How does he find?

Question

My boyfriend and I are expecting our first baby later this year.

We have bought this baby memory book and I would like to keep it well informed for as long as we can. We were filling bits in last night and came across a section all about Mummy and Daddy (myself and John my partner) that clearly was no problem filling in.

However, when we read down the section continued onto Grandparents and Great Grandparents..here the problems start for my boyfriend. His mother passed away 2 years ago and was adopted, she never spoke about either her natural parents or her adoptive parents, John has never met either of them nor any other relative on his mothers side, she was an only child to the adoptive family.

The only real information he has for his mother is her adoptive maiden name (Magee).

Where do we start by looking for relative, mainly names of his grandparents both natural and adoptive?

I think it would be a good experience for John aswell as completing the section in the book .

Answer 1

while I am in the US, some of this may help you.

The usual process would be to locate explicit records relating to his mother, which should include the name(s) of the parents.  Here, when there is an adoption.. the birth certificate is ALTERED, and does not show who the natural parents were. Always a problem for genealogists.

SOMETIMES the information is known within the family, ie cousins, siblings, so forth.  For example.. the natural parents were neighbors, friends, etc of the adopting family.  This won't show up in records.  In either case, getting the applicable records is your first step.

By the way.. congratulations on your coming addition. Amazing how new babies often start people on researching their own history. *smile*

Answer 2

It's an exciting time starting your own family. I wish you every happiness.

When John's mother died, who would have been given the death certificate? Is his father still alive? If so, it would most likely be him. If you can, ask him to show it to you. A death certificate may have his mother's place of birth, or maybe even her parent's names... adopted that would be. I'm not sure what the Irish certificates contain. What about John's parents' marriage certificate? If both parents are dead, John can apply for these certificates himself.

You say he had nothing to do with his mother's side, so I assume he did know his father's relatives or at least some of them. Why not ask them what they knew? If ever there is a time they would be willing to help, it is more likely to be now, with a baby on the way. If he has someone he is particularly close to, ask that person first.

If there is no one to ask, the next best shot would be to go to the Registrar's Office in Dublin, where you can ask for the records yourself. You can phone and ask for details, but if possible, it would be best to actually go there.  John's own birth certificate can also give clues.

1) Start with John's details, then work backwards...

2) ask any family you can for any information. Explain about the book and say that you just want to fill it in for your unborn baby

3) ask if there were any family names handed down on his mother's side that you could consider for the baby... his mother may not have had siblings, but it's likely she had cousins, adopted or not.

4)Go to where his mother is buried and see if there are any other family names there. Ask John's father's family if his mother was a Dublin lass, if not, do they know where she had lived before. Then look in that area for Magees... you could well find the names of her parents and grandparents in cemeteries there.

I wish you well.