Hi folks.
I've not followed up an adoption before so please forgive me if general information is already on the site - perhaps someone could nudge me in the right direction!
Martha Jane was born on 4th June 1906 in Liverpool, her parents being Lewis Hill Martin and his wife, Elizabeth Lawrence (nee Gordon). Martha's father died a month later, and the fact that he is deceased is recorded on the christening record for 8 August 1906 at St Polycarp's.
Martha's mother then married James Wilson in 1909 and the 1911 census shows the family living in Irvine Street - the children Elizabeth had had with Lewis Hill Martin now have the surname 'Wilson' and the census suggests that she and and James had been married for 17 years! Perhaps this was to save them from having to explain the births of the older children.
However, Martha is not with the family - at the time of the 1911 census she was living in Eastward Street, Liverpool with Thomas Gale and his wife, Catherine Jane, and 4 year old Martha is described as their 'adopted daughter' although her surname is still recorded as 'Martin'. Could this be because the adoption had not yet been finalised at the time of the census?
The Gales were from the Isle of Man and subsequently returned there (Thomas Gale was killed in Flanders in 1917 and his papers give Isle of Man as his address). I also know that Martha married Frank Scott there in 1928.
Ideally, I would like to form a timescale as to what happened to Martha after her birth e.g. when was she adopted, was it an official adoption etc?
Can anyone help or suggest what paper work might be available and how I can access it?
Many thanks,
Glen
Glen,
Glen,
The first adoption act was 1926. So probably never went through official adoption.
Very likely an informal agreement between mother and Thomas/Catherine Jane.
Sad to say Bert is right, you
Sad to say Bert is right, you won't be able to find any documentary evidence at that date.
Yes, Bert is right (when is
Yes, Bert is right (when is he not?) However the adoption could have been been made formal retrospectively, after the 1926 Act had been passed, by asking the family court to make an adoption order. You don't mention what her surname was at the time of her marriage to Frank Scott, but if it was Gale, an adoption order may possibly exist. If one was made, the GRO will have a record of it in the Adoption Register which was set up by the 1926 Act. One specific reason for getting a formal adoption order was if someone wanted to get a passport in their adopted name. Obviously as Martha will have taken the surname of Scott at the time of her marriage, this probably wouldn't have been necessary in her case. Many informal adoptions were arranged by charities such as Barnardos or Coram as well as some religious organisations. If you wanted to find out if that was how Martha's adoption was arranged, there may be records available.
If you or a close family member are descended from Martha, you may be able to apply for the details to be released from the Adoption Register. More details here: http://www.adoptionsearchreunion.org.uk/search/dap/
As always, many thanks for
As always, many thanks for your help, folks. I had assumed adoptions had been formalised earlier in the 20th century. Presumably, these informal adoptions were generally accepted and no stigma was attached, given that the information was shared with the person taking the 1911 census.
Martha's name was recorded as 'Gale' when she got married although I haven't seen the actual certificate. Martha was my grandmother's cousin but I didn't know she existed until the weekend when a lady from Australia contacted - she is descended from the Martha's adoptive mother! She has also sent me a super photo of Martha - this is what makes family history such a great hobby.
I'll do a little more digging and see what I can come up with e.g. when the family returned to the IOM. I have also noticed that Thomas Gale worked for the railways, as did Elizabeth L's 2 husbands so that might be the link between the families. I will take a look at the Adoption Register too, Andy.
Glen
Martha Jane Martin has got
Martha Jane Martin has got under my skin!
The lady in Australia has sent me some letterdsj her mother received from Martha during the latter half of the 20th century.
In one, Martha says she was 'fostered' when she was 13 months old (i.e. July/August 1907). Although she does not mention her birth parents, she was in contact with her siblings and knew erxactly when the last 'Martin' child died in 1991!
My question is: does anyone know how long it usually took to organsise these adoptions/fostering arrangements and how common was it for the families concerned not to be related and yet the children to keep in contact with and know about their birth family?
