In article <[email protected]>, Michael Kenefick <[email protected]> wrote: > Dennis, > > My opinion is add yourself as adopted. Place many notes like what you > posted here. > > Mike in Ohio > > Dennis wrote: > > If wanted to, how would it be noted if a family member was not born > > into the family? I was taken in as a foster child at 4 years old, > > remained with them as a son permantly and had my name legally > > changed to theirs at age 18 although I always used their name from > > almost day one. No formal adoption. > > > > TIA, > > Dennis I concur with Mike's suggestion. In a "purist" sense, genealogy is about bloodlines and such, but most of us who do any of this have encountered situations like yours. There's an adoption (even if not formalized), or there's a child from one marriage adopted by a second spouse who should "rightly" appear as part of that second family in records. I've got several such appearing in my own records. Should you have information on your "birth family" and want to include the genetic side of things, most good genealogy software would surely allow you to show yourself in both places (mine does), so that you'd appear as child of your birth parent(s) and again as a child of your foster parents with options to flag or mark certain things, make notes, etc., to clarify and/or explain what it all means. I was raised by my grandparents, but my Grandfather was technically a "step" Grandfather and not blood. Nevertheless, I still attend family reunions annually since I'm a lifelong member of that family. This relationship has taught me that bloodlines and names aren't the only things that matter in our family histories. This man is still the Grandfather I remember daily with love. = Steve = -- Steve W. Jackson Montgomery, Alabama