Adoption History

Part 1: Ancient/Biblical

Alexander the Great, 356-323 BC, King of Macedon

Philip V, 238-179 BC, King of Macedonia

Marcus Aurelius, 121-180, Emperor of Rome

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Two of the most powerful men of their times. What do they have in common? Each was adopted.

Adoption has been part of our human experience probably since our beginnings, but certainly part of our written law since the 18th century BC, during the reign of Babylonian King Hammurabi. While this is not the first evidence of written law, the Code of Hammurabi is the earliest to survive intact with clear definitions of adoption.

Paragraphs 185 through 193 of the Code deal specifically with adoption, the responsibilities of adoptive parents, and conduct of the adoptee. This [translated] original text and an early 20th century examination of Babylonian law make it clear that adoption was an integral - and important - part of ancient family life.

Some interesting points to note:

• Consent
  Adoption had to be with the consent of the birth parents, and was arranged by deed whereby they released any claim.
• Exceptions
  Vestals, hierodules (temple slaves), certain palace officials and slaves, had no rights over their children and their consent was not required.
• Equality
  Adoptees were full and legal heirs of their adoptive parents.
• Dissolution
  If an adoptive parent subsequently had a biological child, the adoptee could be returned to his/her birth parents, however the adoptee had to receive a portion of the adoptive parent's property.
• No-no
  An adoptee who wanted to return to his/her birth parents had his/her eye put out, or tongue cut out.

Adoption was very common during the ancient/classical periods, and generally involved adults - to carry on a dynasty, occupation, or family name; to care for a parent in old age, or to protect property rights.

Under the provisions of the Code, adoption was not restricted to couples. Both men and women could adopt, whether they were single or married. While adoptees were expected to fulfill their parents' expectations [which in some instances approached servitude similar to slavery], the Code of Hammurabi makes it clear that they had rights within their adoptive families, both in terms of property and position.

The transformation of tribal ritual into the Code of Hammurabi marked the beginning of the evolution of the "practice" of adoption into the "institution" of adoption. Our modern adoption law in the United States finds its origins in the Code and later, Roman law, which will be explored in a future feature.

Who's Who of Adoption in the Ancient/Classical Period

The enormous diversity of location of those listed below only serves to underscore the important role adoption has played our societal structure, across the centuries and around the world. What follows is just a minute sampling of adoptees, adoptive parents, and birth parents from this period in history.

Biblical References
Perhaps the first well-known reference to adoption (or what we presume to be adoption) is the story of Moses who, as recorded in the Old Testament [Exodus 2:5-10], was adopted by Pharaoh's daughter in the 13th century BC:

And of course, no adoption story would be complete without mention of Jesus Christ who was adopted by Joseph the Carpenter. According to practices of the times,when Joseph married Mary, he accepted Jesus as his own, which would carry the same legal weight as a modern-day adoption.

Rome
It was common practice for Roman rulers to adopt their candidates for succession. Sometimes this led to intrigue and even murder, as in the case of Nero [36-68], who was adopted by his stepfather, the Emperor Claudius. Nero's mother, Agrippina, murdered Claudius to ensure her son's ascent to the throne.

Other Emperors of this period who were adopted include Caligula and Hadrian.

Part 2: The Middle Ages

Boson of Arles, 850?-887, King of Provence

Michael V, 11th Century, Emperor of Byzantium

Te Ariki Upoko Tini, 12th-13th Century, Chief of the Cook Islands

Three powerful men - each adopted as a means of confirming his position as heir to the throne.

The ancient Code of Hammurabi marked the beginning of the transition of the "practice" of adoption into the "institution" of adoption. And the Roman Civil Code of the Middle Ages established adoption under the umbrella of Family Law, where it remains today.

In 535, the Roman Emperor Justinian issued a civil code which contained a legal guide called The Institutes. The chapter on Adoption is part of the Book of Persons which covers topics from marriage to parenting to guardianship. In addition to provisions we've seen in the Code of Hammurabi, the Institute addressed issues of kinship adoption, who could adopt and, most importantly, it referenced the adoption of young children.

The Roman law included the following provisions:

• Children
  Adoption of a child [under the age of puberty] required investigation into whether the child would benefit from the adoption [best interest of the child].
• Who could adopt
  Those who could adopt included the "impotent," but not those who had been castrated.
• Women
  Women could adopt by special dispensation of the Emperor.
• Age difference
  Adoptive parents were required to be at least eighteen years older than the adoptee(s).
• Siblings
  Marriage was not allowed between adoptive siblings.
• Co-parenting
  In some instances, both birth and adoptive families had a responsibility to the adoptee.
• Need a lawyer
  Adoption was clearly placed under the jurisdiction of the courts.

Changing Views of Child Adoption

Whereas adoption in Ancient times was focused on adult adoption, the Middle Ages brought a recognition and legislation of the adoption of children. Not only are children's interests given consideration, but [Book I, Article IX, paragraph 10] women are given the opportunity to adopt as comfort for the loss of their own children - a notable precursor of our modern-day infant and child adoption.