Martha's father died a month after Martha Jane was born (her baptism record also confirms this) but by July 1907 her mother would have been heavily pregnanat with another man's child and she married this man some months after the birth - seems as though she gave up one baby in order to focus on another! Any theories?
Glen
I can't really comment on how
I can't really comment on how long the process of fostering/adoption might have taken, other than to say that because it was all totally informal (ie no local council social workers involved) it was probably pretty quick and simple.
I had a couple of theories about why Martha might have been given up. These were based on the assumption that Lewis and Elizabeth were relatively young and hadn't been married long when Lewis died: A young mother with no breadwinner, no savings and possibly having moved away from her own family when she married, together with the shock and grief of suddenly losing her husband, along with a young child (her first?) to look after, might all have been too much for her. There may have been post natal depression. Maybe the child was initially fostered as a short term expedient, but then she met James Wilson (the man who became her second husband) and he wasn't prepared to support a step daughter. You previously mentioned that James and Elizabeth indicated in the 1911 census that they had been married for 17 years*. Perhaps she was already having an affair with James Wilson before the death of her first husband, and the presence of Martha in the family home would have been a constant guilty reminder to the mother and her second husband of their adultery.
However it appears from a quick look on FMP that Lewis and Elizabeth were married on 31 December 1893 and had up to six children before Martha Jane came along (Lewis H b 1894, David George b 1896, William b 1898, Elizabeth Lawrenson b 1899, Annie Eveline b 1901 and Ernest b 1903) so clearly my earlier theory does not fit the facts. I see that at the time of the marriage Lewis's occupation was hunter. If you didn't already have the information, Lewis (sometimes Louis) Hill Martin was born in 1874 and baptised 28 June 1874. His death was registered in the third quarter of 1906, meaning that he was 32 when he died. The 1901 census has the family (less William b 1898) living at 17 Vescock Street Liverpool, with Lewis Hill Martin shown as a railway capstan man. This rather makes me wonder if 'hunter' shown at the time of his marriage should have read shunter (possibly an apprentice shunter given his age at the time). I can't find a press report of an inquest, although quite possibly his death was the result of an accident on the railways.
* Given that it was 17 years since her first marriage to Lewis, I think this is just the result of misinterpreting the census instructions, not an attempt to deceive.
Glen,
Glen,
As you know the 1911 census only listed some of Lewis and Elizabeth's children (shown as sons/daughters of James Wilson although none of them were his). Clearly Martha was missing, but so too was the next youngest, Ernest. He was was born on 30 October 1903 and baptised at St Peter's on 4 Jan 1904. His father's occupation was listed as carter at the time. He died later that year with his death being registered in the third quarter. So that explains why he wasn't there in 1911.
You mentioned that Elizabeth was carrying James Wilson's child in the summer of 1907. Do you know any more about the child as he/she also doesn't appear in the 1911 census. There is an Agnes Esther Wilson, mother's maiden name Gordon, whose birth was registered in West Derby in Q1 1908 and a death of an Agnes Wilson also registered in the same quarter. But the transcript on FMP says this child was aged 1 at death so it seems unlikely to have been the same child as Agnes Esther. The only other Agnes Wilson born 1908 whose death occurred around this time was registered in Q1 1913 in Prescot. Again this death doesn't immediately fit given that there is no Agnes in the 1911 census with the Wilson family. So I wonder what happened to Elizabeth and James's child?
There are a further 4 children born to parents Wilson/Gordon in the next 10 years: Bertha L b 1912, Hilda b 1913, and Edna M born 1916, all registered in West Derby, and a less likely Stanley G Wilson born in 1916 in Prescot. Do you know anything about any of these? Obviously the 1921 Census should provide confirmation about any further children. I mention this because any Wilson descendants are just as likely to know about any Martin family secrets as are the Gale descendants.
Thanks, Andy - I had not…
Thanks, Andy - I had not noticed William's birth before so I have now added him to my list of Martins.
