Asking Some Adoption Questions

My great great grandfather, James Muir, immigrated to the U.S. in 1887. I have been researching my Muir ancestors from Scotland for the past several months as I promised my father I would write a book about family history this year. When Dad worked on our family's genealogy, he had no real way to access Scottish records. I thought writing a book about ancestors he knew little about would be more interesting for him.

I absolutely love the ScotlandsPeople website and have attended several classes at the Fairfax Genealogical Society's Spring Conference and the National Genealogical Society's 2014 Family History Conference about researching Scottish records. I also participated in the Family History Writing Challenge, writing about the Muirs, earlier this year in preparation.

A few days ago, on Tangled Roots and Trees, I wrote a post about discovering my first cousin three times removed and his wife Anne "Annie" Hutton adopted two sons. Learning about the adoptions answered several questions I had, such as why I couldn't find them using the Muir surname on ScotlandsPeople, but it also raised other questions about their oldest son, Nathaniel Muir (1895-1908). So I thought I'd pose those questions here since I have access to so many people smarter than me about Scottish records.

I first discovered Nathaniel as the 6-year-old son of Nathaniel and Annie on the 1901 census. I could not find his birth registration. He was not listed on the 1911 census so I assumed he may have died and went looking for his death record. I couldn't find that record either. The 1911 census did list two adopted sons, Andrew Murray and Robert Stewart. Then I found a photo on BillionGraves.com of a memorial Nathaniel and Annie erected in Bathgate Cemetery. The inscription provided death dates for sons, Nathaniel and Andrew. According to the inscription, Nathaniel died on 19 Mar 1908 at age  13.

Portion of Nathaniel Muir McGregor's birth registration
from ScotlandsPeople

Monument created by Nathaniel and Annie (Hutton) Muir at Bathgate Cemetery;
photograph courtesy of BillionGraves.com

I went back to ScotlandsPeople and searched for any Nathaniel that died in West Lothian in 1908. By removing the Muir surname from my search criteria, I found Nathaniel's death registration, which listed McGregor as his surname. His name on that registration was Nathaniel Muir McGregor and his mother was Christina McGregor. With that information I went looking for his birth registration and found it, too. His name at birth was Nathaniel Muir McGregor. He was born on 25 January 1895 to Christina McGregor, an unmarried domestic servant. No father was named on the registration. He was born Whitburn, which was less than 3 miles from Armadale, where Nathaniel and Annie, his adoptive parents, lived.

When I found his other two adopted brothers, their birth registrations had been changed to reflect the name change at the time of the adoption. Nathaniel's birth registration had no such alterations.

Does this mean Nathaniel Muir McGregor could have been the illegitimate child of Annie's husband, Nathaniel Muir? Or does it simply mean Christina McGregor knew before her son was born that Nathaniel and Annie were adopting him? Or should I research Christina McGregor to see if she is related to the Muir line somehow? What should I think about this situation?

Greetings From Sunny San Diego, California!

Holding my grandmother's mirror

Wow!  I made it!  My name is Yvette Porter Moore, and my online name is The RootDigger.  I have a difficult time pinpointing the exact day and year that I began my family research.  I believe I was born with the questions ingrained in my psyche & heart, "Who am I? & Where Do I come from?"  I remember being inquisitive in anything that wasn't mine in the house.  I would go through my mother and father's  papers, photo albums, and anything that was in a folder in the file cabinet.  Nothing much got by me.  I remember my mother being so upset because I was tearing photos out of her photo album.  I had to have been about 4 years old.  I loved the people in them, and I wanted to know who they were.  I wanted those photos to be mine.  I had no idea that this first act of curiosity was going to be my mission in life.  I began digging then, and I continue this day to dig.  I now try to tell the story of those that impacted my life through the generations from blood ancestry to spiritual ancestry.

Yvette Porter Moore
Happily Adopted by Loving Parents

When I was eight, I found out I was adopted. Questions about my adoption did not rise in me until I was fifteen and I gave birth to my first child. I wanted to know who I was, where did I come from, and who in this world looked like me?  There was not much I could do about getting my questions answered because I was underage, and had to wait for the ripe ol' age of eighteen.  

Yes, my mother told me that I was born in Los Angeles.  She told me my mother was Mexican and my father was African-American.  She also let me know that they were very young and were not able to provide for me.  This is all I knew.  I didn't know if I had siblings or anything else.  I was raised in an African American household, and the fact that I had Mexican Ancestry appealed to me, however, I did not know much but wanted to.  It was not until I was eighteen years old that I was able to get non-identifying information on my birth family.  I was thrilled when it came packaged in the mail.  It revealed what I already knew, except there was more information added.  My father was described as having an olive complexion.  Both sets of grandparents were still living at the time of my adoption.  My mother was anxious to get back home after she gave birth to me.  My mother's race was Caucasian and Mexican.  Then at the bottom of the paper, standing out-bright as day, My name: Victoria.  Wow!  A clue!  Can you believe that?  I was thrilled because I knew with that information, I would be able to discover more.

My parents Betty & Walter Porter,
and brother Marshall

I have since found both birth families.  I have relationships with some members of each family and I am beginning to feel after twenty-five years of discovery, bonded.  I feel like I belong.  I am who I am and all I have to do is "Be."  Be that Sister, Be that Auntie, Be that Cousin; Nothing more and nothing less.

I currently research all four sides of my family ancestry.  I research my adopted and birth families.  I have many many cousins and I am thrilled that I have taken the time to search and to make my own family.

My Birth father Family

I am so excited to be a part of the World Wide Genealogy Blog.  I thank Julie Goucher for including me in this new community of bloggers.  I hope you come along with us as we take you through our journey worldwide.

I mainly got interested in genealogy research when my mother Betty Mae Peters encouraged me to look up information for her so she could add to her memoirs of New York.  I had decided after she passed away that I would write her life in Sugar Hill, and so that's when I began digging.  Some of those stories can be found here: A Taste of Sugar Hill.

I currently am the Vice President of the San Diego African American Genealogy Research Group.  I am a part of a few communities online such as The African American Slave Ancestry Research Group, Geneabloggers, and Our Black History. I am also on "The Clock" to earn my way to being a Board Certified Genealogist.

I have many blogs but they are all linked to The Ancestors Have Spoken.  I find that it is my calling to tell the stories of my ancestors because they want to be known.  The more time goes by, I feel the urgency to research and write more.  It is my hope that I spark an interest in others and that I also drop cousin bait all over the world.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me, and my ancestors.  I know that they are smiling and rooting us all on!!