This how-to page is being written directly for those people who are adoptees themselves.

If you are a searching birthparent, this page will also help you. However, you'll need to keep in mind that the target here is the adoptee.

Those of you already on the ancestral trail and seeking information on an adopted great-grandparent may not find much use in this page IF that grandparent was adopted in the 1800's. Who knows, though ~~ I just might give you an idea for further research.......so you're also invited to read on! :)

What follows won't give you all the answers. It is simply meant to be a very basic guideline to get you started. There are quite a few pages on the web dealing with the subject of adoptee search. You'll find some of them listed in another section of the Children's Room. They're also geared to help you. Be warned though ~~ you'll probably be spending a lot of time on your computer! :)

On to the subject at hand ~~

The very first thing you need to know is that yours is an uphill struggle, all the way. Your adoption records, in most states and countries, are sealed ~~ supposedly in the best interests of all the concerned parties ~ you, your adoptive parents, and your birthparents. However, don't let that stop you. Many adoptees have found their birthparents, and vice versa. It can be done!

What that in mind, let's continue ~~

STEP ONE: Adoptive research starts out the same as a 'natural' search ~~ with yourself. You'll need a 1-1/2 inch three-ring binder filled with a pack of lined paper. [This binder will be referred to as your files or notebook.] Write down all the data you know about yourself and the facts surrounding the adoption.

• Where were you born?
• In what hospital?
• What state were you adopted in?
• What county?
• What province?
• What country?
• Was your adoption handled privately, or was there an agency involved?
• Do you know anything about your birthparents?
• Rumors, perhaps, or stories overheard from family members?

Be sure to note just any little thing you've heard or can remember, even if you feel the memory is a trivial detail. Carry your notebook with you wherever you go. Memories, once started, will return at just any time. You'll want paper and pen with you when something pops into your head.

Personal knowledge is extremely important not only from direct members of the triad [adoptee, adoptive parents & birth parents], but also from other family members who have a few memories relating to the surrender or adoption. Talk to them and see what you can find out. Write down everything in your notebook [also called files].

Always keep in mind that each small piece of data is extremely important to you as you build on your research.

It is also important to learn not to be too forthcoming with the reasons for your questions. Be honest with your family unless you know they will be against your beginning a search. However, when speaking to anyone outside your immediate family it is better to appear that you are asking the questions out of general curiosity, if they know you're adopted; or because you're doing 'genealogical research' if they do not know.

You may as well know here and now that there are still some people who will judge you for your actions; and those judgements won't always be positive ones. If these same people are individuals who have information that might assist you, it is to your advantage not to give them the information that will allow them to make their ill-informed and irrelevant presumptions.

If you've never done genealogical research, I strongly advise you to head for your local library and get yourself a book or two on the field. In a library using the Dewey decimal system, you'll find the books in the 929.1 section. You'll also find them under the same number in the reference section, though you probably won't be able to check the books out. The point here is to get yourself familiar with the broader subject and its procedures so you'll understand how to attack the smaller one, specifically, your own research.

In addition, you'll also want to look for books relating to adoption search and reunion. They deal with the specific search you have ahead of you. There is a list of books in another section of this Children's Room with a listing.

STEP TWO: Read the adoption laws for the state, country, or region in which you were adopted. You'll find them in another section of the Children's Room.

If you have any reason to believe that you may be of Native American descent, read the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, located in the U.S. Laws section of the Children's Room.

STEP THREE: Do you have a copy of your birth certificate? Dig it out now! Pay attention to the details on it. This will not be the original certificate, but an amended one, giving your adoptive parents as the mother and father. Your original certificate is being held in sealed records of the court which finalized your adoption. However, the date and place of birth are what's important.

• Do those items match what you've been told? [Usually, but not always, the place and date of birth is accurate.]
• Does it show the name of the doctor who delivered you?
• Does it show the hospital you were born in?

Hopefully, your adoptive parents are receptive to the idea of your doing a birthparent search. Your adoptive parents can tell you pretty much everything from their end of the adoption ~ and quite possibly will know your birthmother's name and the circumstances surrounding her surrender of you. Your adoptive parents have court papers that you want to examine carefully.

