2014 AT ANCESTRY WORSHIP - GENEALOGY

Hello!

I'm back though not feeling up to speed yet. 

The holidays and the weekends over the last few weeks were lazy for me.

I went to the library today and it was packed with people who are probably off to a good start with their New Years Resolutions!

A little time off allows us to come back to our projects refreshed and maybe with some fresh ideas on how to tackle some issues. 

Ah, how we genealogists hone the patience of a guru!

Me, I'm writing this blog when I have the time, energy, and inspiration, and mostly for fun!

I hope you'll join me as I continue to explore!

LOCATING A BIRTH PARENT ? OHIO ADOPTION REGISTRY IS JUST ONE OF MANY

There are a number of adoption or reunion sites on the Internet. 

Reuniting a birth parent and child is often a sensitive issue. 

I'm not going to pick a favorite site. I'm going to say that I've used the state of OHIO which seemed very helpful (so I'm linking above) and that I ran into a legal rut in MISSOURI when the adult person's adoptive parents refused to sign papers that would allow their son to see those papers. Every state has its own laws, and we must obey them. 

Here's the thing you should consider: DO YOU WANT INFORMATION FOR EVERYONE WHO LOOKS AT A SITE TO SEE UP ON THE NET OR NOT? 

Personally, I don't think you do want to post or read off the wide-open net. I think you want to have to register and sign in each time you look in a "members-only" site with restricted access.

What if you don't have the money for a Private Investigator or you are sensitive about invasions of privacy or don't have someone's Social Security Number (let's face it, the SS number IS a national ID) or there has been great bitterness? Can you emotionally handle researching this yourself? Genealogy research is sometimes a way around hiring a PI. Like so many other professional assignments, much depends on how much accurate information a person can give me from the start, and often adoption is surrounded by secrecy if not outright lies told to children. It also depends on where the adoption took place and the laws of that country, state, and county and the contract of adoption. 

Recently. I helped a woman who was over 70 find out the truth about her birth mother. She said she was ready. She was adopted at the age of 5 and was told by blood relatives, whom she located herself as a young adult, that her mother was a skid row bum. I found evidence of a divorce and early death, but skid row? That may have been a way that her adoptive parents and family prevented her from looking for her birth mother. Maybe the mother had a drinking problem, maybe not. I suspect this mother was probably mentally ill and not understood as such in those times. THE DEATH RECORD we sent for will tell this 70 year old woman more and allow her to visit a grave site for the first time. Sadly, it turned out this woman was actually surrounded by relatives including grandparents much of her young life, and they knew where she was, but everyone stayed away. They wanted no contact with her as an adult either. She lived her life feeling as if she was contaminated by her mother's reputation. 

So, if you have the guts and are ready yourself, try a registry or two or three. Believe it or not, I know of a reunion that occurred no more than two weeks after registration! That was in the state of California, and it was handled by phone calls from the registry and an intermediary.

C 2011  Ancestry Worship - Genealogy BlogSpot

Are YOU Suffering From GENEALOGICAL MYOPIA ? !

Are YOU suffering from Genealogical Myopia?

I know that sometimes stepping away from your research for a while, though it may take time to reorient yourself to your notes, is a good idea because getting too sure of your theories may actually prevent you from having some new tactics.

When you IGNORE documents because you've decided too soon that they are not valuable to your research ...

When you believe without question what a family member or other informant has told you about people, places, or the loss of documents ...

You may have a case of GENEALOGICAL MYPOPIA !