In her letters, Mattie (aka Martha Jane) says she was 1 of 5 Martins (I find it interesting that she still closely associates herself with the Martins although she had been 'fostered' for 80+ years by then!) but I think Lewis and Elizabeth had 7 children although Mattie may have been unaware of the 2 who had died. The children I have traced are:
Lewis Hill (1895-1966) - named after Lewis's father
David George (1896-1960) - named after Elizabeth's father. Married Alice Ellen Bernard. Moved to Essex.
William (1898- 1898; 10 days old) - could have been named after Elizabeth's brother, with whom she was living in 1891
Elizabeth Lawrenson (1899-1962) - named after mother and grandmother. Married a German and emigrated to America but this needs checking.
Annie Eveline (1901-1991) - married Harold Haigh and her death is mentioned in Mattie's letters.
Ernest (1903 - died aged 8 months)
Martha Jane (1906-1990s - need to confirm date of death) - 'fostered' by Thomas and Catherine Gale from Isle of Man in 1907.
Mattie also suggests in her letters that Elizabeth had 7 children with James Wilson but I can only find 4 (Sorry, Andy, Hilda and Edna do not have the correct parents). These are the ones I have:
Agnes Esther (1907- bpt 1908) - born before parents were married. Had a Catholic marriage to William Burns in 1931 (you were right, Bert!)
Josiah (1909- )
Bertha Lawrenson (1912-1975) - music hall artist on 1939 census *
Victor (1914-1984) - music hall artist and died in Newcastle. *
* I would love to know more about these two!
Also, can anyone see any other children born to James and Elizabeth?
Thanks a lot.
Glen
Hi Glen, Thanks for the…
Hi Glen,
Thanks for the update. I thought that you would probably have more details about Martha's half siblings but just included what I had found for the sake of completeness. It looks as though Mattie/Martha outlived them all. However the fact that she kept in touch with so many of the siblings may perhaps mean that their descendants also have some of Martha's letters which include further details about her life and upbringing. It is certainly very odd that she alone, out of all the Martin and Wilson children, was fostered/adopted.
Anges Esther appears on the
Agnes Esther appears on the 1911 census, aged 3 as Agnes, she was born on the 18th Dec, 1907.
She very likely went on to marry William Thomas Burns, 1931, Catholic marriage.
Thanks Bert. The reason I
Thanks Bert. The reason I missed that before is that FMP only automatically displays the first 5 lines of a transcript and I failed to notice that there were two more hidden entries. At least that clears up that loose end. Not sure how much any of this really helps Glen with the Martha story, though.
Good morning, everyone. Can…
Good morning, everyone.
Can anyone find Elizabeth Lawrenson Martin (d.o.b. 1899) on the 1911 census?
She is Martha Jane's sister. Martha jane is recorded with her 'adoptive' parents at Eastwood Street, Liverpool under the surname 'Martin'.
Her siblings are with her mother and step-father (James Wilson) at Irvine Street and they are recorded under the name of 'Wilson' so I guess Elizabeth could be under either surname. I have found an Elizabeth Martin, niece, living with a Sarah Martin from Oswestry but cannot make a link with my Martin family.
Anything anyone comes across would be appreciated.
Glen
Hi all. Still on my quest…
Hi all. Still on my quest to find more about Martha Jane Martin!
Can anyone find out for me who was living in 295 Edge Lane in 1930, please?
Martha's sister (Elizabeth Lawrence Alp - married name) moved to USA in 1924 but made a visit home in 1930. The Incoming Passenger Lists show she then stayed at 39 Guelph Street, Kensington - I recognise this address as it was her aunt's. However, she seems to have travelled from America with Thomas Martin, a 44 year old teacher (not her husband), who stayed at 295 Edge Lane. Neither Thomas nor that address have turned up in my research before.
