I can't find any birth records on my grandpa. Could he be adopted?

Question

I found all kinds of information on my mom's side of my family. I also found allot of information on my dad's, mom's side. But I came up agenst a wall when it comes to my dad's, dad's side.

The earliest information I can find on him is the 1920 cences.

His death ticket said he was born in 1915. But does not say where.

His military records say he was divorced when he was inlisted. I can't find proof of that eather. I am still looking for more information on that subject.

I even got help from the lady at the library. She could not find any information on him eather. And she is an expert on geneology. She teaches classed on it. Nothing is adding up.

Where should I go from here?

Oh,sorry Windy. My uncle told me thay where his grandparents. But he also told me that grandpa's dad's name was William Wright. But I could not find one in that time frame. The people who had my grandpa in 1920 where in there late 60's. I know that Allen Shoemaker died in 1929.

Answer 1

way back in those times a lot of people were born at home... mostly due to poor families or un-able to get to town or a doctor out to the house... and sometimes births just did not get documented..... but maybe if he had a social security card the social security administration will help

Answer 2

!!!??? someone really thinks you should write the GOVERNOR and demand he help with your genealogy???
I try to avoid things like that, but that is a real eye opener this morning.
First... there is no guarantee that there is a birth cert in 1915 (or there may be, and you have just not found it yet). There actually was a time when births were considered private business. The lack of any record does not indicate he was adopted.
You have him in the 1920 census. Without info to the contrary, that is likely to be his parents. Was he an only child? if there are siblings, you will want to chase any documents on them as well, since their birth locations will show a pattern. The most obvious might be to pin down when/where the parents died, and if they owned land, there would likely be a probate file, identifying the children.
IF there is one place missed by the librarian.. it might be not recognizing that what is online is just a FRACTION of the possible records.
Knowing the location (county) in 1920 is key. You would want to confirm that the parents were also there in 1910, and it's the first place to suspect that they died. If in luck, they have a good county genweb site (not all are very good), and the alternative is subscribe to the county email list from rootsweb.
Also.. can you post his name and details, maybe one of us here can find more for you?

Answer 3

www.ancestry.com--Could his middle name be Allen??

Kentucky Death Index, 1911-2000
Name: John A Shoemaker
Death Date: 7 Nov 1929
Death Place: Barren
Age: 020
Volume: 10
Certificate: 4950

www.ancestry.com--A.M. Shoemaker death in Oregon:

Oregon Death Index, 1903-98

Name: Shoemaker, A. M.
County: Marion
Death Date: 3 Jan 1929
Certificate: 5


Will these help at all??

Answer 4

First, if you didn't go in person to inquire about a birth certificate to the county you believe he was born, if it is close enough - GO! Oftentimes these records are indexed by hand, and by someone with bad handwriting. It was a famous story in my family that grandma had to get her driver's license with a death cert. made out by a overanxious doctor. Her name was thoroughly misspelled in the register (and out of order), but I found it.

Then I would suggest would be checking the marriage records for your grandparents. The county clerk (or other official depending on your state) would likely have an application for marriage in which he would have provided info on his parents, birth date & place, occupation, whether married before, etc. If that information isn't in the application then check the church that the ceremony was at, if any. (If Catholic they might have the church he was baptized at.) If that is a no go, you might check for a wedding announcement in your gm's hometown. Also if your dad (or one of his sibs) has a baby book, check it.

If that doesn't get you anywhere look for siblings if he has any, these tend to be mentioned in marriage announcements, obituaries, and probate proceedings. I only know my mat. gm's g-g-gf, because it was listed on the death cert for his sister.

Also if he was in WW2, check and see if the town he enlisted from, or where you believe he lived has a book on WW2 local soldiers (or browse through the microfilm for that time yourself). Some have photos, clippings of letters sent home, etc.

Also check and see if there is a historical society library in the county your gf lived most of his life in. Often their collections are different than the libraries.

Also if this is the same gf as in your other post, did you only check WPA index records at the library or did you go to the Health dept? The WPA index for Indiana, while it did go to 1920, had a lot of missing info. So go to the health dept.

Answer 5

Start with relatives and family friends. Ask them what schools he attended, what his first wife's name was, where he was born, and go from there.

One reason why you might be having trouble is because some people in the era of 1915 were still being born in their houses. Their births might not be recorded in hospital records. You'll have to dig for family history. Even try newspaper articles from his hometown around his birth date and other sources, like a family Bible or baptismal record from a church that might have listed his birth date and parents.

Another reason you might have trouble is because in 1915, many children were adopted. Some were placed on orphan trains heading from back east to farms in the midwest and California. Check with orphan train websites to see if his name is on the list. It would show his sponsoring adoption organization, name, age and hometown.

The last possible reason for your difficulty has to do with possible family secrets. If a birth was the result of rape, adultery, etc., people of that era would have hushed up any mention of the child's origin. Good luck.

Answer 6

According to where he was born. For instance the State of Texas starting getting vital records in 1903. But a lot of people who were born at home didn't get a birth certificate. My parents were born in 1907 and 1908 and they both had to get a delayed birth certificate in order to draw Social Security. I had a great grandfather that died in 1914 and he is not on the death index.

Different states started accumulating vital records at different times.

Answer 7

eighty years in the past, adoption grow to be dealt with very in a diverse way than now. My father, had he lived, would be eighty 3 now, and had an extremely comparable tale, in basic terms fortunately, mutually as his mom grow to be alive, we've been waiting to get the full tale and now understand he grow to be raised with the help of his organic and organic mom's brother and his spouse (whom all of us knew as our Grandmother). So, i'd say that's fairly probable!!! In my Fathers case, eighty 3 years in the past, no "actual" adoption ever handed off, and he grow to be a house delivery recorded in a family members Bible. That Bible we've, inspite of the shown fact that it shows his mothers and fathers because of the fact the those that raised him, and not the actual person who gave delivery to him!!! in our genealogy historic previous however, we've when you consider that stated the tale for destiny generations.

Answer 8

It's hard to find birth info on people really old. Because the record keeping system was not very good back in the day. They did not have the technology like to day. Like Ellis Island a lot of immigrants had their names changed. Because the immigration workers, would become frustrated with language barrier. They would just change spelling of names and everything. That's crazy!

Answer 9

This may sound like an odd place. Try contacting the Mormons in Salt Lake City. They have an unusually successful base of genealogical information. They have "worked extremely well" for me. Also, it may work to try the State where your grandfather joined the Army. Sometimes, various states hold onto their information "like gold." Remember you are entitled to this information and NOW. By the way, you should write to the governor of that State and also the State that you live in, and "ask" for help in this matter. Don't take "no" for an answer. I wish you well. Peace, Love and God Bless.

Answer 10

You don't say where you are from. I've not heard of a death ticket so that leaves me a little confused.

In the U. S. Census on the far right it tells where they are born, like texas, germany, etc. What does it say when you look at the census?

If you will email me what info you have on him I will be happy to see what I can find for you.