[eurasia72]

Hi there,

Not sure if this is the right forum to go to, but... my late grandmother was born in Shanghai, China in 1914. She was adopted by a lady we knew as "Granny Piry." I'm trying to find out what adoption agency had cared for my grandmother, and who her birth parents were.

Can anyone help?

Regards.

[sak9645]

My guess is that there was no adoption agency involved. Many adoptions back then were somewhat informal. Even today, in China, informal adoption is common, and the Chinese government is trying to regulate it more.

[eurasia72]

Thank you.

[sak9645]

Is it possible that any of Granny Piry's relatives are still alive and might know the story of how your grandmother came into her care?

As an example, suppose that Granny Piry's bio daughter is still alive. She might say, "Oh, yes. Granny Piry had a young neighbor named Mrs. Wu. Mrs. Wu died giving birth to her second child, who also died. The husband was devastated, and did not know how he would be able to care for the first child, two-year old Xiumin, since he had to work and had no close relatives in the area. Granny Piry offered to take the child for a while, to help him get on his feet. Two years later, he decided that he wanted to look for a new wife, and felt that having a child would make it harder to find one, so he asked Granny Piry to keep the child. He said he was moving back to his home village, which was ____.

This might or might not help you find your grandmother's birthparents, but at least you would know the story.

Sharon