Adoption

[Jansy]

Please can someone help me!
I am trying to find out if the (deceased) birth mother of my father whom I have discovered, IS the correct person that I am after. My father was born and was adopted in Birmingham in 1942. I have tried contacting Birmingham City Council regarding this but they say that all adoption records at that time no longer exist. Where do I go from here?

[dotty.]

did they explain why the adoption records don't exist. legal adoption at that time was registered by the local register office and the adoption registers were duplicated and sent to the GRO in ,london, and so even if for any reason the local copy was lost, the second copy of the register should surtvive. What details do you have ?

[Jansy]

B.C.C. answered my Email with, "the City Council does not have any surviving adoption records from the 1940s", so no, they didn't give me a reason as to how/why it was lost.
I have my father's original Birth Certificate, which includes his mother's full unmarried name, the address of where he was born, her occupation and the address she was residing in at that time. Unfortunately, his father's name is not mentioned. I also have the adoption letters from a Miss Primmer (from B.C.C.) to my grandparents regarding him having check-ups etc. I also have a handwritten letter from Dad's birth mother to my grandparents asking how he was and for photos. Her address was c/o someone in South Devon in 1942. Any help in this matter will be gratefully received.

[dotty.]

ok so missing paperwork aside, you have the info on the mother and so you now want to find out who she actually was, you have a letter from her in 1942, what name has she signed on that? was she still single? how common a name did she have and have you looked for possible candidates in the GRO index? the adoption papers may well not have given you enough details to identify her anyway, other than a name and possible address.

[Jansy]

I'll let you know what I have done. Through GenesReunited I contacted members with her name (Olive May Adams) in their family tree and given them the above information. One member replied that their Olive was evacuated to Kingsbridge (from where the handwritten letter was sent) during WWII from Plymouth. At that time, he didn't think that we shared the same Olive, as he was an only child. We met up and swapped photos letters etc and it clicked that we could indeed share the same Olive. Her writing was very distinctive and he recognised it and the photos he had of her had a strong likeness to Dad.
We later discovered that the residing address she gave in Birmingham on the Birth Cert. belonged to an old workmate who moved away from Devon. The reason I am trying to find out for definite is that my Dad won't meet him until I have real proof or evidence that we share the same Olive. I don't know what else I can do, I'm at my wits end, they deserve to meet each other.

[dotty.]

ahhh, so your dad possibly has a half brother but he's saying he needs definate proof before agreeing to accept that it is true. It's something that can be done with modern dna testing which is accurate and though may cost a bit will be the right result. the paper chase you need possibly is alot harder to make prove anything. The coincidences and circumstantial detail you already have would be enough for some people, the one thing you could try is to find out from this other person whether he has any aunts or uncles who may be able to confirm that their late sister did indeed have a child in birmingham in 1942 but gave the baby up for adoption. i would try that avenue, if the other family is willing to help with this.

[Jansy]

It's funny that you should mention an Aunt, yes, there is one but she is in her eighties and he is worried that it may finish her off!
As for DNA testing, I'm not sure as to whether they would be up for that. I can only ask.
You mention a paperchase, could that be an option? What would I need to do?
Thank you for your help, I do appreciate it.

[dotty.]

you have to identify all possible Olive Adams from the civil registration birth index and plot their lives through the same sources, birth, marriage, children and death. that way you eliminate other possibles and hopefully are only left with this one you have.