Genealogy Chat

I was adopted 30 odd years ago and i want to find my natural family. I have a lot of details, ie names, dates of birth, reasons etc. but where do i start?

If all else fails you could try Joan Allen at My folks (England) or Margaret Drummond (Scotland) they have wonderful results. Margaret found my husbands family after(66 years) with only his birth certificate (illegitimate) to go on and we have just spent time in Scotland visiting them. I also think the Salvation Army can sometimes help. Good luck and let us know if you find them Pat

Hi Lydia The Salvation Army don't do anything for adoptions I'm afraid. I have seen Joan and Margaret mentioned very favourably on this site before, so I'm sure they will be able to help you. There is an adoption organisation which is also a registered charity, called Norcap, their website is www(.)norcap(.)org (removing brackets). Even if you don't use them, there's lots of info on the site. All I would say is, make sure you have plenty of support before you embark on your search. There can be very diverse and unexpected outcomes, and it unlocks emotions you never knew you had. Do you have a partner, best friend, etc who is totally with you on this? Proceed with caution, don't rush, and be prepared for anything. I wish you all the very best for a successful result. Mandy x

From this website: 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. Good luck nell

If you know the area from where you were adopted, you could contact the Social Services Department for there and ask whether they have received any request from your natural family to contact you. However, sometimes people dont want to be found and as the others have pointed out, do not have too high expectations.