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From: Connie Lenzen <>
Subject: RE: [APG] RE: Is an adoption the end of the line?
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 14:12:03 -0800
References: <001e01c3db0a$f1068c80$2d02a8c0@Belkin>
In-Reply-To: <001e01c3db0a$f1068c80$2d02a8c0@Belkin>


> I'm inclined to question if pre to mid 19th
>century "adoptions" were even recorded as such, particularly among the
>"ordinary folk", but were simply arrangements of convenience in the case
>of illegitimacy, or responsibility in the case of maternal death.


Good assumption.

Donn Devine knows more about the law than do I. However, I have done
a bit of adoption work and have learned this:

The legal adoption by one person of another, giving him the status of
a child and heir of parent by adoption, was unknown to the laws of
England or of Scotland.

Most of our states have laws based on English common law. Even though
adoption was not legally recognized in English common law states, it
was practiced. We've always had children without a family and people
who wanted children.

The Puritan community utilized the family as the basic social and
economic unit. In 1638, the Massachusetts legislature ordered every
town to place all single persons in families. Further, the single
person was to accept the head of the family as her or his leader.

This was not adoption as we know it for there was no legal process
for terminating the prior rights and obligation of the original
parents. Further there was no law regarding heirship. We find cases
where people provide in their wills for their "adopted" child, but
each was a special case.

Massachusetts was the first English common law state to pass
legislation regarding adoption. In 1851, the Adoption of Children act
was passed. It codified the customary rules that regulated adoption
in Massachusetts and gave jurisdiction to the probate court. It made
adoption a part of the legal process and set the model for other
states.

Ben-Or, Joseph. "The Law of Adoption in the United States: its
Massachusetts Origins and the Statute of 1851." New England Historic
and Genealogical Register. Vol. CXXX (October 1976).


Adoption laws differ in every state, and legislation is continually
being written to open or close the records. For instance, the
adoption laws for Oregon, where I live, were first written in 1864.
As part of the regulations, all adoptions and name changes were
published in The General Laws of the State of Oregon, a biennial
publication of the state printer. This continued until 1919.

For any state that you are researching, you need to research
information about the laws. A website with links for laws in the
states -- http://www.bastards.org/activism/local/adlaw.htm.

Regards,
Connie Lenzen


>With
>the introduction of DNA I can't help but ponder the results if long
>established "blood lines" in prestigious lineage societies were put to
>the test.
>
>I have recorded my grandmother's status as adopted and intend to pursue
>both her known (adoptive) line, and try to unearth the birth family - if
>it is indeed different. I use FTM, which provides for the recording of
>adoptions. I have listed my own children accordingly though this was a
>bit more ambiguous since I have birth children born during my former
>marriage and adopted children who entered my life later (as a single
>parent.) FTM would only accept my adopted children as resulting from a
>"spouseless relationship." (Talk about an understatement! <g>) Still,
>this breaks up the "family" I have established. Wish there were a
>better way.
>
>Catherine Foote Lynn
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Barbara Brixey Wylie [mailto:]
>> Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2004 5:31 PM
>> To:
>> Subject: [APG] RE: Is an adoption the end of the line?
>> Importance: High
>>
>> Catherine Foote Lynn wrote "I have found that my paternal grandmother
>was
>> adopted. What is the professional community stance on adoption as
>relates to
>> "inclusion" in a family line? Is it just a dead end?"
>>
>> This is a subject about which I have strong feelings, having raised my
>three
>> step-children and having a husband who is the most active grandfather
>in the
>> lives of grandchildren who do not carry his genes. (By the way, we are
>on
>> good terms with both our exes and their current spouses.)
>>
>> Identify it as an adoption and research either line or both. None of
>us
>> spring from the womb with our education, socialization, ethics, and
>values
>> developed. The "family of nurture" guides that. When our natal family
>and
>> our nurturing family are not the same--or when we have both--we need
>not
>> exclude either of them.
>>
>> Some lineage societies do require a blood line. Those of us who strive
>to
>> know the whole person in the context of his real-world experience only
>limit
>> ourselves to that if we need a kidney transplant!
>>
>> Barbara Brixey Wylie
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ==== APG Mailing List ====
>> The Association of Professional Genealogists
>> http://www.apgen.org/publications/apg-l/index.html
>
>______________________________


~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Connie Lenzen, CGRS*
10411 SW 41st Avenue
Portland, OR 97219-6984

Phone: 503-244-4357
Fax: 503-245-4723

Connie's webpage: http://www.orednet.org/~clenzen/

*CGRS is a service mark of the Board For Certification of
Genealogists, Washington, DC and is used under license.

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