Question of the Week: Are there adoptions in your family tree? [closed]

Question

Were any of your ancestors or relatives adopted? Tell us about them with an answer below. (For privacy reasons, please do not give information about any living people other than yourself.)

You can also answer on Facebook or use the question image to share your answer with friends and family on social media.

PS. Do you have an interest in helping adoptees learn about their family history? Our amazing Adoption Angels Project may be for you.

Comments

From what I can remember, there have been at least two adoptions in my family tree. One on my mom's side of the family and one on my dad's side of the family. Both sides adopted children.

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I'm adopted and I'm sure there are adoptees that I'm not aware of. i was adopted at 3 days old. I know my birth family and have built a tree for them as well as my adopted family.  I've done DNA and would like to add my birth parents and connect the DNA results to my profile but I don't know how/if it's possible to do on Wikitree.

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From a DNA test for parents, in the absence of documents, I believe that it would be possible to list the natural parents and probably with the "confirmed by DNA" tag. My understanding is that WikiTree is preferentially for genetic connections. Hence, in my own mother's profile, I have added her biological parent in the family links, but reference her legal parents with the appropriate WikiTree tags in the Biography text. Not 100% sure if this is the preferred way...It is more challenging with her father's ancestry, as he was out-of-wedlock, and while I've identified a strong candidate for his father from DNA matches, in the absence of closer connections and any documentation, I'm not sure how to add him. The DNA evidence is strong, with about 20 connections at the appropriate match level with his legitimate, documented descendants, but it's not impossible that my actual great grandfather was a son, brother, or nephew. Similar issues with the parents of my mothers, maternal grandmother.

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Thank you! I'll certainly try. Your family history sounds a little like mine. Very interesting but hard to figure out at times. I was told the wrong birth father (Her first husband-My birth mother's story changed several times) and have a very nice tree for him now  When I did my DNA it turned out to be another guy she'd mentioned and even had me meet, then changed her mind again. There's also another husband and 6 more children.

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On WikiTree you can be you. Meaing you can have a profile for your adopted self and your birth self. That way you can show your DNA connections via your biological family lines as well.

Eowyn Langholf Our WikiTree Elf as her adopted self.
Eowyn Ramos Our WikiTree Elf as her birth self.

The QOW is featured in the Saturday Roundup LiveCast . I'll be showing this and how this works on WikiTree in this weekend's LiveCast.

You will find more information about this in the Adoption Angels Project verbiage.

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I know of one important adoption----a first cousin; surprise to us all when Ancestry pointed to it.

Also, on my mother's side, my great aunt adopted two children, a boy and a girl.  I loved them both as I was growing up, and I kept in touch with at least one of them; the other has since passed.  Both children knew they had been adopted, and most of the family knew also.  But love was there to stay!

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Adoption is trauma; a ripple in one's life continuum. Sometimes choice and chance err on the favorable ream of reality; but not always.

My personal experience in genealogy is it is "gut wrenching" to both the seeker and the searcher. I have had experience with over a dozen adoptions, known and unknown and various periods of history. I warn that it will be painful even if their live is good now and they may need to seek help with the emotional undercurrent of the process.  I see my job as to advice them of the historical content of the time with the best research I can find.

The worst mistake I made was to joke, "your great grandmother may had an affair with the blacksmith". Well, iceman would have been a more accurate acknowledgement to the time period.  The reference was to discrepancies family appearances, family mannerisms and health issues; adoption was not on anyone's radar. Imagine five generations believing they were "Randolph" and the reality is they were "Smith". Legally "they" still are "Randolph" but biologically they are Smith DNA that carries forward.

The most shocking discovery I made was to find out I had a first cousin buy an Uncle no one ever knew was married! The marriage was one year before I was born. I must say I find it odd no one seemed to know or conveniently forgot about it. (possibility of 16 witness in my line alone). Unless I met this Uncle before the age of two, I was under the impression, I never met him because "he took off to Florida with an older woman".

The most challenging life mastery, was the discovery of  a first cousin 2 x removed that I had previously discovered that her grandfather had been given up for adoption my my father's sister. Extremely complex soap opera emotionally and taxing task to do the tree.

