Agency Records:

The placement records or case documents usually contain helpful hints such as data on other siblings, names of the birthparents and descriptive information.

Birth Certificate or Amended Birth Certificate:

The former provides the names of the birth parents and the child’s birth name while an amended certificate contains the names of the adoptive parents and the child’s adoptive name.

Census Records:

The relationship column can supply the verification you need. “AD son” signifies an adopted son.

Guardianships:

In cases where one or both parents have died, leaving minor children, the court can appoint a guardian to care for the children. In many instances, these guardians are family members. In the nineteenth century this is a clue to an adoption. I’ve been told that in King County, WA, Probates and Guardianships are handled by the same court. For years, Probate records were closed. Finally, the local genealogical society talked them in to creating an index, then removing the guardianship records.

Hospital Records:

Hospitals maintain birth records for infants and birthmothers. If you know the name of the hospital where the baby was born this might provide additional information.

Name Changes:

Petitions to change names can indicate an adoption.

Newspapers:

Look in the legal section of the paper for notices relating to an adoption hearing or an advertisement that tries to establish paternity. While doing research on this and not understanding what they meant by an “advertisement” I had to do more digging.

Probate Records:

Probate courts often handled guardianships and adoptions. Wills help clarify relationships.

State Legislative Records:

In some states the General Assembly accepted adoption petitions from prospective adoptive parents. These contain the child’s birth name and the name of the adoptive parents.

Internet Sources

If you’re looking for advice, expertise, or resources, there is a good chance you will find it on the Internet. The adoption community is active online at various websites, and here in the Genealogy Forum, we also have articles that we hope will give you some direction in your research.

However, there are individuals and organizations looking to take advantage of you. Be cautious, especially if personal information or money is requested. It is always a good idea to ask around if you think someone’s offer might be unscrupulous.

The following list is introductory, not inclusive. It contains ten good places to begin exploring the online adoption community.

International Soundex Reunion Registry (ISRR)

ISSR is the nation’s oldest and largest mutual consent reunion registry. If you’re searching, make sure you register herepi[![/i] And you can register or volunteer for the RegDay event.

Adoption Registration Coalition (ARC)

ARC is a volunteer organization which disseminates information regarding ISRR.

Voices of Adoption

This site includes poetry, stories, essays and articles relating to adoption.

Adoptive Families of America

This nonprofit organization offers many amazing resources for prospective and adoptive families.

Concerned United Birthparents (CUB)

CUB is a supportive community of birthparents offering local meetings, articles, and an annual conference/retreat.

Bastard Nation

Dedicated to opening records, Bastard Nation is the place to find out about adoption activism.

An Adoptee’s Right to Know

This site offers invaluable resources for all parts of the adoption triad – especially adoptees. This site includes the extremely helpful “Shea’s Search Series.”

Terminal Illness Emergency Search program

Free search support is provided by TIES to those suffering a terminal illness.

Adoptees’ Internet Mailing List

Find out about, and join, the nation’s oldest and largest all adoptee mailing list.

Sunflower Birthmoms

Discover and join this supportive mailing list for birthmoms only.

Side note: need help to save peace in family life, tips about finding a marriage counselor.

The Joy of the Search Engine

The purpose a genealogy and ancestry search engine serves is that of convenience. In other words, the ability to search out and ascertain records is made radically simple thanks to the specific search availability functions of a condensed search engine. Quite simply, information is made available in terms of dates, geographic areas and vital marriage and migration records and then this information can be adequately and effectively crossed referenced through the genealogy search engine so as to arrive at the desired information. Yes, it is that simple! Ok, maybe it is not as simple as it sounds but the process is significantly streamlined from what had existed in decades past.

There are a number of benefits to a genealogy search engine and the two main benefits are cost of ease of use and to find Lost Family Member. In terms of the cost, the vast majority of these search engines are free. Yes, these search engines are provided for the use of whoever discovers them and they make their profit through the use of pay per click advertisement. Apparently, they have been very successful with pay per click ads because the number of these search engines seems to be increasing! In terms of the ease of use of a genealogy search engine, most of these search engines are user friendly and acquire little more than simply plugging in basic geographic information. When this basic information is entered one simply needs to sit back and watch the results that are returned. So, if you are looking for this type of information it is simply not that hard to find.

Through genealogy people can find information about the roots of their family tree. Most people in the United States find this most interesting because this is a nation of immigrants. Almost everyone in the United States has a family history in another land. Many people have ancestors that once lived on one of the other continents. Some of the countries of their ancestors have better records that are more accessible to ordinary people than other countries. Depending on the country, there is a wealth of information to be discovered.

Genealogy Is More Than A Family Tree

Genealogy can provide a great deal of information about the family roots, but it can also provide some fascinating details. Anyone looking for information about their ancestors might find some information about the methods that their ancestors used to come to the United States. There are records at Ellis Island and other centers that have manifests from ships that brought immigrants to the United States. These centers often have detailed information about the ships that the people sailed on from their native countries. The centers have information on the date and time of their arrival on the shores of this country.

There might also be information on the occupations of the ancestors. People might find out that one of their relatives was a very famous person or a very rich person. On the other hand, they might find out that one of their ancestors was a notorious criminal who was wanted by the law. Other facilities have information on the death of ancestors. A thorough search through appropriate genealogy records might bring information on the entire family group. Some of the information can be found through birth records while other information comes from death certificates. Some newspapers have archives that go back a century or more, and some people may find out about their ancestors from the articles preserved by these publications.