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unclarity
Junior member
USA
36 Posts |
 Posted - 12/10/2008 : 06:10:01
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My mother Ruth Peterson (maiden name Olson) b; 6-13-1942 d; 3-5-2007 was born to Clara Peterson. Mom was then adopted by Orville Olson who married Clara in September 1942. Mom's biological father was named William Klein. Unfortunately, that is all the information I have on him. The adoption most likely would have taken place in 1942-43 and I think either in Jackson County, Wisconsin where the family lived or in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where my mom was born.
I have a lot of info on the other family members if needed, just not on William Klein.
My question is, does anyone know of way to figure out who exactly William might be with out spending lots of money on fees? It's like a needle in a haystack to me!!!!
Thanks in advance for any help.
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Kara |
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jkmarler
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
7790 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2008 : 13:09:09
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Hi,
Have you got your information from the agency which handled your mother's adoption? Do you have papers from the court which handled your mother's adoption?
Agencies will release what they call "non-identifying information" on other family members and sometimes, especially in addition to having the name of the father, you can piece together the correct family. Do you have any of grandmother's generation left, ie younger brothers and sisters, who may have information?
Jackie M.
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Kċarto
Norway Heritage Veteran
Norway
5861 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2008 : 14:21:35
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It was 30 Klein living in Norway according the 1900 census.
Klein is German, means Small.
Kċre
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unclarity
Junior member
USA
36 Posts |
Posted - 13/10/2008 : 05:49:24
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Jackie
Thank you for the suggestions but;
No, unfortunately I don't have any such papers. I have no idea what adoption agency was used or even a location of the adoption. The counties I have listed are simply a "best guess" on my part. The siblings of Clara have all passed away. I have asked cousins (children of Clara's siblings) and I am afraid they know even less about the situation than I do. My mother only knew as much as I do also. She paid layers to help her find William Klein to no avail. The only real lead I have right now is my mother told me his name long ago, did not know his middle name, and I have moms birth certificate which states;
Ruth Ann Pederson, born June, 13, 1942
Maiden name of mother, Pederson, C.
Name of father, Klein, W.
Amendments, Name of father added by court order, October 19, 1942.
There is an error on this certificate of the spelling of PEDERSON, it is suppose to be PETERSON and was straightened out later by Orville.
I did just find out that Clara and Orville were married in La Valle, Wisconsin, and lived there for a few years after mom was born, so I suppose that is where I should start my search.
There is a service that will look through Wisconsin records for this type of information, but it is expensive and not guaranteed. The database for adoptions is not searchable to the public (which is understandable).
Kċre
Thank you for the information, I was not sure what origin Klein was
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Kara |
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jkmarler
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
7790 Posts |
Posted - 13/10/2008 : 11:21:13
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Hi Kara,
Okay, why was your grandmother where she was in Sept-Oct-Nov 1941? Was she going to school, college or university -- perhaps William Klein was a fellow student...Yearbooks, alumni association records, city directories etc. would be places to look.
The birth certificate was issued in which county? Is this where Clara's family usually resided or was Clara in an unwed mother's institution / hospital at the time of the birth? It seems strange that the b.c. doesn't carry an address or some other information about William...But with the court order date of 19 Oct 1942, something was going at that point already. Usually what happens is the birth certificate is altered to reflect only the adopting parents' names so you are lucky there. Mayhaps you can get access to the appropriate court actions, call the correct courthouse to see what they can or can't do.
If the b.c. only has the father's name as W. Klein how did you come by William for his first name? Does the law firm your mother hired still practice? Maybe they have kept the full file, if your mother didn't, and her executor or personal representative can still access.
William Klein would have to have been alive in 1930--have someone with access to Ancestry get you a list of William Kleins in the 1930 US federal census.
There are 681 William Klein in the Social Security Death Index but if he was a young man, at the time of the war, he may have served (and died) in the military and would not be in SSDI.
Good Luck!
Jackie M.
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unclarity
Junior member
USA
36 Posts |
Posted - 13/10/2008 : 23:07:41
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Hi Jackie
I don't know why my grandmother was in La Valle, but will follow through with your suggestions. I had not thought of city directories, but I doubt school associations because she went to high school in Mindoro and college in Eau Claire and graduated some years before 1941.
The birth certificate was Wisconsin issued with no county mentioned...would have been handy if there was one though!! It actually has surprisingly little info on it. I think I will try to call the main courts in all three counties and hope for the best. That seems the most practical starting point.
I know his name is William because that is all my mom knew of him from a letter she had that he wrote Clara regarding sending a few dollars in child support directly after her birth. Unfortunately that letter has not been found. I am sure that at one time the family had documentation on this matter. The problem is that there was fire right after Clara died and it took out many old Norwegian books, bibles, photos, and family papers. Much of what I do have is singed. Also, all I have from the layer amounts to a list of William Klein's that lived in Wisconsin in 1994-95 (I could have done so much from a phone book. I even remember telling my mom that!!!)
I appreciate your suggestions, I had not thought of some of them. I will check every avenue possible. Thank you again.
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Kara |
Edited by - unclarity on 13/10/2008 23:10:38 |
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Lester Hanson
Advanced member
USA
567 Posts |
Posted - 14/10/2008 : 00:23:36
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Kare,
Ancestry.com has some William Kleins in the 1930 census, from Milwaukee. You have to guess what age he would have been, but there are a couple Kleins that are close.
For privacy reasons, I don't think I should enter them in this topic. You should be able to use your local library for access to Ancestry.com to further your research.
Les |
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searching for William Klein (moms real father)
