SEARCH FOR HERITAGE - ORPHANAGE - ADOPTION - LOVING HOME Research Path Heritage Search # Nine : Conclusion

This concludes a series of posts describing a genealogy search I worked on. You can click on the tab that says "Research Path Heritage Search 1" or search through the blog in order to follow from start to finish. (July 21, 2019 was the first post.)  

To recap, I was asked to do genealogy research for someone who seemed most interested in locating the towns in Europe where his ancestors had left in the early to mid 1800's but the way was blocked by the mystery of his birth mother's heritage. Born in marriage but left in an orphanage as a baby, this woman was raised by nuns and would have been emancipated into homelessness but for the friendship of another orphan. She moved to another state and in with her friend but, being unworldly, she was seduced and abandoned. And so, she put her baby into an orphanage where he was adopted young. Years later he managed to get his original birth certificate and find his birth mother, who had been waiting for a reunion. Before she died, she spoke of her memories and left some clues...

I had stored most of my research unpublished in FamilySearch and made myself some copies and had filed them away.  What was available for free was limited.  I advised we send away to get records of her baptism and any information on when and who had put her in the orphanage. 

Finally, a phone call came. In a quiet voice the man said, "I just got the letter from the Catholic Diocese archives.  Should I read it to you?"

Reiterating the birth date we had correctly, the letter stated that the child had been turned over to them not as an infant but over the age of 2 and had been baptized a month later.  On the baptism was stated the name of the parents: the couple was one of my candidates all along. The oral history was wrong as was the man's memory.

The original story of an infant being taken to the orphanage and her mother's death in childbirth or soon after was wrong. 

I met up with the man the next day and went into my notes and searches and printed out all the applicable information for this correct couple - the birth parents. Now he remembered his birth mother saying she had visited her mother, who was an invalid. It was clear to me that she had probably been over the age of 6 to have remembered this visit and there had been no discussion of her actually having every met her mother in her lifetime before.

But I understood that the man had a lot to think about.  He had wanted the truth and he said he felt "Relief."  Yet something to think about now was that her birth father had lived into a reasonable old age. He was said to have visited her until he died. She would have been about 12 when he died. Having found the tombstone of the couple I suggested we contact the cemetery and ask for the burial record and also send away for death certificates to see what they died of.  He said he had enough information.  I dropped it, but I feel knowing might be helpful to understanding.

In another case the doctor's details on a death certificate about how he had tended to a woman for twelve years of TB, was impactful. It revealed a woman lingering in illness and hoping to beat it so that she could be reunited with her child, which might have made adoption an impossibility in her mind.

Because we had the information we needed, I was able to link into another genealogist's unproofed research and provide him the names of four towns that his ancestors had left in Europe. I explained that this information was unproofed and where I found it.  He can easily find it and look over it.

THE END

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SEARCH FOR HERITAGE - ORPHANAGE - ADOPTION - LOVING HOME Research Path Heritage Search 1 - eight

I meet with the man whose birth mother's heritage, in particular that of her birth mother, while we await the archive to respond to our request for information on her baptism. To reiterate, the story goes that she was put in an orphanage by her father because her mother died in childbirth or soon after. He visited until he died.  There were two brothers who did not keep in touch with her.

I've now compiled a file of census records, photocopies of photographs, and a list of all the things I've tried such as trying to put her birth into a family group, eliminating all the families that already had a child born that year, searching indexes, and historical research on the greater family of her father's surname at a specific location where she was put into a Catholic orphanage.

Something I have wondered is if this woman was a sickly child herself and in particular if she was considered "slow" or had some other issue that back in the day no one labeled like we do now.  In other words, did men take advantage of her as a result when she was emancipated at 18?

I ask a retired nun why the orphans would not have been taken to the close-by church so they could be part of the community, why they were given sacraments and educated at the orphanage.  She says it probably was easier, that diocese could assign a priest or nuns to the institution.  Because of this, we did not have to tell the archive what church she went to, which they usually request.  In particular, she seems to have been 16 when she finished the 8th grade.