Many thanks,
Glen
295 Edge Lane appears to…
295 Edge Lane appears to have disappeared after 1921 (Electoral rolls) and doesn't show in the directories or the 39 register. In 1911 it was a Latter Day Saints establishment.
Thanks, Bert, for checking…
Thanks, Bert, for checking that for me but what a strange find - I am sitting here looking at the Edge Lane address on the 'UK and Ireland Incoming Passenger Lists 1878-1960' and it definitely states '295'! It is a typed entry so I cannot misread the number.
It would seem either that the clerk collating the information transcribed it incorrectly or the person writing it down originally misheard the address or the mysterious Thomas gave the wrong address!
I'll see if I can find him on other Passenger Lists - that might clarify the situation.
G
I did a little more digging…
I did a little more digging and I'm beginning to think Thomas Martin may have had something to do with the Latter Day Saints.
The last Electoral roll I could find for that address was, George Albert Smith who was the president of that mission, 295 Edge Lane.
Apparently the mission moved 1933 I think.
The below is a 1927…
The below is a 1927 passenger list, John A Widtsoe was President of the branch later on, notice his given occupation.
How fascinating, Bert. I…
How fascinating, Bert.
I take your point - perhaps Thomas Martin's teaching role was something to do with the Latter Day Saints rather than him being a school teacher as I had assumed.
I am as intrigued by how you are finding the information as I am by what you turn-up. Have you been searching the Electoral Registers by address and if so, how do you do it?
G
Glen, Yes I do search the…
Glen,
Yes I do search the electoral rolls for just the address, with and without the number, put the address in the keyword section and the required year in year box.
It does no harm entering the address in to google search bar, as I did once I found out it was a Latter Day Saints establishment in the 1911 Directory.
I found 2 Thomas Martin's associated with LDS, neither would have been 44 in 1930. I'm hoping it's not some strange coincidence that's thrown up from time to time and he has got a connection to Elizabeth.
Glen, I was looking through…
Glen,
I was looking through the travel lists looking for Thomas Martin, teacher. 1936 leaving England for USA, Thos Martin (Professor) and wife Hattie.
You can find them, 1930 census, Thomas S Martin, Utah, 1940 census, Thomas L Martin.
Thomas Lysons Martin married Hattie Paxman, 1911, Utah.
Thomas Lysons Martin born 1886, Manchester, mmn, Lysons
James Martin married Mary Ann Lysons, 1884, Manchester, Father, Thomas Martin, Spinner.
Thomas Martin married Martha Robinson, 1857.
James Martin born 1866, Manchester, mmn, Robinson.
Sarah Ann Martin born 1864, Manchester, mmn, Robinson. The girl from the 1911 census living with Elizabeth.
Looks like the traveller with Elizabeth Alp, 1930 is the above Thomas.
.
.
Thomas Lysons Martin (1885…
Thomas Lysons Martin (1885-1958) - Find A Grave Memorial
Glen, In case you haven't…
Glen,
In case you haven't already checked out FamilySearch, there are trees there for Elizabeth Lawrence Martin/Alp and Thomas Lysons Martin.
These trees proved really…
These trees proved really useful, Andy - I kept checking them!
G
Great work, Andy and Bert -…
Great work, Andy and Bert - thnaky you for your time.
I hadn't seen the family trees, Andy - very useful as the Martin/Alp one filled in a couple of dates I didn't have and clarified a couple of issues (e.g. her sons born in USA were twins).
Bert, I'm tempted to think the Elizabeth Martin living in Bootle at the time of the 1911 census is indeed the one I am following and that there is a link with the Thomas associated with the LDS - do you agree?
I can't quite join all the dots though. The 1911 census says that the head of the houshold (Elizabeth born 1835 in Oswestry) was my Elizabeth's aunt but dates - let alone names! - seem wrong. John and Mary were the parents of the Oswestry Elizabeth (confirmed by her birth record and by working backwards on the censuses) but these names don't crop up in the family I have been folowing.
