Genealogy Chat

angela just a thought do you know where the cousins was born because you can go to the local libary and have a look on the birth records of your cousins and there should be a number next to there name ,if the number has been crossed out and a new number has been written ,it means that they have been addopted or the name changed by there step dad you can also look on the 1837 web site and look up on there on the childrens birth year ,if they have been addopted i think you have to register with the trying to find addopted people and you never know they might also be looking for you and your family anyway good luck kind regards donna

dear angela could you please tell me if the scott name was your grandmothers kind regards donna

Hi Angela, Have you got an area where she was to see if you can limit down the 27 hits also if the girls stayed with there original name as they were older when she re-married have you tried looking for a marriage for them lot shorter time span to check out, also it would help if you know if any of them had a middle name. Also on the death certificate was she the person who registered this? was this at their old adress? Have you any idea of her parents names if they are still alive I will do a look up for them (as older people dont tend to move around as much). Regards Sheila

Have you got the last address they lived at so could check the electors rolls for the years and find when she moved. This could also tell you whether the new husband lived there before they married (which could give you her new name) or the probable year of marriage ie when she moved away.

Have you tried finding your cousins under their original names? Yep looked on the electoral roll and written to all the possible addresses, only recently so waiting to hear... If they were girls have you looked for a possible wedding for them? Yes but I now have 2 dead lead certificates already! I think Shelia you are probably right, I will need to do a marriage search.I have a big window at the moment though for the remarriage (1986 until 2000) and they also moved out of the area so don't have much to go on. I have 27 possible hits on 1837 for the mother's remarriage! Aaaarrrhhh! It's so frustrating!

Angela You could try the marriage cert and get the stepfather's name. Have you tried finding your cousins under their original names? If they were girls have you looked for a possible wedding for them? nell

Hi Angela, I would tend to do what you, yourself suggested and look for a marriage, if she has re-married then they will either have retained their mothers name or taken on her husbands. How old would the children now be ?if they are over 18 they may show on the electoral roll now, if you have their mothers and their name e-mail me direct andI will have a look on my disk for you to see if I can find an address. If you do need to to a marriage search for the last 20 years it is a lot easier on 1837 do you have an area for her? Let me know what you have and I will see what I can do to help. Best Wishes Sheila

Thanks but I've tried the trying to find already. I obviously understand the issues and sensitivty of adoption but these 2 children were at least 7 years old when their father died and their mother did not marry immediately, so the chances are that they were at least 10 years old when they were adopted (if indeed they were adopted at all) Would it help me to find the mother's second marriage details? Then perhaps it would give me the stepfather's name in case it was changed??? Maybe someone has had a similar problem??

Adoption Before formal adoption came into existence 1927 it can be very difficult to discover the original name of an adopted child. Thereafter, the adopted person (or their next-of-kin if they are deceased) can apply for the original birth certificate to the Registrar General's office at the Office for National Statistics, General Register Office (Adoption Section), Smedley Hydro, Trafalgar Road, Southport, Merseyside, PR2 2HH, who will issue an application form. People adopted before 12 November 1975 you will need to attend a 'Birth Records Counselling Interview'. Smedley Hydro also maintain a National Adoption Contact Register for England and Wales, where adopted people and relations of people who were adopted can register their interest in being reunited, a function now mirrored, unofficially, by Genes Reunited. Clearly, adoption is a very sensitive issue and all first contact between adopted children and their original families should be handled as sensitively as possible by all parties concerned. Name change: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/familyhistory/name/ But people can just change their name without any legal processes, so there may not be any records to check. You could try posting on the Trying to find board. nell

I've just had a look through the name changes postings and they all seem to relate to 'old' name changes. I am trying to find my cousins. I know their birth details but it's possible that they may have changed their name or been adopted because their mother remarried after their father died. I have not looked into name change or adoption records before so could someone give me an idea where to start? Where do I look and how much information do I need? I know their birth names, approx ages, mother's maiden name but not much else. Any help appreicated!