Answer 1

Yes, my mother. Her bio-mother passed away when Mom was 19 months and her bio-father couldn't raise her alone (business kept him away from home a lot). Thus, Mom's aunt (bio-mother's sister) and uncle adopted her.

Answer 2

I'm adopted and grew up knowing, but knew nothing of my bio-background.  After a DNA test and finding close matches, I learned my paternal family is from the village of Knocknagoshel, Ireland.  Initially meeting long lost cousins often starts off with a bit of confusion, hearing my Polish last name and wondering how we can possibly be related. :-D  Science is great!

Answer 3

My younger brother and sister were adopted in the early 1960s.  They are Korean, by birth, which made our family pretty unusual for the time.  There is no way to trace their Korean lineage, as most children, at that time, were abandoned in a public place so that they would be found and taken care of.  It’s difficult for me to imagine being so desperate.  I certainly can’t imagine my life without them!  

Both have been able to visit Korea through trips sponsored by the adoption agency from which they were adopted.

Comments

I think that was the happening place to adopt from in the late 50s and early 60s since I went to high school with at least one person that I know for certain was adopted from Korea.

War orphans I always assumed.

Answer 4

Myself and 4 siblings are all adopted. My birth brother was adopted out but my birth sister was not so lucky and grew up in various children's homes.

It's been interesting to find out a bit about my birth families.

Answer 5

My family tree has a number of adoptions (which is part of the reason why I started looking into it).  There are two in my living family who were adopted out but are now part of our family and my father was also adopted.  He only found out on his wedding night.  This caused him a lot of grief during his life and now that he is no longer with us, my brother and I have been working on who his biological family was.  We have details of his mother but she was single when she had him so we have no proof of his father.  We think he may be the man that she married not long after but need to find some family members of her family who may may know before they all pass.  That is my challenge for this year.

Answer 6

At least one - our own son.  Mehi, who is still alive, was born in Romania in 1993.  He came part of our family in 1998.   He will celebrate his 30th birthday in July, and 25 years as a Carruth in October!

Also, suspect my 4th great-grandfather was "adopted". my yDNA does not match my surname of Carruth, but is connected in some way to Anderson and Dinsmore.  Have ruled out any NPE for the last 5 generations.  Family histories have always noted that my 3rd Greatgrandfather Leroy's parents "Are not known at this time", but he is named in his grandfather's will.  One theory, which is partially confirmed by DNA, is that he was adopted, although it was not a formal legal process at the time in North Carolina (ca. 1795-1800).  Great mystery to solve!

Answer 7

Yes.  DNA revealed that my brother had an adult child that he did not know about.  It turns out this person lives 5 miles from the cousin with whom I regularly do genealogy.  My cousin and I had an interesting afternoon as we pieced together the facts to discover which of my brothers was the father.  I then called my brother (who has no interest in genealogy), who stepped up, did paternal DNA to confirm, then integrated the young man into his family.  Fortunately, my brother's two other children have been very gracious and welcoming, despite differences in values and politics with this young man.

Answer 8

My wife's late mother was adopted in 1933 in Zimbabwe, we recently learned of the father who was a soldier and married. He committed suiside before my Mil was born. We would love to be able to trace her mother's family if at all possible. Can anyone help?

Answer 9

My great grandmother, Ella May Walters, born in 1880, was adopted in Kansas. It’s my understanding her biological brother was also adopted at the same time. Unfortunately her brother died young and didn’t have any offspring.

Through DNA it would appear she was Irish. I’ve not been able to make any connections from her line as of yet.

Answer 10

I know of a few. The two I am free to share are:

Thomas Pendleton (Pendleton-2594): My 3x Great Grandfather

By the time he was 10 years old he was being raised by a couple who didn't have children of their own.

I've always wondered whether their first child, my 2X Great Grandfather, born when Thomas was only 17, is actually his, or whether they married by arrangement so that her child could have a father.

