fraudlent (or something, cant think of the word) and his birth simply re-registered by his rightful parents. I cant see as they would have to go thru the rigmarole of adopting him, and if they did, it would have been a formality - adoption files contain report about suitibility etc they wouldnt have been needed .... Just doesnt add up to me

Hi Carol - in Australia there is a number you can ring to find out about tracing the parties to adoptions. If there is no similar number in England start with the Department of Social Services (or whatever it calls itself these days) and they will, without doubt, be able to point you in the right direction. Is it even remotely possible that your partner's father could be his biological father but that this Ms Cook was indeed his mother. Just trying to think of every eventuality!! Good luck with the search - Victoria PS, if you are in glorious Somerset it is time you went to bed! Lol

Hi Carol I know nothing about adoption, but have you tried looking at newspaper archieves for that period in the bristol area. Im sure if the story about abduction is true it would of made news headlines. Also worth trying to ring social services who could give you the number for tracing adoptions. I beleive there would be file on your partner somewhere. Good luck with your search Julie

My other half was told that he was adopted by his own biological parents after being abducted from hospital shortly after his birth, and found 2 weeks later. As he is now 60 and both his parents are dead, he would like to find out if this was true. How would we go about obtaining any adoption file there is for him. We have the adoption certificate, also a birth certificate in the name of the person who supposedly abducted him, with the exact date of birth. Mike was told he was born at Bristol Royal Infirmary, abducted by a woman called Cook, shortly after, then found in Clutton (a village just outside of Bristol) The birth certificate I found gives place of birth as Clutton and mothers name Cook with no father stated. Adoption certificate states the adoption was granted at Temple Cloud Juvenile Court (Temple Cloud is the next village along the main road to Clutton) Where would we start looking Incidentally, Mike is quite prepared to discover that his parents were in fact adoptive parents. As far as he is concerned, they were mum and dad and they brought him up, biology and genes are unimportant to him. Thank you in anticipation Carol

Some of you may remember me posting about this some time ago. See below for more info.