Names I have been looking at are:
Elizabeth Alp nee Martin born 1899; parents: Lewis Hill Martin and Elizabeth Lawrenson Gordon.
Lewis Hill born 1844; parents: Lewis Hill Martin and Betsy /Elizabeth Thompson (this Lewis Hill died in Bootle Hospital 1886)
His father was Thomas Martin (d.o.b. abt 1820 perhaps?) but I don't know the mother's name.
I am guessing 'great niece' rather than 'niece' would be a better description of the relationship but I am still missing something!
G
Bert, I'm tempted to think…
Yes I do.
Good to have the…
Good to have the confirmation, Bert!
Can you bear with me just a little longer - so Sarah Ann on the 1911 census is James's sister (although she is not on the Lysons/Martin tree Andy put me in touch with) and and their parents are Thomas Martin and Martha Robinson, right?
James is the one who married Mary Ann Lysons in Manchester and their son, Thomas, is the one who travelled back to England in 1930 with Elizabeth Alp - have I got it?
G
Glen, I can bear with you as…
Glen,
I can bear with you as long as you want, I don't look at trees so I can't comment.
Yes, you have got it.
Hi all. Turns out that…
Hi all.
Turns out that Thomas Lysons Martin rather obligingly wrote a short autobiography in which he mentions sailing to Liverpool on May 15th 1930 (fits in with him disembarking with Elizabeth Alp), that he spent 2 days with President Widstoe at Durham House (i.e. Edge Lane address) and he also mentions visiting his relatives in Manchester and visiting again in 1936 with his wife Hattie - fits in with what Bert discovered.
But how can the family be linked to the Elizabeth Martin (born 1835 in Montgomeryshire) on the 1911 census - the 'niece' relationship with either Sarah Ann or Elizabeth (born 1899 in Liverpool) doesn't seem possible.
Can anyone see a link between John and Mary from Montgomeryshire (Elizabeth's parents - I think mmn may have been Vaughan) and the Martins from Manchester?
G
I'm wondering if it is…
I'm wondering if it is possible for her to have gone into a distant family and been claimed as niece even though this might not have been quite accurate, in a similar way to son in law and step son having a similar meaning.
Proving to be a difficult…
Proving to be a difficult nut to crack! A couple of possibilities have been found for the relationship between the older Elizabeth Martin and Sarah Ann (see later posts) but perhaps we need to look at the wider family circle for the link between the 2 Elizabeths.
G
You need to look at at least…
You need to look at at least 2 census 1891 and 1881 as far as the relationship of Sarah Ann as niece is concerned,
1891, 100 Rosalind St.
Elizabeth Martin aged 56 is the Elizabeth on the 1911 census, Sarah Ann is niece to the head of the household John, Elizabeth his sister.
1881, 11 Canal St,
Mary Martin57Elizabeth Martin46Sarah Ann Martin17John Martin25William H. Connolly24
Mary,57 and Elizabeth,46 are sisters, Sarah Ann, niece to the head Mary.
Mary, Elizabeth, John,66, (1891 census) are siblings.
If the above is correct,…
If the above is correct, Thomas Martin,c1835, Sarah Ann's father, should be the brother of, John, Mary and Elizabeth?
Problem is, Bert, I can't…
Problem is, Bert, I can't square the circle.
I had a look at the 1871 census and the Martins in Canal Street are as follows:
Mary Head widow d.o.b. 1795 Wales Llansair.....(?)
Mary daughter d.o.b. 1823 Llandrinio, Montgomeryshire (the one on 1881 census)
John son d.o.b 1825 Salop St Martins
Elizabeth daughter d.o.b 1835 Salop Oswestry (the one on all the censuses looked at so far)
John grandson b. 1856 Chester (nephew on the 1881 census)
From this, I agree with you that John, Mary Jnr and Elizabeth are siblings and I'll add to that , Mary Snr must be the mother.
