Adoption 1916 in South Africa

Question

Hi there

I am trying to find out where my grandmother was adopted. The lady that adopted her came to South Africa from England .  My grandmother was Elizabeth Allison Totman born 16 Sept 1916.  Her adopted mother was Miriam Ruth Totman born June 1871 in Essex England.  I presume that she was a matron/nun as she adopted 10 children and they all lived in Cape Town South Africa.  Where can I find the adoption records?

Comments

There is a closed Facebook group called South African Genealogy - loads of very helpful people there and somebody may have a connection or help find the information you're after.

Answer 1

Hi Totman, 

If I was you, I would have try to find the place where Miriam Ruth Totman worked in Cape Town (physical location) and start there.  Another source to narrow down your starting point would be to subscribe to Ancestry.com and try to locate a immigration/ship record of her.  This will also give you an idea of the children she possibly adopted before she came to South Africa as the immigration/ship register would specify that as well.  

I just located someone's biological mother for them and they were born in Belgium and immigrated to Congo (when it was known as Belgium-Congo).

Shout if you need more help.

Comments

Thank you so much for the information.  I have checked the passenger list and found several children between the age of 1-12 travelling with other adults and alone.  How would I know if I found the right one?  Would she have given her the name & surname before leaving England as most are just named "miss E or J no surname next to it.

My mother says she never worked, except looking after all the children.  She must have had enough money to support everyone.  Is there a South African passenger arrival list somewhere???

If she was adopted here in SA how do I obtain her records?  I have applied for her unabridged birth certificate at the Home Affairs and they cannot seem to give us an answer if they have a record of her or not.