Charles’ Story
Charles’ Story
Charles was born in 1946. When he was born, he was placed into the care of a local authority nursery. He was then fostered by a couple who he remained with throughout his childhood, becoming a part of their family. He was formally adopted by them when he was a young adult. Naturally, he often wondered about his origins. When he was a young man, Charles was able to find out the last known address of his birth mother’s family. With his future wife beside him for support, he went to this address. But he was unable to knock on the door.
Charles went on to get married and have children of his own, finding happiness in his family and work. He remained curious about his birth mother and how and why his life had started the way it did. It wasn’t until his 70s that he got in contact with Birthlink to search for his birth mother, Jane. He registered on the Adoption Contact Register for Scotland using the information on his original birth certificate, but there was unfortunately no link. Birthlink was then able to support Charles to gather as much information available that could help us trace Jane. This involved locating any formal records surrounding Charles childhood.
The local authority that had arranged Charles foster placement had social work records. Within these, Charles was able to learn that Jane had lived with poor mental health throughout her life. She had been admitted to a mental health hospital while she was pregnant with Charles and was still a patient there when he was born, though she was later discharged. It had been decided Jane was unable to look after her baby, so he was placed in care. Charles was able to reflect on what it would have been like for Jane and how she might have felt about this decision. He wondered what had happened to her…
Our Search Team found several births, marriage, and death certificates. These revealed that Jane had passed away in 1979 at the age of 75. She had no other children. She remained at the family home and seemingly had frequent stays at a mental health hospital. It also revealed Jane had two younger brothers, David and Adam, who we hoped could link Charles to his birth parents, at least through photographs and memories. Our search revealed to Charles that his uncle David was still living at the family home when he passed away in 2000. David never had any children and his wife had also passed away, meaning there were no living relatives to link with. Still, this let Charles know, when he stood on the doorstep all those years ago, deciding whether to knock, his uncle had been on the other side of the door.
The search of English and Scottish public records for Charles’ other uncle, Adam, revealed that he had emigrated to Australia. Unfortunately, he had also passed away in 2010. His obituary noted he had a wife and three children. Birthlink explored the options to locate Charles’ cousins in Australia. However, Charles felt that there was no strong link to Jane as they would not have met her. He ultimately decided not to pursue searching any further, making peace with the information he was given.
It is a sad story, but it is Charles’ story. He may have missed the chances to know his birth family in person, but, more importantly, he had waited to search until he was ready. Charles now has a family tree for his birth family, full of details on their names, occupations, and some war time records. The process of piecing it together meant a lot to Charles as it has filled in the missing gaps in his origins. He was able to get a sense of Jane’s life too, as he now knows what happened when and why, and felt able to empathise with her. He could also be comforted by the idea that Jane was not alone as she had her brothers.
Information & Advice
After Adoption Information Line
0131 225 6441
|
Join the Adoption Contact Register |
 |
Charles’ Story
Charles was born in 1946. When he was born, he was placed into the care of a local authority nursery. He was then fostered by a couple who he remained with throughout his childhood, becoming a part of their family. He was formally adopted by them when he was a young adult. Naturally, he often wondered about his origins. When he was a young man, Charles was able to find out the last known address of his birth mother’s family. With his future wife beside him for support, he went to this address. But he was unable to knock on the door.
Charles went on to get married and have children of his own, finding happiness in his family and work. He remained curious about his birth mother and how and why his life had started the way it did. It wasn’t until his 70s that he got in contact with Birthlink to search for his birth mother, Jane. He registered on the Adoption Contact Register for Scotland using the information on his original birth certificate, but there was unfortunately no link. Birthlink was then able to support Charles to gather as much information available that could help us trace Jane. This involved locating any formal records surrounding Charles childhood.
The local authority that had arranged Charles foster placement had social work records. Within these, Charles was able to learn that Jane had lived with poor mental health throughout her life. She had been admitted to a mental health hospital while she was pregnant with Charles and was still a patient there when he was born, though she was later discharged. It had been decided Jane was unable to look after her baby, so he was placed in care. Charles was able to reflect on what it would have been like for Jane and how she might have felt about this decision. He wondered what had happened to her…
Our Search Team found several births, marriage, and death certificates. These revealed that Jane had passed away in 1979 at the age of 75. She had no other children. She remained at the family home and seemingly had frequent stays at a mental health hospital. It also revealed Jane had two younger brothers, David and Adam, who we hoped could link Charles to his birth parents, at least through photographs and memories. Our search revealed to Charles that his uncle David was still living at the family home when he passed away in 2000. David never had any children and his wife had also passed away, meaning there were no living relatives to link with. Still, this let Charles know, when he stood on the doorstep all those years ago, deciding whether to knock, his uncle had been on the other side of the door.
The search of English and Scottish public records for Charles’ other uncle, Adam, revealed that he had emigrated to Australia. Unfortunately, he had also passed away in 2010. His obituary noted he had a wife and three children. Birthlink explored the options to locate Charles’ cousins in Australia. However, Charles felt that there was no strong link to Jane as they would not have met her. He ultimately decided not to pursue searching any further, making peace with the information he was given.
It is a sad story, but it is Charles’ story. He may have missed the chances to know his birth family in person, but, more importantly, he had waited to search until he was ready. Charles now has a family tree for his birth family, full of details on their names, occupations, and some war time records. The process of piecing it together meant a lot to Charles as it has filled in the missing gaps in his origins. He was able to get a sense of Jane’s life too, as he now knows what happened when and why, and felt able to empathise with her. He could also be comforted by the idea that Jane was not alone as she had her brothers.
Information & Advice
After Adoption Information Line
0131 225 6441
|
Join the Adoption Contact Register |
|