General Chat

hi there, my names Alison Elizabeth Hills, I was adopted at birth and am attempting to get in conact with my birth family. I was born "Emma Michelle Johns" on 28 September 1980 at Eastbourne Hospital, Sussex. My Mother's name was Hilary (who I believe was Welsh) and my father's name was Trevor. I also believe that I have an older brother, but I know nothing else. If anyone can give me any information or any advice as to how I should go about finding my family, it would be much appreciated.

alison have you put this message on Trying To Find aswell you might have more success there good luck have you also tried to search useing the "quick Search at the top right of the screen ? lou

tried it put it on trying to find but didnt work. tried the quick search as well, but as I have no idea where they were born Id have to mail the whole list :(

aliso/emma i'm not much good at this myself why don't you come on members book now and see if anyone on there can help lou

Alison You might be well-advised to find out the law on this subject, and your rights. Try the HMSO website. Another avenue is your local Citizens Advice Bureau who may also refer you to a counsellor or a suitably qualified solicitor who will give you a free or low-cost one-off consultation with the option of further consultations, if required. At the moment, adoption agencies within UK are obliged to keep full records. Certain persons over the age of 18 have the right of access to these records and this certainly includes the adoptee. There are also various, specialist agencies for adoption searches. Len

Alison, To use the 'Trying to Find' section on this site for finding ancestors/relatives with a particular surname then you would need to have a person with THAT surname in your tree in order to post a message on the Trying to Find board. I noticed that your tree currently consists of 1 person (no doubt being your good self). What you need to do is add a person(s) (e.g. mother, father) to your tree with the surname you're interested in. Then click on 'Name Summary' (see left hand side of screen), find that surname and click on it, then click on 'Trying to Find'. From there you can post a message asking for information/help. Andy

Similar situation to the above. During my first meeting with my adoption worker I was given my birth name and the paperwork to apply for my original birth certificate. Surprisingly this came back by return post. I am still waiting for her to phone saying that my adoption records have arrived. I am hoping that my records will hold a little more information as so far I have drawn a blank just searching for my Mothers name. It cost me £7.50 for my certificate and I have also paid to join the Adoption Registry but Social Services (just contact your local one in the yellow pages) will provide you with a "Councilor" confirmation of your birth name and possibly your adoption records for free so they are well worth trying first. Hope that you have more luck.

Hi We have just gone through this process with my husband as well. He was appointed a counsellor who has been wonderful. My husband only received his adoption files Tuesday last week. But I think I may have already found his birth mother and one of his siblings. It is a very difficult process with all decisions on how you want to procede lying with you. I don't do anything without my husband agreeing to it, as he doesn't have time to search himself. The counsellor has said that if we find any information he is willing to act as a mediator on our behalf. So their role doesn't stop at handing over the adoption files. Rachel Sturman

Hi Emma, If you can get the reference number of your entry (in your birth name) from the Family Records Centre in Islington, you can send for a copy of the large certificate of your birth and it will give you possibly an address where your birth mother was living at that time, also you may get your father's name. Also you can try the electoral roll, if you know where she might live. As others have said it can be an emotional time,both for you and your adoptive family, often it's better to have someone to talk to who isn't actually involved. Because I was adopted before 1974, I have a post-adoption worker helping me. The other thing to do is to look on the General Register website www.statistics.gov.uk/registration under Adoption, and their booklets are very helpful. good luck, e-mail me if you need further advice or someone to talk to. Sue

I just wanted to wish you luck on your search and I hope the outcome is a positive one!! Be safe!! D

good luck with your search, please tell us how your getting on.

hi alison - i have been going through this as well. i have a lovely social worker who has helped loads. i found out where my birth mother is living and my social worker has written her 2 letters, one before christmas and another last week. to date my social worker has had no reply. my case isn't looking too good at the moment but i am sure that there have been many happy re-unions. i am unsure how to proceed so if anyone has any advice or has been in this situation i would love to hear from you thanks

Hello, have you tried this website that i came across this afternoon ww.adoptionmatch.(co).uk its free.(remove the brackets) Good Luck

Alison, I found out about my mums adoption at FRC in london, it is listed under the name adopted, and you go backwards from there. I now have my mothers adoption cert, her first birth cert and her adopt birth cert. You can so much info from there. I am now tracing my orig gfathers family. If you have trouble click onto message boards, then records, search for a message from Ken Milton, give him details, he goes to london often he is the kindest person I know (got loads of help from him). He will then send a message back to you. I wish you all the best of luck

Good luck with your search, please let us know how you go on. Maggy

Hi Allison just wanted to say good luck i had my daughter adopted in 1976. started to trace her last April (2003) found out in July (2003) she had been killed in a car accident aged 2 1/2 yrs old sum 25 yrs ago.although i was heart broken i have met her adopted brother and we keep in contact ur first port of call sud b social services once again good luck Bev

hi emma, sheila here did you get my e-mail on the 27th jan, as im having problems replying at the moment, it was about www.1837online[.]com,i had found a record of your birth and mailed you the reference no.in case you wanted to order a copy. with regards to your birth family you can get acess to your birth records also from here. i myself ha ve found this a very useful site as i have found details of the births of my 3 sisters, birth mother and grandparents marriage, even though i am still waiting for access to my birth records, it amy be possible to find tract of your brothers birth also on here. please let me know if i can help at all, and the very best of luck in your search.

that is absolutely fabulous news.... I am so pleased that the outcome was a positive one!! Love to everyone involved.

Alison, How wonderful for you and great that Joan could help. I hope your new relationship with your birth parents is all that you hope for. Sue

I hadn't realised until Joan's last message that this was an old thread being updated!! Well done Joan and good luck for your future happiness Alison. A lovely end or maybe even a beginning to a story. Jacky :-)