Adoption research info.....
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Tracyann
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2006 7:55 pm
- Location: Ontario, Canada
Adoption research info.....
Hi everyone, I am new to this wonderful hobby and having a great time learning! Just found out my grandmother and her siblings were given up for adoption at a very young age, probably about 1925 in either the Dundee or Perth area. Any advice on how to begin to search for these records or is it not possible yet? Thanks
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LesleyB
- Posts: 8184
- Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2005 12:18 am
- Location: Scotland
Hi Tracyann
...and a warm welcome to Talking Scot.
There is some information about adoption records in Scotland here:
http://www.nas.gov.uk/guides/adoptions.asp
Hope this is of some help.
Best wishes
Lesley
...and a warm welcome to Talking Scot.
There is some information about adoption records in Scotland here:
http://www.nas.gov.uk/guides/adoptions.asp
Hope this is of some help.
Best wishes
Lesley
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DavidWW
- Posts: 5057
- Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2004 9:47 pm
Re: Adoption research info
Prior to 1930 there was no legal procedure for adoption and therefore no civil/court records. Even if there had been, the Scottish situation is that the 1930 and later formal adoption records are closed except for the birth/adoptive parents and the adoptee.Tracyann wrote:Hi everyone, I am new to this wonderful hobby and having a great time learning! Just found out my grandmother and her siblings were given up for adoption at a very young age, probably about 1925 in either the Dundee or Perth area. Any advice on how to begin to search for these records or is it not possible yet? Thanks
The only chance is that the adoptions were arranged by some children's home or similar, who may have some open records. See the Libraries tab on the home page here for Dundee and Perth contacts.
David
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Tracyann
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2006 7:55 pm
- Location: Ontario, Canada
DavidWW and lbathgate, Thank-you for your quick response to my queston! There may be a possability that they were dumped at an orphanage instead. I found one open at that time called Aberlour but being from Canada i dont know what part of Scotland it is in. Do you know of any others. Would there be a way of tracking them while in an orphanage. Thanks again!!
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MaryE
- Posts: 105
- Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2004 6:53 pm
Hi Tracyann
Aberlour Orphanage was in the small town of Aberlour in Banffshire. This is quite a long way north of Perth and Dundee but it was a large orphanage and they had children from all over Scotland. (If you look on a map you might find it listed as Charlestown of Aberlour rather than just Aberlour.)
The orphanage itself has been demolished except for the tower which is now surrounded by a lovely garden and memorial which was created about five years ago. The caring work continues to this day, though, in the form of the Aberlour Child Care Trust which is now based in Stirling - which is not very far from Perth!
They have an excellent website which gives you the history at www.aberlour.org.uk. They also have extensive records which I have used so if you have names and approximate dates I would email them at enquiries@aberlour.org.uk . I found them extremely helpful. There is no charge but a donation is always appreciated.
They have held a couple of reunions recently and if your grandmother and her siblings were there in the 20s/30s you might just strike lucky with someone who remembers them. I did with the person I was researching though this was in the 40s.
Mary
TD
Aberlour Orphanage was in the small town of Aberlour in Banffshire. This is quite a long way north of Perth and Dundee but it was a large orphanage and they had children from all over Scotland. (If you look on a map you might find it listed as Charlestown of Aberlour rather than just Aberlour.)
The orphanage itself has been demolished except for the tower which is now surrounded by a lovely garden and memorial which was created about five years ago. The caring work continues to this day, though, in the form of the Aberlour Child Care Trust which is now based in Stirling - which is not very far from Perth!
They have an excellent website which gives you the history at www.aberlour.org.uk. They also have extensive records which I have used so if you have names and approximate dates I would email them at enquiries@aberlour.org.uk . I found them extremely helpful. There is no charge but a donation is always appreciated.
They have held a couple of reunions recently and if your grandmother and her siblings were there in the 20s/30s you might just strike lucky with someone who remembers them. I did with the person I was researching though this was in the 40s.
Mary
TD
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MaryE
- Posts: 105
- Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2004 6:53 pm
Hi again
It's perhaps worth mentioning that the child I was looking for who turned up in Aberlour Orphanage was from just south of Perth. Also that this was the only child out of at least three who ended up in Aberlour - the other two younger ones were sent to two other institutions so bear in mind that your grandmother and her siblings may have been separated. Check whether any of them arrived in Aberlour as this may lead you to the others.
Although the child I found in Aberlour died in an accident while there, the records of the Trust enabled me to put a lady in her seventies back in touch with her other brothers whom she had not seen since she was nine years old when they were all sent to separate homes after being orphaned. It also enabled us to put her in touch with a friend of the brother who died at Aberlour Orphanage and who had attended his funeral.
I hope you have as much luck - it's definitely worth trying!
Mary
It's perhaps worth mentioning that the child I was looking for who turned up in Aberlour Orphanage was from just south of Perth. Also that this was the only child out of at least three who ended up in Aberlour - the other two younger ones were sent to two other institutions so bear in mind that your grandmother and her siblings may have been separated. Check whether any of them arrived in Aberlour as this may lead you to the others.
Although the child I found in Aberlour died in an accident while there, the records of the Trust enabled me to put a lady in her seventies back in touch with her other brothers whom she had not seen since she was nine years old when they were all sent to separate homes after being orphaned. It also enabled us to put her in touch with a friend of the brother who died at Aberlour Orphanage and who had attended his funeral.
I hope you have as much luck - it's definitely worth trying!
Mary