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Have found my birthcertificate, where to next?

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  • 20-09-2012 4:28pm
    #1
    sunnie
    Registered Users Posts: 19 ✭


    hi. I was wondering can anyone give me some help or direct me to the right place.
    i was in the GRO in dublin today and found my birth mothers name, when i rang the orphanage in which i was adopted from they said they can not help me as they are in the process of closing down.
    I was told i could do the search myself from what i have but ive no idea where to start or even where to go looking.
    has anyone successfully done what i am trying to do? and if so can you PLEASE give me a guided hand.

    Thanks


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  • Options
    #2
    The_Conductor
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 32,278 Mod ✭✭✭✭The_Conductor


    Hi Sunnie,

    I hope you don't mind- I've moved your post into its own thread, which should make it easier for you to keep track of.

    If you are fully satisfied that you have found the correct birthcertificate (and not just the first one in the books that matched the information you have- unfortunately you do actually have to go all the way through the books to be sure)- then you have valuable information.

    You can make a working presumption that your birthmum was most probably between 17 and 25- and leverage this to go back to the books again to find her birthcertificate.

    Once you have her birthcertificate- which should be a hell of a lot quicker to find than your's seeing as you have her name, you have her date of birth too.

    Now move away from the birth books- and get the marriage books. We're still quite traditional, even if we have progressed, and most people do still get married- so you can see can you find her marriage cert. If you do find her marriage cert- it will have her place of residence after the marriage on it.

    If you can't find the marriage cert- don't fear- her birth cert will have her mother's and father's place of residence on it. You'd be going more investigative at this stage- but there are other doorways open to you- the county library would have historic voter registers, the local school in the area will probably have old enrolment records, the local church will have details of her baptism/confirmation etc and last but by no means least- the local postman will probably know where she may have gone- or be able to point you in the right general direction.

    If all of these prove pointless- take one step backwards- and focus on her family rather than her, herself. Do a family tree. Find out about any of her siblings. Leverage information from the previous step (such as which school she went to) to suggest to a brother/sister/other relative- that you might be thinking of holding a school reunion and would like to invite your birthmum. You know she is not in the area and it might not suit her to attend, however you'd like to invite her anyhow and perhaps send her some pictures of her old school friends- a modern day yearbook- whatever, you can come up with something convincing that shouldn't arouse suspicions.

    Seriously- there are a myriad of different directions you can go from here- having your own birthcertificate is a stepping stone on your journey- and your journey may well be unique, but it is a journey that is comprised of taking little steps to get the bigger story.

    If any of us here can help- or offer any suggestions at all- don't hesitate to ask.

    Best wishes,

    Shane


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