Someone else tells me their mother was in a church run orphanage in another state and city and there she learned to clean houses and knit.  Why would the educational standard be lower for orphans?  Or was it?

The man tells me he thinks we have gone as far as we can go and that he wants to put the project to rest until the spring, when he can travel to the city where his birth mother was born and "knock on doors!"  I want him to be a peace with all this but NOT having contact with possible or actual relations was a high priority when we began. 

I realize he has probably been on bit more of a roller coaster ride emotionally than he has let on during this research.  Perhaps he is forgetful that we discussed the contact we can make using FAMILYSEARCH or the potential of DNA testing. (I could also make contact with members of the extended family of his birth mother by using public records for their addresses and phone numbers.)  But maybe some travel to the area will be what gives him peace.

To some degree he has genealogy myopia and is doubting what I tell him.  For instance, he insists that one person we looked at as a potential birth father of his mother "can't be it" because he is buried in a cemetery a town over from the one where most of the people with that surname are buried.  I tell him the man is buried with his wife's side of the family and I can confirm that it is a Catholic cemetery and may be over the county line but so what? These places are just a few miles away from the family stead.

I see that he is "relying" on his flawed memory and rejecting my research.  I'm not here to prove what he remembers is right. 

I'm here to find the truth.  I'll admit I've become his mother's advocate.  I want her truth to be told. 

Just to prove to me that he can't remember what all his mother told him or I told him or what he told me, he says that his mother's birth mother died TWO YEARS after she was born!  I look at him and say, "That is not in childbirth or soon after."   

Then I say, "Well you can send away for the civil records..."  He says, "I thought you told me they were not available."  I look again on indexes.  The birth is not there, even if I add 2 years, or more years, or play more games with spellings and nicknames.

"We can always ask and they can say they don't have them or cannot release them due to privacy laws in that area. Either way it's $25 nonrefundable.  I suggest we wait for her baptism record. OK, so contact me when you hear from the Catholic archives."

At home I feel depressed.  I know I've done everything within my capacity - which includes his budget - and honestly informed him of every step.  I even typed up a letter a while back that apprised him of the possibility that a different couple were the birth parents and why I thought so.  I felt that if he read the letter later in the privacy of his home he would consider it. 

Here are the possibilities:

1) Due to a home birth, or perhaps the parents knowing they were not going to keep this baby in advance of its birth, no civil record of the birth was ever made.  (There was a country doctor in the family.)

2) Some form of inner-family adoption occurred, either informally, or perhaps legally, which included changing the birth certificate, and so the family that perhaps visited or maintained some contact could include a "dad" and "brothers," who were really an "uncle" and "nephews."  In this case we might get a birth certificate that has been altered due to an adoption, one not expected.

3) That this man's birth mother was actually BORN two years later (though the birth still doesn't come up on indexes for that county and city) and she graduated 8th grade at 14 rather than 16.

4) Whomever reported information for her death certificate and burial knew more, was ignorant, or perpetrated a lie (which might include her birth year.)  He may have been that informant and this might be why he first said he had her birth and death certificate and then said he did not.  (Based on the information on FIND A GRAVE which may have come from a overzealous volunteer going into the cemetery burial records, I sense that the information revealed on the net IS what those records say, and so sending for them would not be helpful.)

5) His mother was related to the family in the county and state and diocese where the orphanage was, but was actually born in another city, state, or county.  Her birth mother might have been sent to relatives to give birth. Was she married?  Could her husband have sent her away because he doubted the baby was his?  Just the opposite could have happened.  She could have gone elsewhere to give birth to her; if she is the woman whose husband would have died before she died, she might have gone to relatives as a pregnant widow.

6) His mother was a sweetheart, but she was "slow," and the things she told him were flawed by memory or some other aspect of her psychology or thinking.

7) The woman who I found in the mental hospital was the birth mother and it was a lie that she died and also a lie that her husband died: I find him living in old age with a son - who could be one of the brothers who did not want contact.

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To follow along on this research path from the beginning, click on the label "Research Path Heritage Search 1."

