Not sure about the US or British Isles but there in Canada when a person is adopted legally; they automatically recieve a Birth Certificate with the Surname of the family which adopted them. The Surname is legally changed by the government and not just the families adopting.
Before this law was instated ( tho I don't know when it started) it was still possible many many years ago that a birth certificate or even batptism and christneing recorss would have the peroson as belonging to the family which raised them or took them in., thus it would have their surname on and not actually who concieved them. The reason that it was common for such things to be kept secret way back ebfore social security and all our modern technology; was simply as I related in an earlier message....... it doesn't matter where a person came from or how they got to be; but much rather who they became. If you read in my earlier post you will see that I mentioned NO ones family tree is Pure. Every family is fuill of peopl way back that cannot be proved if the parents wer acyually the parents or granparents or even a friendly neighbour taking in a baby or small child born out of wedlock or some other misfortune. Anyone who isists that their blood lines are pure is not facing reality of times gone by..\ I am proud of every one of my ancestors who ever they might turn out to be; as they learned to become strong and victorious and overcomers despite all the obstacles surving day to day live and rearing rather large families in those days. I respect and honour each one of them for who they are and were and not for how they came to be. We as well as they are all God's Wonderful Creations. Thanks for listening. Shirl I've read of this study too, and believe it was more like 25%. It didn't occur to me to think of this as being sad; but more like a joke on the DAR! Rape and incest account for only a small proportion of unknown parents, I believe. So many orphaned or neglected children were simply taken in by loving parents and raised as their own with no questions asked. Before Social Security, the technical facts of birth or surname didn't matter. I've known from the get-go that the sanctity of primary sources was an illusion. One of my first ventures into genealogy involved getting a copy of my grandfather's Delayed Birth Certificate, which he needed to apply for Social Security in the 1950s. Though I later found it was common knowledge that he was adopted, this little fact was NEVER mentioned by anyone during his lifetime. The presumption is that he didn't know it, though I have my doubts about that. Anyway, I knew immediately that all his documented "proofs" of his birth were falsified. But he had earned his Social Security benefits, and could not have collected them without a birth certificate, so he was forced to lie by circumstances beyond his control. The effect on me is that I have never taken the "documentation" of anyone's heritage very seriously. I know this is genealogical heresy, but there it is! My own personal opinion (for which I realize I may be tarred and feathered!) is that the percentage quoted in my first sentence is much closer to 100%! The long-term effects on genealogical research of things like this, when coupled with the current trend in alternate methods of conception simply boggle the mind! Kent Myrick ----- Original Message ----- From: Brian Lightfoot To: LegacyUserGroup@legacyfamilytree.com Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2008 8:07 AM Subject: RE: [LegacyUG] Thoughts re Descendants - How to Tag I recall hearing some time ago the sad statistical analysis of DNA studies and it was estimated that something like upwards of 20% of the people that think they are related actually aren't. That's a dirty little secret we all prefer to ignore. Brian From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Shirl Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2008 9:37 PM To: LegacyUserGroup@legacyfamilytree.com Subject: [LegacyUG] Thoughts re Descendants - How to Tag I wasn't going to comment on this subject; but changed my mind. NO family has pure blood lines. I have met many people who have taken their family trees back to the 1300's. You would be so amazed what they have found. Years and years ago there was no such thing as a legal adoption. So often baby's and orphans would be brought into a home and literally take on the family's surname. As I said no one's blood lines are pure. Many many years ago people moved form one country to another during periods of religious persecutions. Then a couple of generations later would come back to their native country but along with many family members who had married in the other country. Years ago people were held in shame if they had a child and were not married; and thus it was hidden and a family secret. So often the Grabnparentsraised the child as their own and even had them batized and Christened as their own and in census it would show up as a sibling rather than a grandchild. The list goes on and on. No one will ever no for sure the excat orign of some of our ancestors except for our Creator. God created every child and whats important is who and what the person grew up to be and not in the actual surname. I admire any single mother or father. Yes incest was very prevalent in some countries as well as the British Isles years ago. At least they wern't being aborted like the millions of babies are today. I close my thoughts with knowing that we are all God's children and so were all our wonderful ancestors; despite how , where and when they may have been conceived. Shirl Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
