Genealogy Chat

Olde Crone - I think Carol already has the birth cert naming Miss Cook as the mother.......?? Otherwise she wouldn't know who had registered the birth, nor that the dob matches Mike's.... Apologies if that's not what you meant....... Merry

I'm just adding to this so I can find the thread again. I'm hooked on this story and I hope you find the truth eventually Carol. Please keep us posted. Sue xx

Just a thought that crossed my mind, which relates to my own experiences of being adopted: Maybe when his Mum told him,aged 9, that although he was adopted he was her real son, she was actually reassuring him that despite the fact that she did not give birth to him, the bond between them and the love she has for him is as strong as any between mother and son. Maybe he misunderstood her meaning. I refer to my adoptive parents as my real Mum and Dad. And people have commented in the past on my resemblance to my Dad which of course is purely coincidental. Liz x

I think when I was young adoption agencies tried to place babies with parents with the same colouring, eyes and hair as well as skin. When I worked in Bristol maternity hospital it would have been extremely difficult to abduct a baby. Babies were kept in a nursery or with the mother. A nurse always carried a baby out to the mother's car and gave it to the mother outside the hospital. I am sure an abduction would have made the local newspaper. Old Crone this is different from just taking a baby in a pram from outside a shop. We once found a baby abandoned in the hospital toilet but that is another story.

Anne Can I be rude and ask when you worked in Bristol Maternity Hospital? Things changed mightily in the 1980s. My oldest daughter was born in London in 1968, in Barnet Hospital. Anyone could come and go freely - my husband used to come up the Fire escape to bring me Fish and Chips. Babies were not in bedside cots, but in a Nursery at the end of the corridor - next to the Fire Escape. The Nursery was open and freely accessible at all hours of day and night. There was usually a nurse or two in there - 50 or so babies - but not always. My two youngest were born in the 70s and early 80s, here in Cornwall. Again a very casual regime, although babies were on the Ward by this time - but you could ask for your baby to be taken to the Nursery at night if you werent breastfeeding. It was as a direct result of one or two abductions from Maternity Wings that the present care is taken, and it would be very difficult indeed to abduct a child from a hospital now. But I maintain that it would have been pretty easy in the 1940s. I do so want to know the outcome of this story!!! Olde Crone

Hi Carole Have you had any luck in your search yet?

I'm eagerly following the outcome of this thread too! I have to say (although maybe wrong) I have a gut instinct that your partner wasn't abducted. I believe this story was made up to try and protect him somehow. By saying he was adopted but really they were his birth parents, just sounds a bit 'iffy' to me. I believe that Cook was his biological mother - he was sadly illigetimate and then his parents went on to adopt him. Just my thoughts, sorry if I've offended, I don't intend to. Best Regards Helen x

i know this is off but when i had 2 of my children in 1995 + 1996 there birth was registard and we got a short birth cert when my youngest son was born in 2000 and we registered his birth we got the full birth certs for all 3 and when i looked on ancestory the 2 eldest children are registared twice

Mike is going to try and obtain his adoption records. It will mean going through the councelling formality, but will be worth it to find out what really happened. He knows that this is something he has to do himself and that I can`t do it for him, though it is me who is doing his family tree. I will get back and let you know when we find out anything. Thank you all for your suggestions and thoughts.

Hi Carol, Just wanted to wish you and Mike all the Best with your continued search. As you have said this is something Mike has to untimatley do for himself, and when he feels ready to deal with whatever answers he may find, however, I am sure that you will be there to support him through the long wait for his records, through his counselling sessions, and maybe if he was adopted, help him decide if he wants to take this matter any further. I hope he find all that he is looking for and if I can offer any help or advise in the comming weeks, feel free to e-mail me. Best Wishes Sheila

As we couldn`t find the certificate I found before, I have now obtained a copy of Mike`s adoption certificate from GRO It is an official GRO certificate stating that adoption hearing was held at Temple Cloud Juvenile Court in January 1947 (Temple Cloud is a neighbouring village to Clutton) All the names are correct and his date of birth is stated as the date he knows to be his birthday. I also have a birth certificate showing the same date of birth, registered on the day after his birthdate giving birthplace as Clutton, mother Hilda Cook and informant Samuel Cook grandfather. As I mentioned before, Mike was told that he was abducted by a person called Cook and found 2 weeks later at Clutton. If this was just a story to hide the fact he was adopted, how would his parents have known the name of the birth mother. I always thought that this was kept confidential. Were things done differently back then? Temple Cloud Court is no longer there, where would I look for possible court records? Possibly Somerset or Bristol records office? Mike is OK with my digging on this, and he is prepared for the fact that he was actually adopted.