SEARCH FOR HERITAGE - ORPHANAGE - ADOPTION - LOVING HOME Research Path Heritage Search 1 - Two

Since I had the real names of both birth parents for the man who wants to know of his heritage on his birth mother's side, the first thing I did was check the census records.  I found the father and his family on them right away. One could easily go back four generations or more using those. Since the focus is on his birth mother's line I wouldn't have bothered with his father's side except that there was a possibility of bigamy.  

I found only one marriage attributed to the birth father, the marriage he stayed in for a lifetime. He was clearly married when he had the affair that brought a son into this world. I do not think there was any marriage or divorce of this man's birth parents and therefore no bigamy as I've found no evidence of it.

Knowing that World War II was brewing, I wondered if the birth father had enlisted. Oddly, I did not find any enlistment or draft records (such as the sign up) for him. Marriage would not have been reason enough to avoid either. Perhaps there was some other reason why not. I'm going to go into more locally held resources than rely on databases. (Update August 13th, 2019 - I did find his military record for WWII on the database called FOLD3.)

I was able to confirm that the birth mother was indeed an orphan from a young age by finding her on both the 1930 and 1940 census in the Catholic orphanage of a large mid-western city. The name of the institution was there on the census, and I was able to find a history of that place and the children they took in. Since the family was Catholic and near a large city, the story goes that her widowed father took her there and that he visited for a while until he died. We knew that she had probably lived there her entire life and no one had adopted her.

The history site that included historical information on the orphanage warned that there was limited information available for genealogical purposes. We may still contact them just to see what they might have. Of course, we would love to know exactly when she was placed there, possibly as an infant, and who signed her in, who took her there, and if they have any notes about visits.

I asked the man if he had his mother's death certificate or birth certificate. He said he did but then got back to me and said he did not. We could get a copy of her death record and her burial record. And I feel this will be essential. As for her birth certificate, that's possible too.  But first I checked to see if an index of birth records for her state and county and the year she was born were available online. They were (though I don't know how comprehensive they are since few people were coming up for her birth year) BUT SHE DID NOT COME UP ON THEM.  (If she was born outside a hospital such as at home with a midwife the birth might not have been registered civilly.)

As always, there is a possibility that records were lost, or that we are encountering misspellings in handwritten or errors on database information. Since she was NOT ADOPTED I don't think we're dealing with a new birth certificate being made for her as happens during legal adoptions. (Birth certificates should be called PARENTAGE certificates as after adoption a new number is given and the new parents names are recorded on it.)

I find it odd that she is not on the birth index for the time and place where she was born. I think we should have the Catholic Diocese archive look for her baptism.

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To follow along on this research path, click on the label below that says Research Path Heritage Search 1
This post has been slightly edited for more clarity on August 14, 2019

SEARCH FOR HERITAGE - ORPHANAGE - ADOPTION - LOVING HOME - Research Path Heritage Search 1 - One

I offered to help an adopted person who, in the 1990's, went through two years of living hell to get his original birth certificate. He has memories of being in a Catholic orphanage. It wasn't all bad but then he got out of there before the age of five. He was there for about a year and a half. He was not abused. He got parents who were devout Catholics and is to this day himself devout.  They were good and loving people.

After he located his birth mother, who was still alive, he contacted her and went to visit her. She recognized him instantly and also told him that she had prayed every night of her life for a reunion. From then on she was included in his family, got to know her grandchildren, and even the parents who adopted him accepted her as a member of their family.

He never contacted his birth father. 

His birth mother had herself been in a Catholic orphanage in another state. Her emancipation from the orphanage was like what happens today with many foster children who age out of the system; 18 and nowhere to go.  Today these 18-year-old emancipated foster children find themselves struggling to support themselves in an increasingly expensive world. It's not uncommon for them to become homeless. After turning 18 and being let go by the orphanage she had been in, this gentleman's mother took the train to another city where another of the orphans, who had left a couple years earlier, offered to take her in.  

World War II was brewing.

Having the real names of both his birth parents, I encountered a glowing obituary for his father. Perhaps the man who deserted his mother wasn't all bad, but I had to wonder if the woman he did marry and the many children he had with her ever heard they had a half-brother out there somewhere. 

