Hi chellin and all our Australian Members,

Can anyone advise me how I might look for an Adoption Record - probably South Australia - Adelaide.

My great grandad Timothy Gardner Hughes emigrated from Lancashire England to Adelaide about 1904. His wife in England, my great-gran Eliza-Jane decided not to follow him with the children, as had been the plan. Years went by and contact was lost. All the family ever knew from then on was that Timothy had gone to Australia.

Over last few years I've done a lot of research on it - and to cut a long story short - through my research - now know that he settled in Adelaide. I have copies of most of his Australian records now including his death & burial, also his re-marriage to Marjory Corcoron (about 7 years after his emigration), and the addresses he lived at (have photos that a kind person in Adelaide took for me).

Timothy & Marjory had one daughter Margaret Hughes - I have Margaret's marriage certificate too - married name RUST, & her death & burial details. But found absolutely no record of her birth in S.Australia.

I managed to make contact with the RUST family in Adelaide (descendents of Margaret's in-laws). From them I discovered that.......

Family were staunch Salvation Army.
Margaret Rust nee Hughes, had no children of her own, so no direct descendants.

It is believed that she was adopted by "old man Hughes" & his wife Marjory.

So, this would explain why the S.Aus Family History Society were unable to find any birth record for Margaret, daughter of Timothy & Marjory Hughes.

So how can I look for the Adoption record?

(just looking for my old Hughes notes - & will come back here & add to this message the date of Margaret's birth, etc)

Thanks for any advice? :ck-smile:

PS: My Hughes connection to Smith is.........
My mum, Timothy Hughes' grand-daughter -
married my dad (Smith)!!

I will try and find out for you Carole but if Australia is like England it will be very hard. My great great grandmother was adopted I think or maybe just fostered I dont know and I cant seem to find any information in the UK

Anyway I will take a look for you and see what I can find

Chellin

Aaah that's good of you Chellin, thanks so much. There's absolutely no hurry.

See you later

Carole

Hi Carole

I have found out that there is no adoption records until after 1927 in the UK so I assume that would be the case in Australia but I will keep looking

Chellin

Thanks chellin - as I say, no hurry.:ck-smile:

Here are the dates relating to the Info I gave above.

1911 in Adelaide
Timothy Gardner Hughes m Margery Bruce CORKRAN
(who is sometimes recorded as CORCORAN)
Timothy is shown as "Widower" - which in fact, he was not - as Eliza Jane was still alive & kicking in Lancashire!!
Timothy (born: Kirkham Lancashire England 1873)
died: 1944 in Adelaide,SA, age 71

Timothy had 3 children he left in England (incl my grandma Bertha Hughes)

His Australian daughter (?? Adopted)
Margaret Elsie Hughes
born Adelaide c 1912 (evidence of this from marr & death certs)

married in Adelaide 1936 to Arthur RUST

Margaret Elsie Rust nee Hughes: died in Adelaide in 1981
(I also have Margaret Elsie's Burial Record & a photo of her Cemetery Memorial)

Seems probable that Timothy named his Australian daughter after his own mother, who was Margaret Hughes (nee Gardner).

(Sad that my own Grandma Bertha & her brother Harold never knew they had a half sister, or probably adopted sister in Australia:ck-sad: . Their other sister, Beatrice had been born blind, suffered ill-health & died in her teens, in Blackburn, Lancs, England)

Oh Carole I have Gardner in my family tree too, my great grandmothers name on my fathers side, thats two names we have in common.

I will keep looking

Linda

G'morning' Chellin,

Well would you believe it!! We both have Gardners!
Yes - maiden name of one of my great-great grans on my mum's side - Margaret Gardner, born 1849 Kirkham Lancs, daughter of Timothy Gardner & Ann (nee Hayes). As you can see - Margaret named her son (Timothy Gardner Hughes) after her father. (thought I'd just add that little snippet of data - you never know - another Aussie might see this sometime & realise they are related!! )

I've done a lot of research on my Gardners & some time soon hope to post it all on the Lancashire Board. Mine were from Great Eccleston & then Kirkham, Lancashire.

As well as Smith and Hughes, Gardner another very "big 19th Century & earlier" name in Lancashire - especially in Blackpool & the Fylde area.

See you later aligator

Hi Carole

Well you will never guess, today I had an email from Queensland to say that one of my Great Great Grandmothers children who was a Gardner went to Queensland in 1873.
I had no idea, she was my great grandfathers sister. So now I have another relative over here, he has even given me a pic of her headstone, so exciting.

And then I see you have written the name HAYES thats my married name, we do share a lot in common.

Have a great day

Chellin

Hi Chellin,

Gosh what a co-incidence - just when we were discussing our GARDNERs - a new Gardner cousin of yours turns up!! heck! And yes - HAYES!! I have Hayes genes & your married names is Hayes!! Gosh -
we will find we are related yet!!

Salvation Army in Adelaide
Back to my gr.grandad Timothy Gardner Hughes & his Australian family. It seems that Timothy's Australian wife Margery Bruce Corcoran (or Corkran) & her family were Salvation Army people & Timothy adopted that denomination. His marriage to Margery was at the Salvation Army Hall in Adelaide. Also the Adelaide Salvation Army conducted Timothy's funeral and paid for his burial, it seems, from a Pensioners Fund.

His ?adopted daughter Margaret Elsie married Arthur Rust at the Adelaide Congress Hall too, and they were staunch Salvationists. One of the great nephews of Arthur Rust sent me a photo of Arthur in his Salvation Army Uniform, which I still have. Unfortuntely, the Rust family I contacted didn't have any photos of Margaret Elsie (nee Hughes).

I've been doing a bit of reading on how the Salvation Army movement spread to Australia & how it developed in "Southern Territory". Here are two interesting links: -

Salvation Army, South Australian Division Heritage Centre

Salvation Army. Australia Southern Territory Archives & Heritage Museum

I wonder if the Salvation Army used to arrange adoptions for their members? Just a thought & just deciding whether it might be worth me writing to the Adelaide branch. Nothing to lose -
will do it soon :ck-wink:

PS: Another thought I had!!
Do they have Christenings records I wonder, for the Salvation Army?
Maybe there could be a Christening record for Margaret Elsie!! Yes I must get in touch with them mustn't I?

Hi Carole

Here is an address you can write too for adoptions in South Australia

Adoption and Family Information Service
1st Floor
45 Wakefield Street
Adelaide SA 5000

or email
adoptions [at] dfc.sa.gov.au

Hope this can help

Chellin

Thank you so much for this information Chellin.

I emailed the SA Adoptions Service at the addres you gave me, early-ish this morning & they replied to me soon afterwards - brilliant!

I've to download a form for completion from their website
http://www.adoptions.sa.gov.au/
and send this by snail mail to them, along with proof of my relationship, & any other information, & then they will see what they can find. So I'll send copies of all documents & info I've already collected about Margaret Elsie Hughes & my great grandad Timothy after his arrival in Adelaide.

Will let you know what results this brings (fingers crossed!!)

Carole

Oh thats great Carole

Hope you have some luck, I am waiting for some information from the Epsom workhouse in the UK but they are slower than that lol. My email said this is to confirm your email and it will take 21 days to reply.

Did they say that they went back that far with the records ???

Good Luck

Chellin

Well I told them that it was 1912, & they didn't say that was too early, so they must have records going back to then at least. Haven't sent the stuff by post to them yet - just going to the SA Adoption Service Website now to study it more closely & to print-out the form. In the email, they haven't mentioned any costs - so I'd better just check if anything on the site about any fees.

Good luck with the Epsom Workhouse records you want. Hope they don't keep you waiting too long