[JoanFarley1946]

I don't believe I was an accident, God doesn't make accidents. I don't believe any mother out there "gives up her child", but perhaps she was not able to care for her baby and so she did what she felt was best.
I do believe however that once the child becomes an adult that it is needed that they embrace each other. For any birth mother that is reading this... please find your child, there is no love in the world like a mothers love.
It was told to me that my own mother was either named Virginia Farley or Virginia Donovan, she had me in the St.Vincent's hospital in Philadelphia,PA back in 1946. Mother... if you're out there please know that I understand. I can only be eternally grateful that it was my father's sister Elise that adopted me yet I only learned that John Meyer was my father after he died. Still the mystery remains of the love affair that took place in 1945, but we are all only human mom... wherever you are right now I can say that I love you because you brought me into this world and gave me the most precious gift of all....LIFE, and for this I'm eternally grateful.

[Jackiejdajda]

I don't believe I was an accident, God doesn't make accidents. I don't believe any mother out there "gives up her child", but perhaps she was not able to care for her baby and so she did what she felt was best.

If she was in control of the situation this may be the case.

I do believe however that once the child becomes an adult that it is needed that they embrace each other. For any birth mother that is reading this... please find your child, there is no love in the world like a mothers love.

I was gifted with the chance to tell my son I loved him.. My husband told him that he knew I always loved him..

It was told to me that my own mother was either named Virginia Farley or Virginia Donovan, she had me in the St.Vincent's hospital in Philadelphia,PA back in 1946. Mother... if you're out there please know that I understand. I can only be eternally grateful that it was my father's sister Elise that adopted me yet I only learned that John Meyer was my father after he died.

My goodness.. You do have a history..

St Vincent’s was a name involved in my relinquishment.. I just googled his name.. He was a patron of charity..

Still the mystery remains of the love affair that took place in 1945, but we are all only human mom... wherever you are right now I can say that I love you because you brought me into this world and gave me the most precious gift of all....LIFE, and for this I'm eternally grateful.

I wish you could tell her this..

Jackie

[JoanFarley1946]

I wondered what you meant by "If she was in control of the situation..." and now I understand.
After reading several stories from adoptees and the mother's who gave birth to them during WWII I can believe very much so that many agencies exploited them. The more I read of the history on these adoptions that took place, it only furthers my need to find the girl who gave birth to my mother. I'm now suspecting very highly that my mothers grandmother ( her real father's mother ) forced her real mother to hand her baby over. The nuns in the hospital probably didn't help either. Oh the pain her real mom must've felt, it's horrible! There's nothing like a mother's love. For all the mother's out there that are searching please know that your child holds a great piece of his or her heart for you. I prayed and prayed and prayed and we finally made contact with some of our cousins. They don't seem to know much ... one is hiding the truth from us which makes me furious! ... now we've just learned about a "foster girl" who was living with the grandmother in the late 30's. the girl was just a teenager and with my mom being born in 1946 would mean that if she were my mother's birth mother she would've been about 20 or so when she gave birth to her.
I read awful things about the place she was born in. How could some of these nuns that worked in St.Vincent's hospital for the unwed mother's take part in something so cruel.
Please take a look at my mothers myspace page, she has a beautiful slide slide show of all these family members on her "mystery father's" side of the family. Everyone is deceased now which is sad because now we know why her father (John Meyer) came for visits all the time, and spent time with her. He was in WWII and was in the merchant marines.
But thank you Jackie for taking the time to read my story and that I too wish I could tell her real mother this. It may sound strange but I feel like it is my heart that is breaking, as if I was the adoptee. Oh well... my search will continue.

MySpace.com - Pauline - 62 - Female - Saint Louis, Missouri - www.myspace.com/destiny_observer

[mlassi]

Are you searching still? I may have some suggestions for you.

[JoanFarley1946]

I even have my mother's adoption papers. We are still searching but seem to be stumped

[mlassi]

I sent you a pm

[Jackiejdajda]

I lost this thread.. and missed the chance to add a reply.. to your reply..

The mystification of all this..

When I gave my son up.. I gave him up to the CC.. and St Vincent Maternity and Adoption Center..
They were kind to me.. very kind..

It was the hospital that took me out..

Jackie

[JoanFarley1946]

When you say the hospital "took you out", what do you mean?

[Nicole28]

I think Jackie meant "threw me under the bus" or "screwed me," for lack of a better term, when she said "took me out." Jackie, I could be sooooo wrong - so I apologize in advance if I'm way off-base and offend you - but I'm just guessing as to what you meant based on context.

Joan - - what do your biological mother's adoption papers say? What has you "stumped?"

[JoanFarley1946]

I don't see where the name of my real father or real mother is... and the signature page is missing. Although since it was my real father's sister that adopted me could it of been that the judge didn't need signatures? And what the heck took 4 years for the adoption to take place? It was in Delaware county. Something tells me my father's mother might've been the one to take me away from my real mother. The Meyer family had money whereas my real mother most likely didn't. How could she if she were a foster child?
I'm trying to find a photograph of St.Vincent's hospital in South Philadelphia. Built in the mid 1800's, and located at 70th and Woodland ave. I come across many pictures of other St.Vincent hospitals but I can't believe there is not one that I can find online.
Would you or anybody know where I could find one?

