BIRTHPARENTS CAN HELP
Searching or not -
birthparents can help ease things for the adoptee and birthparent
to locate one another.
Listed below are some suggestions that may aid
in searches:
1. If you used an assumed name, or think one may
have been used on your records: contact the agency, unwed
mother's home, and/or lawyer and request your proper name be
added to your file
2. Send the agency or lawyer who handled the
adoption an updated history of yourself to be held in your file
for the "child". Include such information as any name
changes, medical history, address change, and perhaps, some
pictures
3. Send a Release of confidentaility form
*notarized-to* the agency, court of adoption, unwed mother's
home, etc. as necessary.
4. Registries -- be sure and register in as many
registries in or near the province where you were relinquished
that you can afford.
5. Call the phone company in the town in which
you relinquished. For a slight fee, they can publish your name
and phone number. Be sure you have them list both the name you
used at the time of relinquishment and your present name.
6. Write your agency or lawyer who handled the
adoption for *non-identifying* information on the adoptee and/or
adoptive family. Express your concern for the child's welfare. it
is a two way street and this may work in your favour should the
adoptee later come looking for information on you.
7. BECOME INFORMED: Be prepared for the future.
Read as much as you can on adoptions and adoptees. Join a local
group (adoptee, birth parent, adoptive parent, fostered persons).
Ask questions and be supportive. This will give you a well
rounded sense of understanding for your adoptee, the adoptive
parents and also, the background from which the adoptee came.
Search Suggestions
The immense value of the varied material contained in City
Directories must be emphasized to people searching for birth
relatives. Procedures for research in these books are often
considered too complicated; therefore in this and future
articles, we will present some methods of search, which will
enable you to better use your available background information
and to learn how it relates to data published in the Directories.
Their Location: Public and Reference Libraries,
City and Town Halls, Public Archives, City Directory Offices
across Canada.
Names: of the appropriate directories required
for your search - Consult your local library or Parent Finder
Chapter.
Directory Content: books by year, list
alphabetically arranged surnames and given names, occupations,
addresses and (phone numbers, which are sometimes under the
address section in the back) The month of compilation is
important. If this is not recorded in the directory, contact your
local source for the date the book was received.
Initial Search: Check listings for your birth
surname, stated on your Adoption Order, for a period covering 5
years before and 5 years after your date of birth. (Fostered
adults are entitled to a copy of their original birth
certificate.) Beware of occasional errors and examine alternate
spellings of your surname, e.g. Keller, Kellar, Kehler. N.B. Your
surname may be that of your birth father and/or your birth
mother, however, in the majority of cases, when the birth mother
was single, it is her maiden name and when she was married, her
married surname.
The following is a list of points to consider in
attempting to identify and trace your birth mother/father through
information you may now have or be able to obtain from your
adoptive parents, relatives and friends and from the relatives
and friends and from the agency involved in your adoption. Not
everyone will be successful in acquiring all the facts mentioned,
but for many people only two or three points may be necessary to
complete their initial search in the City Directories and locate
their birth parents.
1. Place of Birth: Although your birth mother
may have originated from a region other than your birth place, do
not underestimate the importance of pinpointing the hospital or
maternity home, where you were born; in relation to the people
with your surname living in that area at the time.
2. Given Names: One or both may belong to your
birth mother/father, or to a maternal/paternal grandmother's
maiden name. Your name may be a contraction or simile of a
relative e.g. Birth mother, Christine, named her daughter, Tina.
Birth mother Donna named her son, Donald after herself and her
father. Be aware, that names such as; Constance, Beverly, Marion,
etc. we given to males as well as females.
3. Marital Status: Was he/she single, living
with his/her family, or away from home, possibly at University or
toerh educational institution? We he/she married, separated, a
widow?
4. Age: In recent directories he/she may be
listed at age 18, or when entering the work force. Prior to 1940,
some people were listed as early as age 14.
6. Family History: How many people did the
family unit comprise? Did he/she have siblings, what ages? Their
marital status? Grandparents working or deceased? What religion?
Was any one involved in any particular organization?