Liverpool & South West Lancashire FHS - Forum

Hi,
Looking for a bit of help wrt potential adoption.

I have recently discovered that one of my Grand Aunt's may have been adopted early in her life. Her birth record shows her under her mother's maiden name of Hogarth, yet when looking for her marriage her maiden name comes up as Carlton which is the rest of the siblings' family name. If g.granddad Carlton took her on as his own could/would he have adopted her officially or would they more than likely have just brought her up as a Carlton so she wasn't different from the others or could she have possibly have changed her name by herself when she was older ? Could I find this out ??

McIver919 wrote:Hi,
Looking for a bit of help wrt potential adoption.

I have recently discovered that one of my Grand Aunt's may have been adopted early in her life. Her birth record shows her under her mother's maiden name of Hogarth, yet when looking for her marriage her maiden name comes up as Carlton which is the rest of the siblings' family name. If g.granddad Carlton took her on as his own could/would he have adopted her officially or would they more than likely have just brought her up as a Carlton so she wasn't different from the others or could she have possibly have changed her name by herself when she was older ? Could I find this out ??

Hi,
And welcome back.
Adoptions were not official until 1928, so I am guessing this was a fostering. You don't give ages/dates but fostering was quite common and if a child was taken in by a family while young the surname may well have been changed.

McIver919 wrote: would they more than likely have just brought her up as a Carlton so she wasn't different from the others

I would imagine this, if it was pre-1928.

Similar situation in my father's family.

Hi McIver919. The other replies are correct, but there is a possibility that some areas of the country werent 100% following the national directive. My Mum has her official adoption papers from Nov 2nd 1927, so, as in all things, check a couple of years either side of dates, even if you think they are written in stone.

Info here,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/familyhist ... ilysecrets