> Dena asked: > > > I was wondering about changing childrens names when the mother has > > been widowed and remarries around 1850's. Did they have to go > > thru some legal steps, or could the mother and step father > > "unofficially"change the childrens as if they were adopted by the > > father? > > Formal requirements for changing children's names did not occur > until the 1970s in the US. The change occurred when schools began > requiring birth certificates upon enrollment and began insisting on > calling the child the name on the birth certificate rather than the > name used by the family. Before that schools used the name the > family used on the enrollment form, no birth certificate required. > [For which I, for one, am happy. My birth certificate reads > Harriett Joan Best, Harriett being my mother's name, but never used > by the family. I was enrolled as "Joan Best" and all school and > work records are under that name. When I divorced my name was > legally changed to "Joan Best".] As for taking the step-father's > name, that was extremely common, often so the children would not be > teased or the family looked down on. My first husband and sister > took their step-father's name, though never adopted. He used it the > rest of his life and our children and grandchildren carried on the > step-father's surname. > > Interesting how a law regulating schools has such far-reaching > effect. It is my impression, from working in the field, that one of > the other effects is to increase formal adoption by step-parents. I > think the intent of the law was one of the first attempts to find > children "kidnapped" by one parent. > > "Joan Best" <joanbest1@earthlink.net> I just bought some law books from the 1860s Wisconsin. I found children's name changes in them, their names and the new names. I have to look at them again. I don't know if they were adoptions or an adoption by the step parent, or if I could tell. Diane "Diane Y. Smith Royer" <dysmithroyer@dtgnet.com>

From: "Diane Y. Smith Royer" > I just bought some law books from the 1860s Wisconsin. I found > children's name changes in them, their names and the new names. I > have to look at them again. I don't know if they were adoptions or > an adoption by the step parent, or if I could tell. JOAN REPLIES: I didn't mean to imply that there were no legal names changes, only that names were often changed without going through the legal process when the mother married again and changed her name. "Joan Best" <joanbest1@earthlink.net>