I was probably about 10 years old when I learned I was adopted.
This happened when I discovered in the basement of our home in Blue Bell, PA [my recollection might be faulty here] a
baptismal certificate from St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Chestnut Hill. The certificate referred
to me as a "stepson." Although I was shocked and cried at the time, I quickly got over
it and rarely thought of it again. I cannot find this "Baptismal Certificate."
I made an effort to search for my b-mom in 1998 but that ended when I was told that records are sealed
and that records prior to 1954 has been destroyed.
In 2014 I discovered that laws had changed and I might be able to learn more about my birth
parents. So I send a letter to the Montgomery County Orphans Court. My adoption decree was finalized
on Febrary 20, 1952 at the Montgomery County Orphan's Court by Judge J. Burnett Holland. From this I learned
that I was born Scott Dennis Moore.
Received this from Helen Blair Schuler, Montgomery County Courthouse, on May 12, 2014.
"Tom,
I have received your original birth certificate from PA Vital Records. Your birth parents were both born in West Virginia. I am in the process of sending a request with a court order to WV to obtain your birth mother’s birth certificate.
The name of your birth father listed on your birth certificate is different than the name listed in the petition. Based on the information in the record, I believe the name on the birth certificate is fictitious. I will be in touch if I locate her.
She got back to me but not much more was ever found. I got a call from Helen Blair Schuler on Aug 5, 2014 saying they'd pretty much done all they could. They believe my father was William Talbert, from Lewisburg, West Virginia. He was unmaried and a Presbyterian and he was 42 years old at the time of the adoption. And that's it. That's all I know.
Results of initial search in 1998.
Godfather Uncle Art Crosby.
