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That's the tough part. Her mother had at least five different legal names throughout her life. Birth name, adopted name (her own parents both died when she was very young), first husband's last name, a legal name change after divorce (went back to her birth last name with a slightly different first name), and then her second husband's last name. I think it would be under one of the middle two, but it's hard to say for sure.
That's a lot of surnames to search. I agree that looking back at the adoption papers may be helpful.
Does your cousin have the belief she was born in a particular place in Wisconsin or that she was born just someplace in Wisconsin? If it's the former, has she called or written to that particular town/city hall clerk. Being a smaller entity than the state office of vital records, the clerk might be able to look for your cousin's birth certificate under several surnames.
Another thought is to trace her maternal (or paternal) great grandparents' whereabouts when she was born. Although orphaned and adopted, your cousin's mother may have been with them at the time.
Does your cousin have the belief she was born in a particular place in Wisconsin or that she was born just someplace in Wisconsin? If it's the former, has she called or written to that particular town/city hall clerk. Being a smaller entity than the state office of vital records, the clerk might be able to look for your cousin's birth certificate under several surnames.
Another thought is to trace her maternal (or paternal) great grandparents' whereabouts when she was born. Although orphaned and adopted, your cousin's mother may have been with them at the time.
Shes' my dad's cousin...and yes, she had been told growing up she had been born in Milwaukee. She believes that is false now, after having written to state of Wisconsin. She now thinks her mother may have been in a different state at the time, though not sure exactly where.
I suspect it's possible her mother went out of the area to hide the pregnancy.
oops - I was thinking too much and forgot she is your father's cousin ... sorry!
Your suspicion is what I was thinking when I suggested looking for great grandparents or any other known relatives where she could have spent her pregnant months. Back then was certainly a different time than now.
......... she was adopted by her step-father ........
If she was legally adopted, there is an extremely good chance that the original birth certificate was sealed at that time and she will never be able to get her hands on it.
If her birth certificate was not sealed, it is possible that she was given a different name at birth and then the family took her home and started to call her something else. That is not all that rare for someone to find out their birth certificate is in a different first name and not the name they thought they had.
If she was legally adopted, there is an extremely good chance that the original birth certificate was sealed at that time and she will never be able to get her hands on it.
If her birth certificate was not sealed, it is possible that she was given a different name at birth and then the family took her home and started to call her something else. That is not all that rare for someone to find out their birth certificate is in a different first name and not the name they thought they had.
Thanks. It seems unlikely I'll ever be able to help her know for sure, then, unless one of her still living siblings is ever able to offer up some insight.
What was her mother's maiden name...the last name of her mother's parents? If you post that perhaps someone here can find you a clue to follow.
She was born in 1952, so she wouldn't be in the 1940 census.
Mother's maiden name was "Pearman". Oddly, I haven't been able to find her or her husband in the 1940 census. They were married in December 1940, so I'm not quite sure where either of them were living at the time, though they were probably in Illinois.
She was born in 1952, so she wouldn't be in the 1940 census.
Mother's maiden name was "Pearman". Oddly, I haven't been able to find her or her husband in the 1940 census. They were married in December 1940, so I'm not quite sure where either of them were living at the time, though they were probably in Illinois.
What was her first name? They were married after the census was enumerated, so you may find Ms. PEARMAN living with her parents.
Census takers were never required to get the exact spelling of a surname, so when you search don't check the little box by the surname, so you'll find names that are close, i.e. PEERMAN, etc.
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