One of those children apparently pridefully did a big family history on FAMILYSEARCH.  I could easily email him through their system but would not do that behind this man's back.  I promised him that I would not post anything on databases or Internet about our search for more information about his family's origins, especially not identifying information. Nor will I contact them. This is the confidentiality that I can personally promise. I can't guarantee that no one else is working on the same question or family.

I'm going to post on how I'm approaching this. Maybe some of you will want to follow along. To link to the posts on this particular research path, click on the label below that says Research Path Heritage Search 1.

It's his birth mother's side I'm working on and since the orphanage she was in was the intake for Catholic children in a certain mid-west city and the surname is prevalent there, it's first a matter of looking at all the families with that name on census and seeing where she would fit or not in birth order. And also doing that for him. 

His birth mother said that her mother died giving birth to her and there were several older brothers. That her father had visited her every weekend until he died. Then her brothers shunned her. So of course, I want to find a birth certificate for her mother that fits the story.

But ah... One sometimes uncovers lies when doing genealogy and family history research.

Let's all say a little prayer for this situation, this person.  Unlike some persons who were adopted, he is not striving to become part of a family that did not want his birth mother.  Simply he and his wife want to travel to the towns in Europe that his immigrant ancestors left and enjoy that heritage. At least that's the start of it.

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To follow along on this genealogy research path click on the label below that says Research Path Heritage Search 1

Note: This post was slightly edited for clarity on August 14, 2019

A BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY ARRIVED IN THE MAIL

At this special time of year I like to tell a special story.

I recently learned of a something quite beautiful that happened for a man who, because his mother was very ill for many years and his father abandoned them, had to bounce around with relatives, was put into foster care, was himself in a children's hospital for some time, and then went to an orphanage. He was born into poverty and his grandparents who took care of him were elderly and ailing when it was decided that when he started school he would have to move from their household. This man is nearing 80 years old now.

Several years ago a mystery package arrived in the mail.

I contained a carefully put together scrapbook.  Someone had put all the letters that had been received from his mother in chronological order. The person who sent this scrapbook is probably not the person to whom the letters were addressed.

He and his wife sat together and read one letter after another that his mother had written, expressing her love for him, her concern for him, and they cried their eyes out.

His mother had died in the 1950's.
Someone had saved the letters.
The person that they were addressed to cannot be found, they say. It was too long ago.

Soon I'm going to try and find someone who might be related to her.

Just in case.


Merry Christmas!

ORPHANS : JSTOR on TRACING ORPHANS IN YOUR ANCESTRY by D. JOSHUA TAYLOR - EXCELLENT!

JSTOR-TRACING ORPHANS IN YOUR ANCESTRY  by D. Joshua Taylor   

EXCERPTS: Many children who ended up institutions or orphanages might not have truly been orphans, but instead might have required the support of an organization. Their father or mother might have passed away, they could be suffering from a variety of ailments, or their parents could simply not afford to be able to provide for them...The first documented orphanage in what is now the United States was opened in New Orleans as early as 1727. Founded by a group of Ursulines the organization’s strong religious ties were central to its mission to help the poor children of New Orleans. Tracing the orphanages of New Orleans, Priscilla Ferguson Clement found that during the antebellum era children admitted to orphanages were not always truly orphans, as some had only lost one parent or had both parents living. In fact by 1915 only 15% of children registered with the New Orleans Board of Prisons and Asylums were reported as full orphans. However, it should be noted that not every orphanage opened their arms to abandoned children. Some New Orleans institutions rejected children under the age of five, due to the high death rate, as well as adolescents, who might have been turned away due to potential behavioral problems....          

DEFINING ORPHAN : IT'S LIKELY THAT SOME OF YOUR ANCESTORS WERE!

BE AWARE THAT IN THE 19th century and before, an ORPHAN was defined as a child without a father (to support the family) and if you hear that a child was orphaned in your family, their mother or a step-mother may still have been living, and also under pressure to remarry quickly and pragmatically.  Disease didn't respect class.  Women died in childbirth or because of child-bearing, especially while malnourished by today's standards.

