Adoptions

[davidreynolds12000]

Can anyone advise if is possible to check adoption records for about 1850. ?
If so. Where can I find them.?

[Guy Etchells]

Unfortunately there were no such legal adoptions at that date or for a further 70 odd years until the Adoption of Infants Act 1926.
Earlier than this children were fostered orunofficially adopted by private agreement of those concerned.
If the fostering occurred through a charity or organisation such as Barnado's (founded 1845) there may be records held by the organisation.
Cheers
Guy

[Peter Goodey]

There was no legal adoption before the 1920s.

It is virtually impossible to find any records relating to any earlier adoption, if indeed there was ever any written record.

[Peter Goodey]

Having said that, it may be worthwhile checking the records of the relevant Poor Law Union just in case there's a clue hidden away in them.

[busyglen]

This doesn't relate directly to Adoption, as the child would have had the same surname, but it is also worth remembering that on some occasions, a young girl had a baby, which was brought up by her mother, who claimed it as her own. Sometimes that child never knew that her mother was actually her `grandmother. This has posed quite a few problems for people who have found that the `mother' was over child-bearing age, and therefore have discounted this information at times.

Glenys

[Ken Boyce]

Unfortunately there were no such legal adoptions at that date or for a further 70 odd years until the Adoption of Infants Act 1926.
Earlier than this children were fostered orunofficially adopted by private agreement of those concerned.
If the fostering occurred through a charity or organisation such as Barnado's (founded 1845) there may be records held by the organisation.
Cheers
Guy

Hi Guy

Could you clarify the meaning and timeframe of the old terms "son in law", "daughter in law", "brother in law" and "sister in law" that were in use prior to the modern usage

Regards

[Ken Boyce]

PS
I should have included "Mother in Law" I have no recollection of ever coming across the term "Father in Law" in 19C records

For some reason I had it that the old use of the terms somehow related to adoptions but this is obviously wrong. My next thought is that the term is used when an illegitimate child is somehow formally recognized. (I believe the old meaning of the word Illegitimate was "not recognized (in law?)" rather than just being a synonym of bastard).

Regards

[Ed Bradford]

Ken, I was hoping that someone with a lot of knowledge in this "In-Law" area was going to respond to your thread and we'd have a definitive answer. However, ample time has past and it doesn't look that way so let me tell you what I've seen listed in the 1851 census which may shed some light on the answer to your question.

In one household in Horsforth, Yorkshire during the 1851 census, I have the following:
John Gaunt, Head of household
Hannah Gaunt, Wife
4 children
Eliza Longfellow, Niece
John Longfellow, Brother-in-law

From the LDS IGI files I know that Hannah Longfellow married John Gaunt and John Longfellow is Hannah's brother and thus the "Brother-in-law".

I also know that Eliza Longfellow is the daughter of Ann Longfellow and that Ann is Hannah's sister and thus the "Niece".

It appears that Ann Longfellow never married so that would make Eliza born out of wedlock.

I hope that helps. ...............Ed