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How to record adoptions?

  • 03-08-2011 04:57PM
    #1
    Wearb
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 6,657 Mod ✭✭✭✭


    I maintain a web based family tree of over 4,000 people and I am unsure about whether I should include adopted children in the tree. I feel that I should, but after talking to some family members, it has been suggested that I should only follow the blood line. What are the conventions regarding this?

    Also if I include the adopted children, should I make reference to their status?

    Any guidance on this would be appreciated.
    Tagged:


Comments

  • #2
    pinkypinky
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,896 Mod ✭✭✭✭pinkypinky


    The convention is very personal.

    For me, I don't have any adoptions in my tree (that I'm aware of) so I would say that you need to display them as adoptions but others who have adoptions in their family would put them in like biological children. Genealogy is the study of people related by blood but that's only because biological children are still the most common type. The software that I use gives the option to signify adoptive versus biological kids.

    Genealogy Forum Mod



  • #3
    Wearb
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 6,657 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wearb


    Thanks pinkypinky

    I would like more input from other forum readers on this question.


  • #4
    P. Breathnach
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,089 ✭✭✭✭P. Breathnach


    It arises in my family. I prefer to include adopted children on an equal basis with other children. If an adopted cousin calls my uncle "Dad", regards natural children of my uncle and his wife as siblings, and has all the legal rights of any other child in that family, who am I to over-rule that?

    A person who was adopted out of the family (forgive the awkward language: I'm not aware of a better way to put it) recently found his way back. He would like to be regarded as one of us. That's good enough for me: genetic link, and a wish to identify with us.

    I would, for genetic rather than genealogical reasons, include a note of the fact of adoption.


  • #5
    Wearb
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 6,657 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wearb


    Thanks. These -and hopefully other- replies will help me make up my mind. It is difficult for me to start adding adoptions now after having compiled the tree with over 4000 without including them. But if after reading these replies I decide to include them in the future, then I might as well grasp the nettle first as last.


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