[Nicole28]

I did a Google image search and did not find any pictures or any information on a St. Vincent's hospital in South Philly. Is there a chance that the hospital where you were born has been renamed? It may be the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia now - I searched for "hospital woodland ave philadelphia." It may also be the VA Hospital now...or a series of several health centers. I have family in Philly & will ask them about this.

You say that you do not see the name of your biological mother or father. Do you have your ORIGINAL birth certificate? Names of biological parents would not be on your amended birth certificate. A signature from a biological parent would also be considered an identifying piece of information, so unless you had your OBC unsealed, you would not be privy to signatures, either.

My adoption was finalized in August of 1986, two years after I was placed with my adoptive parents. It's not uncommon for finalization to take a couple of years.

FYI - my grandma, who has lived right outside of Philly for over 20 years, thinks that St. Vincent's has been renamed and is now the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She works for a doctor & said she will ask around...she seemed to think that St. Vincent's was a charity hospital run by nuns.

[JoanFarley1946]

Children's hospital is another hospital locating right next to the University of Penn. also the VA hospital is a different hospital.
St.Vincent's was ran by nuns. The Dr. that did the delivery was M.H. Schaeffer.
I have my baptismal records also. Being baptized on Jan.31,1946 by rev.James J. Sullivan.
I do not have my original birth certificate, I only have the one with my new name. Although it is genuine ( having all the correct no.s on it ) it looks as if it's filled in with my fathers sister's handwriting. ( The lady who adopted me ...Elise Meyer Cooney.

[Nicole28]

Joan -

Unfortunately the doctor who delivered you will most likely not provide any useful information. In fact, it is quite likely that he has since passed away.

In PA, there is a reunion registry. You would need to petition the courts for your ORIGINAL birth certificate, however - those records are sealed. My amended BC has the correct information on it as well - this is because my social security number was not issued until my adoption was finalized. For all intents and purposes, an amended BC is pretty useless when it comes to searching.

Here's some information you may find helpful:

Division of Vital Records
Attn: Adoption Registry
101 S. Mercer Street
PO Box 1528
New Castle, PA 16101

You can write to the registry and request ALL of your non-identifying information. You may also want to inquire with the PA Health Dept. and ask them about St. Vincent's - if it is still an actual hospital [I really think that it was renamed and is now the Children's Hospital or a different string of medical offices!] and I would also ask where birth records for babies born at St. Vincent's are kept, because you are also entitled to your non-ID information from the hospital where you were born.

You can find out if your biological mother or father provided information to the state by contacting the following department:

Adoption Medical History Registry
4th floor, Bertolino Building
PO Box 2675
Harrisburg, PA 17105-2675
(800) 227-0225

You will need to provide the following information in your letter to the Medical Registry - remember, you won't receive info. unless your biological mother or father provided it.

Name of child after adoption (first, middle, last) [YOU]
Date of birth
City, boro, township of birth
County of birth
Adoptive father's name
Adoptive mother's maiden name (first, middle, last)
Applicant's mailing address
Applicant's daytime telephone number, including area code

There is also a $10 fee associated with this service.

FYI - if your biological mother and/or father have passed away, you will not have access to their birth or death records. Therefore, a court order from the court that granted the adoption is required for release of the birth or death records of biological family members.

This is a good website - Health: Adoption Registry Information.

Wait a minute: so to clarify, you know your biological father and were adopted by his sister, correct? I am not sure who you are searching for or who is the adoptee in this situation. I'm sorry - I'm confused! Ah.

[Jackiejdajda]

JoanFarley1946

When you say the hospital "took you out", what do you mean?

Hello Joan.. and hello Nicole..

Nicole is correct they threw me under the bus and turned a difficult situation into a situation I had to block for years..

The hospital put me (after the birth) in a ward (four beds) with a woman that was keeping her baby.. I had to listen to her taking care of her baby with the curtains drawn.. I know they do not do that any more.. but it was beyond shaming.. There was a girl across from me that was giving her baby up as well.. and she and I (before this woman was moved into the ward) were actually getting to talk about our feelings etc..
I had hidden away and not gone to a home so I was in need of some moral support..

Also I was drugged for the birth so I did not see my son when he was born.. I did not hold him.. I did not connect with him.. That was toxic for my soul and I bet for his as well as the primal wound does apply IMO..

The agency was helpful after I approached them. I had three months after the birth if I wanted to change my mind.. and my son was given to a couple that had already adopted with them a few years before.. I got my non identify info when I followed the right channels when I started to search twenty one years or so after the birth.. and they were kind..
The woman that had handled the adoption Audrey Wahl (sp?) remembered me when my parents went looking for the agency because I had moved away from Florida and I wanted to put my open to contact letter in his file.

At one point I was worried that they had changed the birthdate as they did that in Florida in those years..
They had not..

I have nothing bad to say about CC..

Jackie

[RavenSong]

Ok, I'm trying to track down a photo of St. Vincent's Hospital for you. So far, I've discovered that the hospital was connected to the St. Vincent's Maternity Home. At the time, it was a sprawling red-brick complex that included the maternity home, maternity hospital, and orphanage. The property was eventually sold and is now a homeless shelter.

I'll continue searching for more info and a photo....