Hi Carol, As far as I know, his adoption records will be held by social services. If you ring your local SS office and ask for the Adoption/ Fostering Dept, they should be able to help you track down where the records are currently held, and obtain them for you. This is what I did in 2002. Good luck, Liz x

Hi Carol I just wanted to say that my friend was adopted, in 1952, and her adoptive parents knew a lot about her birth parents. When my friend got her file it confirmed much of what she had already been told, so not all adoptions were as we thought, top secret. Good luck, I hope you get to the bottom of this very interesting story Sam

I do hope that Mike can obtain an answer and come to terms with the findings. I note that the abduction must have been very quick if he was registered the day after he was born.

Hi Carol, His 'adoptive parents' would have known the details of his birth mother before the adoption. When you are formerly adopted, all parties are written to by the courts and the adoptive parents or birth mother wishes, she can attend the hearing (copies of all these notices should be in your adoption file). Also the agency that arranged the adoption would have given information regarding your birth etc to them, however, the amount of information that they where told could vary, when I was adopted 6 months after placement my adoptive parents were told of my birth mothers current position and what had happened to her in the meantime. It would be perfectly feasible that they knew the birth mothers name who she lived with when she gave birth, and the reason for the adoption. I just hope that they are able to trace his adoption records for him, but the earlier records seem to be more scant than todays, that said if he had been abducted from his natural parents then I am pretty certain that information would be there. When you say the adoption went through January 1947 how long after his birth was this? you say that his birth was registered in Dec 1946, normally before you could be formally adopted you had to be with the adoptive parents for 6 months, this was in part to allow the birth mother a chance to change her mind, and also to give social services and doctors a chance to eveluate your new parents. This was only 1-3 months maybe because the story was true, however, things may have been different then, I am talking about cases from the 60's onwards. The first thing you should do is contact Social Services, they will track down any court records that exist, they did this for me, although I doubt if you would be allowed to view these unless they are released either via the courts (as in my case , or released to a Social Worker, so I think this should be your next port of call. Good Luck Sheila

Sorry to sound doubting but it seems a strange story your husband was told - although strange things happen. One of my friends is adopted and she is the spitting image of her adopted father - but they aren't related of course. Looks don't proove or disprove blood - none of my children look like their Dad. I wish your husband and yourself all the best in your search though. Jacquie P.S My Aunt met her apopted daughter's birth mother (in 1967) all family names in the adoption papers herld my the adoptive parents.

Sheila, birthdate is 24th October 1946 and adoption 15th January 1947. Both dates on adoption certificate. I have rang social services and they are getting back to me if and when they can trace his records. Also, in 1946 his mother was 43 and his father 46. These days, this would be deemed too old to adopt a baby, but maybe things were different then. (Just after the war, loads of GI babies and maybe not enough adoptive parents to go round, particularly in the rural areas.) Parents lived in Paulton, so called abductor found in Clutton, adoption in Temple Cloud, all within a 5 mile radius.

Well, I still think this story is true, however, here is a Ruth Rendell style interpretation: Miss Cook gives birth to Michael. An adoption has already been arranged privately (through a Doctor/family member/whatever, thus explaining how the birth mother's name was known to his family) and the baby is immediately handed over. Later on, Miss Cook, suffering from Post Natal Depression, abducts ANOTHER baby and is sent to a Mental Institution. This may have speeded up the adoption process, i.e. natural mother has gone barmy, is not suitable to bring up her own child, even if she were to change her mind.I am sorry, but I really do not believe in a benign Social Services offering a birth mother the chance to change her mind in those days, even if it WAS the law - the Authorities always had ways around the law and always knew best. The amended story may have been told to Michael to subtly suggest, should he ever find out the truth, that his natural mother was less than she should be. On the other hand, Michael's adoption took place in early 1947, just after the end of the war. I would have thought that the Courts would have been extremely busy with Adoptions at this time and would have expected it to be later, rather than sooner. Let's hope Social Services don't take too long over this - did he explain the circumstances to them, it might fire their interest a bit. Olde Crone

I have since found a marriage for a Hilda Cook in the March quarter of 1947 in the right registration district to a Desmond York. Will need the marriage certificate to check fathers name. I have also found 4 children born between 1948 and 1957, same registration district, mothers maiden name correct.

carol, when i met my hubby, my daughter was years old. she not was my hubbys. hubby decided to adopt her, and we went through the process. the way the law stands is that, if one partner wants to adopt then the other even though biological must adopt as well, this seemed daft, as i was her natural mother. it's the way the law is?? suppose it's to make the parents feel the same. with a child adoption, it's normally carried out in the family court, and a record book is held in each court. good luck with your search, but i too would ask to see the file. lynnxx