Coming up ... Some interesting articles I found on the internet about ORPHANS. 

While you're reading, please consider how many children are living today homeless, malnourished, and impoverished.  Can we hope that their families will prevail as some of us who come from orphan heritage have?

Have your child-bearing ancestors died too young to raise their own children to adulthood?

Think about this question too when you think about who you will help ELECT by VOTING in the elections here in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

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PITTSBURGH - ALLEGHENY COUNTY ORPHANAGES and PA ADOPTION SEARCH

CARNEGIE LIBRARY PITTSBURGH - LIST OF ORPHANAGES in Allegheny and some adjacent counties.

As I understand it, adoptions in Pennsylvania are closed records and very difficult to get though there is a PA adoption registry at  PA ADOPTION SEARCH (ROMBERGERS TRIPOD SITE) that has helpful information.

I'm posting this because someone I know was told that their ancestor had been at "Boys Town" in Pittsburgh and so he went crazy looking for it on the 1940 census but there is NO BOY'S TOWN IN PITTSBURGH - never was.  There were, over time, 70 such institutions in the area though, and the librarians at the Carnegie Library came up with this helpful list.  Bless them!  What's so great is that all the listings link to even more information and so with locations you may be able to use the census to get to the institution and search from there as a new start.

Those who live in an orphanage, poor folks home, maternity home (a place where a woman goes to have and often give up her baby), and homeless shelters, are called inmates,  the word used for anyone in any institution, not just criminals in jail or prison.

There was a Boys Industrial Home of Western Pennsylvania but I think that the Boys Town concept of villages of orphan boys got such good marketing and PR that some people just use the term to mean any boy's orphanage.

Orphanages became a dated concept as foster care and adoption became better options.

If you're wondering what I think of the children from Central American who have walked across our borders of the United States recently, I think they should all be privately adopted.  I think illegal immigration is offensive to every American and American family whose immigrant ancestors did it the right - and legal - way.  They should not be granted instant citizenship at this point.  As recently posted there was a way to declare that you had been brought to the U.S. as a child and wanted to be a citizen "of age." This was useful when one or both of your parents had died or they left you when they went back to the Old Country or got lost out West.

Sure I have a heart.  Most people do.  But there are so very many Americans who are homeless and there is no funding for them like what is proposed to help this stream of poor children.  I feel that at some point our country has to face that we cannot afford to keep helping others when we are not taking care of our own. 

There are also so many Americans who want to adopt but can't because they are considered to be too old or too poor.  Years ago a friend of mine faced this because they were told that when her husband hit 40 it was all over for them.  They never did get a child and they had saved money for years to buy a house with a yard in a nice community.  Americans have been adopting outside this country because it's even said that there are not enough children to adopt.  Well, now there are!

People over 40 can have natural children so why not adopted ones?  People who are not high income have children naturally, why not adopted ones?  People with natural children have them in bunk beds, sometimes two bunk beds to a room so why does an adopted child have to be guaranteed their own room?

I say let these children who walked in desperation (but without their parents!) have a chance at being LOVED by a family!  Let them be adopted.

So let's say you have a great grandpa who was an orphan in Allegheny County Pittsburgh.  If a name search doesn't bring him up on any databases, check out these institutions and find out if they are holding old records anywhere.   I do have to wonder about privacy of the children.  Maybe some places did not allow census takers in.  Maybe a child or mother was there between census!

1940 U.S. CENSUS SURPRISES : ED DISTRICTS THAT ARE COUNTS OF INSTITUTIONS AND NOTHING ELSE

While the various indexing projects go on, I'm reading a select number of cities page by page.  The subsription database ANCESTRY has Nevada and Delaware (two states with small populations in 1940 indexed if you want to try them out.)   

 I've now found, in New Jersey and in Pennsylvania, two extremely populated states circa 1940, that institutions are getting their own ED district.  I've now read entire lists of prisoners, orphans, and tuberculosis hospitals on single EDs.  Some of these are just a few pages.   ARE YOU NOTICING THIS IN ANY OTHER STATES?  LET ME KNOW!