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Colin Rowledge
22-11-2007, 9:15 PM
My Dad was born in 1919.
His mum was unmarried and lived with her parents along with 1 sister and 2 brothers.
He was brought up by his mum's parents as 'their' son and was treated by the family as a brother.
Upon the death of the "old lady" as she was referred to, dad was told he was adopted. His Mum was forbidden by the other family members to divulge any information. All are now deceased and my dad is 89. I'd like to research his Dad.
How do I go about this?
Colin:

Peter Goodey
23-11-2007, 8:45 AM
My Dad was born in 1919

You haven't mentioned which country. ;)

Was there a birth certificate and do you have it? If there was one and you haven't got it, getting it is the first step.

If there's no father stated on the birth certificate, I think the only possibility is to search court records for a maintenance order. Quite frankly in the circumstances you described, I doubt if there will be one.

I'm afraid I can't think of anything else you could do. Sorry.

hallsworth47
23-11-2007, 9:33 AM
Do you know if this was a legal adoption ? Linda

Peter Goodey
23-11-2007, 10:03 AM
There was no legal adoption in 1919 and to the best of my knowledge there was little advantage, even if there was a mechanism, for formalising an existing informal adoption. And in these circumstances you wouldn't want a chance of the neighbours finding out ;)

hallsworth47
23-11-2007, 11:02 AM
when did adoption become legal thanks Linda

Peter Goodey
23-11-2007, 11:47 AM
when did adoption become legal

The legal process of adoption was introduced in 1927 and the GRO Adopted Children Register dates from 1 Jan of that year.

Let's be clear, there was nothing illegal about adoptions before that date; it's just that there was no legal process involved - they were basically private arrangements.

hallsworth47
23-11-2007, 2:38 PM
PHEW! thank goodness for that
thanks again Linda

Colin Rowledge
23-11-2007, 11:18 PM
Hi Peter & Linda
Thanks for the info.
Here's a bit more info:
He was born in London, possibly Willesden.
There were rumours - that the father was an ex German POW released early to play as Goalkeeper for Queens Park Rangers. After the war he would have been repatriated back to Germany.
One day, I believe it was in September or December 1933, my dad was playing goalkeeper for Willesden County schoolboy's 11. After the game, he overheard his Mum [Florence] talking to ger Brothers [Billy and Bert] that my dad's father would have been proud of his efforts. The chatter ceased when they saw my Dad.
Colin

hallsworth47
24-11-2007, 7:43 AM
Hi Colin
Whilst I was researching my husbands adoption I found that little bits of things like over heard conversations, rumors etc nearly always had some truth in them ,now I know absolutely nothing about football but may be that information you have, could be a lead for you to follow I don't know how, may be through the football club itself its certainly worth a try. My husband knew nothing at all not even a name and wasnt allowed to ask but somewhere from his childhood he remembered two names , names that could have been his own and the other possibly his mothers after 60 years or more we discovered that those names were indeed his and his mothers, just a very distant memory from childhood but perfectly correct and a vital clue in the search. May be some one here knows a thing or two about football history and could point you in the right direction
Best Wishes Linda
ps or even pow records

Peter Goodey
24-11-2007, 8:43 AM
He was born in London, possibly Willesden.

I did ask about the birth certificate and it sounds as if you haven't got it. I repeat that if one exists. you need to get a copy.


There were rumours - that the father was an ex German POW released early to play as Goalkeeper for Queens Park Rangers. After the war he would have been repatriated back to Germany.

Even if someone came back and confirmed that there was such a footballer, it would tell you nothing about your father's father. Proving that one half of a rumour is true has absolutely no bearing on the other half.

Sorry to sound a wet blanket but I don't believe in overstating the prospects of success.

I would advise getting the birth certificate, though.

hallsworth47
24-11-2007, 9:23 AM
Its always worth bearing in mind that sometimes in a search that's difficult snippets of information running along side proven facts can be usfull Linda

Camille
06-01-2008, 7:13 PM
Hello,

How interesting that I seem to be in the same situation as you. I'm also trying to find my father's father, and like your dad he was also brought up believing that his mother, his aunt and his uncle were his siblings, and that his grandparents were his real parents. As in your case, my grandmother never told us who the father was, having been told it was too shameful by her sister. I seem to have come up against a complete stumbling block but am determined to find out more, especially as my dad's mother let slip before she died that my father has 2 younger half-sisters somewhere in the local area.

I agree completely with the previous posters who have suggested researching every little snippet of overheard information.My dad has quite a few overheard details (a possible first name, place details, etc). So far there has been something useful in every single scrap! The other thing which might still be possible is finding someone still alive who knew, even if it's the descendent of a cousin or neighbour or something like that. Secrets like the birth of a baby were pretty hard to keep totally quiet, and there must always have been people in the area who knew or guessed.

Good luck with your search!
Camille