How do I find old adoption papers?

I'm really curious about my ethnic background. All my life I've had to deal with racist comments, but I don't look like I really obviously belong to any one ethnic group. I'm tall, and thin, and I have black hair and dark eyes, and although I'm pale my skin has a slight yellowish/olive tone to it. It was more apparent when I was a kid and I got a lot of bother for it at school.

I take after my dad, in every way. And my dad is even more ethnic looking than me. He takes after his dad, but his dad (my grandfather) was adopted. I am no longer in contact with that side of my family, so I can't ask about it.

I'm just so insanely curious. He must have been born sometime in the 1930s. I'm wary of signing up for those ancestry websites where you have to pay before accessing any records. I was just wondering if there was any other way to go about finding information concerning past adoptions.

Heather B

Isn't it appalling that adoptees and their descendants can't even know what ethnicity they are, how inhumane.

Depending where your grandfather was born and adopted you may or may not be able to access the information via the State's Dept of Health/vital statistics. Even where records are sealed, they are only sealed for around 75-99 years so you may well be able to access them for the 1930s. I think your best bet is to ask the librarians at the genealogy section of the library. If you're not local then many libraries have online chat and email for enquiries.

It's useful to note also that many libraries have subscriptions to Ancestry.com so that you can go in and use without having to sign up and pay for a subscription yourself.

dna testing reveals alot about our ethnicity. Prior to getting information about my natural family I was tested with familytreedna, which confirmed my ethnicity. In fact it made me proud to know the facts.

I wish you luck in finding the truth of your origins and hope it counters some of the racist abuse you've endured and makes you proud too

ETA I have a subscription to Ancestry.com and if there's anything you want looked up, I'd be happy to help

Calli

Remember all the Ancestry documents you would like to recieve, birth, death, marriage will only be given to people that have the same surname. I am taking care of this for my husband now, and we are running into problems as he still uses his adopted surname (6-8 weeks for a name change, we are still waiting) Some of the certificates Death, Birth, Marraige we will have to re-apply when his name change (returning to his birth name) is final. Don't give up the battle it will be worth it in the end. Here in Canada when your name is changed you get a new birth certificate and a Change of Name Notice enclosed with the birth cerificate. Who ever changed your name would have the original name aswell. Order a copy of your original birth certificate from the government.It is also listed on Adoption Orders. You can order this aswell. it was only about $30.00 if my memory serves me right. Remember you can find out where they lived and talk to old neighbours this was the best way to gather information, people love to gossip. But keep lots of notes of everything they say, then you will know who is lieing and not worth another visit. best of luck...

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: