NYBROOKLYN-L Archives

Archiver > NYBROOKLYN > 1999-06 > 0928628595


From: aj <>
Subject: [NYBROOKLYN-L] re: adoption
Date: Sat, 05 Jun 1999 20:23:15 -0400


Hi,
I promised a few folks that I would look for a book that I read a
few years ago that had a very good tip for how to find an adoptees
family. Since I can't remember the name of the book I did a search for
it on the computer card catalog at the library. I didn't find it that
way so I went to the stacks and searched and still didn't find it. So I
then got two reference librarians to search their computer, while I
scanned Books in Print. Still nothing, I'm sorry to say.
For anyone who's interested it was a non-fiction book by a woman
private investigator (I think). I think she worked in the south, perhaps
Kentucky or Tennessee.
The information from it that is relevant to searching for an
adoptee's family is this. Determine the date of the adoption and the
court where it took place. This is often the point where one loses track
of an adoptee because the records are sealed afterward.
When you think you have the correct date and court, get a copy of
the docket for that day or days. This is, I think, public info in all
places, and should contain the names of anyone heard in court that day.
I've done years worth of this searching but without having had to
use this record, so I don't know all of what it contains. In any manner
you can, rule out the folks that appeared in court that day for anything
other than adoption. Search newspaper files and try to get info from the
court as possible, about the cases that are public info. Probably only
the adoption cases will be completely unavailable to you. When you have
ruled out most of the names because they were in court because of a
will, etc. then the remaining names are your possibles.
It might be a big job to track down a lot of people whom you
couldn't rule out, but you're a 'genealogist' and know about tracking
people. ;-) And besides, you now have a much shorter list than before.
I hope this method helps someone. While I was doing my searches I
read everything I could find on the subject and this is the only real
tip I came across that helped one to bridge the gap created when an
adoptee goes into a courthouse as 'Smith' and comes out 'Jones.'
If anyone wants to, please let me know if I can help with anything
else. Oh, and please comment on this too. We might all learn methods for
eliminating people from dockets, etc.
best,
Al Johnson

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