• Was your name changed?
• Are your natural parents mentioned by name?

Those papers will show exactly when and where you where adopted. If you were, let's say 3 or 4 at the time of adoption, as your research progresses you'll want to look for newspaper notices regarding marriages 0-2 years prior to your birth. Your local library or genealogical research center can assist you on how to obtain information from past newspapers.

• If you were 3 or 4 ~~ can you remember anything ~~ just any small memories? Write down any early memories as completely as you remember, adding them to those of your relatives.

There are many places where data is kept on people and on adoption. You're looking for two types of sources: primary and secondary.

Primary sources, or records, are those that will have information related directly to the adoption, and they may have additional use for the searcher. These records include:

• State Department of Social Services - State run agencies that keep records on all surrenders and adoptions. The name may also be Welfare Department or Department of Health. Their adoption-related files might include original and amended birth certificates; relinquishment, consent and surrender papers; petitions to adopt; case or home study information; and final adoption decrees.
• Bureau of Vital Statistics - State run vital records offices in the capitol cities. Their records include: original and amended birth certificates; death certificates; marriage licenses and applications; some divorce records.
• Adoption agencies, both public and private - Also called placement or placing agencies. Licensed by the State, their files vary a great deal in detail and format. In them you might find: birthfamily background and medical information, including hospital/medical records of the birthmother and child; copies of original and amended birth certificates; medical or foster care consents; relinquishment, surrender or termination of parental rights; psychological testing of the birthparents and/or child; petition to adopt; interlocutory; home study on prospective parents, including foster parents; adoption decrees and certificates; follow-ups on the adoption including future contacts and updates made by any member of the triad.
• Court of jurisdiction - The ruling court having authority over matter pertaining to the adoption. This court may be located in the county where the adopting parents reside[d], where the birthparents reside[d], or where the placing agency is/was located. The court generally files the following documents: petitions to adopt; interlocutories, if issued; original birth certificates; surrender, relinquishment or termination of parental rights; social workers' home study reports; final adoption decrees; adoption certificates, if issued.
• Maternity homes - Keep records pertaining primarily on the birthmother. Occasionally there will be limited information on the child if he/she was born in the residence. However, generally these records are destroyed after a number of years or transferred to a sister agency, church, or hospital. If the birthmother used a false identity in other records, these files might well reveal the true name.
• Hospital - Will have medical and delivery records of the birth. They are often store in a remote facility or transferred to microfilm; rarely are they destroyed. Even if the records no longer exist, there will be admittance records which could supply names and addresses. Medical and delivery files hold information such as addresses, next-of-kin, pre- and post-natal care, footprints, medical history, and sometimes the original birth certificate.
• Doctor - The doctor who gave pre- and post-natal care, and the doctor who delivered the child usually keep their own records. If the doctor had/has a private practice, then the records are separate from the hospital's. These records will supply names, addresses, next-of-kin, medical care and history.
• Attorney - In all adoptions there will be an attorney representing the petitioners. The lawyer may represent both sets of parents in private or independent adoptions. His/her files usually contain: petition to adopt; interlocutory, if issued; adoption decree; surrender, relinquishment or termination of parental rights; original and amended certificates of birth.

In addition, sometimes it is helpful to connect with others who are going through this unique experience. At times, you might feel alone, even if your family is supportive. It is difficult for those who are not adopted, or who are not searching or interested in searching, to fully understand. Along these same lines, you might consider joining an online mailing list, many of which you will find in another section of the Children's Room.

Having taken the above steps, read the how-to books, and established a few search/support group contacts, you're ready now to begin an organized search. How long with this search take? Each search is different, fraught with different levels of obstacles to overcome, however, expect no less than a year ~ and possibly much, much longer. One can never tell.

Take the beginning slowly, learning as many of the steps and tricks ahead of you, laying a solid foundation of knowledge beneath you. This will not only save you time and money in the long run, but also prevent an emotional drain that so many adoptees and birthmothers run into.