Robert Garwood (Garwood-800), my Great-Great-Grandfather

Robert's father Edward abandoned the family, causing his wife to seek relief from the parish, and all her children to be scattered. Robert was brought up by John and Margaret Catchpole - Margaret was a distant cousins on his mother's side.

What I find interesting is that both kept their original surnames. If they hadn't, I would be Day (Britton) Catchpole rather than Day (Pendleton) Garwood!

Answer 11

Yes. We think that my great grandfather, Theodore Ceruti, was either an adopted child or a descendant of an adopted child. A more recent adoption has occurred but this person cannot be named for privacy reasons.

Answer 12

Yes! My grandmother was adopted in the 1920’s and this is by far the biggest brick wall I’ve encountered.  

So frustrating to have this large branch of my tree still hidden from me.

Comments

I know the feeling.

Before my mother did a DNA test, her paternal line was a big empty space on the family tree.

My mother was adopted in 1940 as a child and the original birth certificate names her mother but not her father.

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I ran into a simuliar situation except not only was the fathers name missing,  the mother lied about her name.  If it wasnt for DNA testing the truth never would be known.

Answer 13

My Grandmother, [[Tabor-412|Blanche Tabor]], was an amazing woman who adopted two children before she was married.  The first was my mother.  Dr. Tabor (my grandmother was a GP), had a patient who already had three children at home.  It was the height of the Depression.  She was crying about the fourth who was soon due, telling Dr. Tabor she couldn't afford to feed the ones she had and didn't know what to do.  Grandmother, always sure of herself, patted her hand and assured her that she would take care of the babe.  When my mother was born, Dr. Tabor took her home.  

Later, a baby was born in the hospital Grandmother was affiliated with and then abandoned by his mother.  For two weeks he was left in the care of the nurses and was struggling -- he didn't gain weight.  The abandonment was taking its toll.  Grandmother again stepped in, taking the infant -- my uncle David -- home with her.  So she was a single, professional woman with two children in the 1930s!!  What an awesome lady.  

She married the next year and she and her husband had three more children.  All five grew up together, knowing the first two were adopted.  However, they never told the next generation.  Neither adoption was legal and Grandmother was terrified that she would lose her kids if someone found out, so they kept it hush, hush outside of the household.

My biological mother remained a patient of my Grandmother's and often asked after Dr. Tabor's family when she came in for a visit.  It must have been bittersweet for her to hear updates on my mother's progress.

Answer 14

Yes, both of my grandmothers were adopted.  Exciting news, the birth mothers have been identified!!!

Answer 15

My father was adopted by his mother's new husband after she divorced his biological father.  This was back in the early 1920s when it was usually very difficult for a woman to initiate the process.  I actually have all of the court documents.  Very interesting reading. She remarried and her new husband legally adopted my father.  So, when I was born I had my father's adopted name, not his birth name.  I only had two daughters and they have both married and have different last names, now.  I am a generation of one.  No Bloodline Bedwells before me and none after me!

Answer 16

I have lots of adoptions; some of which are secretive. I have a cousin whose parents aren't who she thinks they are, but I can't figure it out either.

I also have situations where kids were passed around family, but not formally adopted.

Thirdly, I have several family members whose children were put into protective custody and then adopted or fostered until adulthood.

Answer 17

Me! Both of my kids. Two dogs & a cat

Answer 18

Yes, there are a number of adoptions in my family including me. Also, my aunt (Dad's sister) and a niece and nephew. My parents were very open about my being adopted. I have three natural born brothers, but I was chosen. In late 2019 I found two siblings and cousins on my BM side. And a 2nd cousin worked with me until we found my BF family. I have been lovingly accepted by all.

Answer 19

Yes, My second cousin had a son at 18 years old.  Her mother (my first cousin once removed's exwife) and her stepfather adopted the boy.  On my ancestry tree I mark him as adopted and Identify his birth mother otherwise it looks like we are not connected by DNA.

Answer 20

My grandparents adopted their nieces after their father died in WWI and their mother died a few years later of cancer.

A cousin that had a baby as a teenager, gave her up for adoption.

My son-in-law's grandfather was adopted.