I then looked at the 1841 census and the following family was living at Upper Church St, Oswestry:
John d.o.b 1801
Mary d.o.b. 1796
John 1826
William 1825
Henry 1831
Elizabeth 1835
From this, I am deducing that that John and Mary are the parents but the dates of birth seem wrong for Thomas and John to be brothers.Also, on the 1871 census I found a William Martin born in Oswestry, married to a Sarah and living in Emley St, Bootle with a daughter called Sarah Ann born about 1865, who would have been Elizabeth's niece ........arghh!
I'd be tempted to think we had strayed into the wrong family and that the SA on the 1911 census was not related to the Thomas Martin associated with the LDS after all but the other coincidences seem a big ask.
All ideas gratefully received!
G.
Sorry, Bert - I don't know…
Sorry, Bert - I don't know how to do the clever trick you did with the census on your previous post!
G
Glen, I might be picking you…
Glen,
I might be picking you up wrong, if Thomas was a brother, born 1835 ish, that date would be with in reason compared to Mary, John and Elizabeth.
I know he's not on the 41 census, but neither is daughter Mary.
I think the 1911 census is correct, what's the chances of another auntie and niece living together on the same amount of census' same ages and birth places.
Have you seen the following concerning James Martin's Utah death?
No, Bert, I hadn't seen…
No, Bert, I hadn't seen these death records before so thanks for that.
In his autobiography, Thomas L Martin seems to have been very proud of his father, saying that he was originally a miner but studied at weekends to become a watchmaker and a jeweller and that this was his profession when he moved to Utah (Thomas went out there first as a teenager and worked to get the passage for the rest of his family to follow). This is a quote from the autobiography:
"He became a fully fledged jeweler and was accepted into the upper class in England."
Not so sure if the end of this sentence would have been true!
I'll post soon about your other comments re: the Martins. My computer is playing up a bit at the moment so everything is taking twice as long!
G
.
.
1871, Emley St William…
1871, Emley St
William Martin married Sarah Adams, 1859, Liverpool, Father, John Martin, Farmer.
I suspect that is Sarah Ann and was taken on by William and Sarah?
Below is the birth reg for…
Below is the birth reg for 1871 census son William, the mothers maiden name should be Hopwood, the name recorded is Adams. She was a widow when marrying William Martin and her previous married name Adams has been used. There is no registration for a Sarah Ann Martin with either Hopwood or Adams used.
Oh gosh what a tangled web…
Oh gosh what a tangled web family historians weave! The Martins just seem to get more and more complicated.
Bert, I don't think Thomas (born 1835) can be the brother of Elizabeth (born 1835) because the 1841 census indicates her parents were John and Mary (possibly with Welsh connections) while the autobiography I keep referring to and the Martin family tree on family search indicate his parents were James and Ann Jane from Belfast.
Also, I've taken another look at William (Elizabeth's brother). I found an interesting baptism record for Jan 1864 at Hulme St Mark's Church. It shows Sarah Ann, born Nov 13 1863, getting baptised on Jan 24th, together with her brother, William Henry, born 26 June 1861. The father is William, a spoke cleaner and the mother is Sarah, formerly Ikin. All this fits in with the 1871 census.
Now, here's the really intriguing part: the baptism also states that the couple were married at Winsford Old Church in 1854 but I couldn't track this record down on either Ancestry or Familysearch.
What did turn up was a marriage certificate for these 2 dated 21st December 1873 - it gives William's and Sarah's ages as 44 and 41 respectively, which roughly fits in with the census ages. It also gives William's profession as being a 'lath cleaner', which was his father's profession on the 1841 census. I think it was also Wm's on the 1861 census when he and Sarah were in Market Drayton. The father's profession on the wedding certificate was 'cooper' - this bit does not fit but he had died in the 1840s so perhaps the son did not know exactly what his job had been.
It seems William Martin and Sarah Ikin got married twice, about 20 years apart! What dose anyone make of that?!
G
Looks promising, Perhaps…
Looks promising,
Perhaps porkies told about the Winsford marriage, having children baptised out of wedlock didn't go down well.
Just scratching an itch, you…
Just scratching an itch, you're probably aware Martha Martin remarried after the death of Thomas to John Wolstenholme, 1878, Father, Charles Robinson, Glass Blower. It's bugging me I can't find her daughter Sarah Ann, 1864, Manchester. The 1881 census below
Samuel Storey 23
Ellen Storey 21
Thomas Storey 1
Martha Woolstenholme 42
James Martin 15
Charles Martin 13
Samuel Storey23Ellen Storey21Thomas Storey1Martha Woolstenholme42James Martin15Charles Martin13
Perhaps just a coincidence, when Ellen Martin married Samuel Story, 1877, Manchester, a witness was Louise Hopwood, the maiden name of Sarah Adams who married William Martin.
Found an Ellen Martin in an…
Found an Ellen Martin in an orphan, 1871, possibly daughter of Martha, no Sarah Ann, perhaps already died?
Bert, I didn't know Martha…
Bert, I didn't know Martha remarried after Thomas's death - just another piece in this ever-expanding puzzle!
I think you could be right, Bert, that Martha's daughter, Sarah Ann, died sometime before the 1871 census as I cannot find her either (although I must admit that I have not looked at marriages). Hence, it is unlikely she is the Sarah Ann on the 1911 census as we had originally thought.
Bringing together what we have found out over the last couple of weeks, I guess the Sarah Ann on that 1911 census is most likely to be the daughter of William, Elizabeth's brother, so making the aunt/niece relationship correct. Given the baptism records for Sarah Ann and her brother William, I guess her mother was Sarah Ikin.
I'm not sure if we really have the evidence to say that the Elizabeth on the census (d.o.b. 1899) was actually the one who married Oswald Alp and went to America. However, there is evidence to show that Elizabeth at least met Thomas Lysons Martin on her 1930 voyage back to England. Would be a big coincidence if they were not related in some way but even if they were not, I have enjoyed learning about him and I feel I have been made aware of some real social history issues. I've never looked into the life of a Mormon before and it has been fascinating. Thomas's father (James, the watchmaker) seems to have been a fascinating character too - he appears to have practised polygamy in Utah.
Been quite a learning experieince - thanks to all who have helped.
G.
I'm just pulling together…
I'm just pulling together the threads I have for Martha Jane Martin and thought I would run this past the forum:
I initially asked about adoption in 1907 but Mattie herself seems to have preferred the term 'fostering'. I now know adoption was not formalised until 1926 (1928, apparently, in Isle of Man) but anyone know what the situation have been regarding fostering in Liverpool in 1907?
Cheers,
Glen
Hope you can find help here,…
Hope you can find help here,
History of Adoption and Fostering in the United Kingdom - Childhood Studies - Oxford Bibliographies
I believe all sorts of…
I believe all sorts of adoptions and fostering would be very informal and certainly very rarely would anything be put in writing. I'm sorry to be so negative about this, but believe that the date you are looking at would be too early for any documented evidence.
Not being negative, Mary,…
Not being negative, Mary, just realistic. I just wanted to make sure I had not missed something on this one and I will keep Bert's link for future reference.
I'm just intrigued by Martha's story: how she seems to have kept in rouch with the siblings she would never have really known yet not her biological mother, why she was still given the name 'Martin' on pension records in 1917, some 10 years after she had been fostered etc and. of course, the fact I have letters written by her and photos of her have added to my interest. I'm also a little surprised at how open the whole family seem to have been about the fostering - my experience of these informal arrangements up to now have been a girl's illegitimate child appearing on one census as someone's grandchild and on the next they have become a son or daughter!
The lady who contacted me from Australia seems to be in the process of contacting Martha's granddaughter so it will be interesting to see if anything comes of that. If it throws up anything significant, I'll do a follow-up post!
Many thanks, G.
We'll look forward to it.
We'll look forward to it.