Scissors Anyone?

Roman civil codes were the seeds from which our American adoption law grew, but there were interesting developments going on in other parts of the world. For example, Boson of Arles, referenced at the top of the page, was adopted by Pope John VIII. The adoption was formalized when Boson cut off his hair and handed it to the Pope. This act, known as adoption by hair, was a common - and legally binding - practice.

Who's Who of Adoption in the Middle Ages

Middle East
The -->Prophet Muhammad [570-632] was an adoptive parent to children of his wives, and to Zaid bin Haritha. Zaid had been gifted as a slave to Muhammad, who freed him and adopted him.

Polynesia
On the other side of the world, Tangiia Nui, Chief of the Tahitian-Cook Islands in the 12th-13th century was an adoptee, adoptive parent and birth parent.

Europe
Gian Giacomo Caprotti [1480-1524], the Florentine painter, is generally believed to have been the adopted son of Leonardo da Vinci and Pope Alexander VI [1431-1503] was adopted by his maternal uncle. Alexander may be best remembered as the father of the infamous Lucrezia Borgia.

Part 3: Coming to America

The first state adoption law in the United States was enacted in 1851 in Massachusetts.

In order to understand what happened to orphaned, abandoned, and uncared-for children in this country until that time (and beyond in states other than Massachusetts), we need to look to England.

According to Law Professor Ruth-Arlene W. Howe, most of our laws were based on English law. But, "Adoption was never part of the English common law; England only recognized it in the mid-1920s." And so, in the absence of legal precedent, the founders of our country, those men who drafted our Constitution and served in legislative capacities in our young nation, brought with them a history of informal practices and customs from the land of their ancestors: England.

The England of "Oliver Twist"

Charles Dickens' 1838 classic wasn't far off the mark. In England, adoption existed, but without standard legal statutes. Other options for orphans, abandoned, and destitute children were workhouses, children's homes, orphanages, and kinship care.

During the time period 1597-1866, it was common for children who had been convicted of crimes to be deported to America or Australia together with adult criminals. And Child Migrantswere sent from Britain and Ireland to the colonies as early as 1618. These children, generally between the ages of 5 and 12, were taken from children's homes and orphanages with the express purpose of culturally swamping "the native peoples by increasing the white population." They were often institutionalized or indentured when they arrived, and were notoriously ill-treated.

Back in the USA

Against this backdrop, our Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence and established a new government... with no formal state laws governing adoption, foster care, or the treatment and care of orphans and destitute children.

All Roads Lead to Rome

As mentioned previously, our adoption law here in the US derived from Roman law. So, even while our practices derived from England, the law was based on those men in their togas. When Massachusetts drafted the nation's first state statutes in 1851, many of the precepts of Justinian law were included; however, not all states were ready for such action, most notably, New York.

The Trains

In 1853, Rev. Charles Loring Brace founded the Children's Aid Society of New York. This charitable institution grew out of Brace's concern over the growing number of street children - orphans, runaways, young prostitutes, abandoned children. These vagrant children were often arrested and then transferred to institutions to be trained for work.

Brace's solution was to "get these children of unhappy fortune utterly out of their surroundings and to send them away to kind Christian homes in the country."

The Children's Aid Society staff gathered children from orphanages, reformatories, and the homes of the poor. The children were put on trains, in groups of of 6-150, accompanied by two adults, and they set off for the midwest. Ads were run in local newspapers at each stop on the journey, and the children were "displayed" at each place. Children who were not selected at the first stop were loaded back onto the train for the next destination.

In a parallel movement, the New York Foundling Hospital sent children to the south and midwest on "mercy trains" or "baby trains," in a program coordinated through the Catholic church.

There were several differences between the two programs:

Kids on the Block: According to Connie DiPasquale, whose work is on display at the Kansas Collection, The Children's Aid Society secured a release from a parent or guardian if the child was not an orphan. Advance notices would be placed in newspapers along the train's planned itinerary, and a committee of some sort in each town was responsible for finding potential families. The children were put on display for inspection and selection. Siblings were often separated. "Placing agents" were responsible for securing another family for children if a placement wasn't working.

Matched to Order: The Foundling Hospital (Catholic Charities) placements were restricted to Catholic families. However, unlike Brace's program, children were not sent out without a specific destination family. Families would send "requests" for a child with certain physical characteristics to the Foundling Hospital and a "matching" child would be sent.

From that first train in 1854, until the last in 1930 (long after New York enacted its first adoption law in 1873), it is estimated that between 150,000 and 400,000 children were placed in foster or adoptive families in Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Texas and other states.

Additional Reading & Resources

• Famous Adoptees, Fosterees and Others: A Biographical Directory - compiled by Roger Ridley Fenton
• Hammurabi's Code of Laws - translated by L. W. King
• Justinian's Institute: Adoption - from Medieval Sourcebook
• The Adoption History Project - created by historian and educator Ellen Herman
• The American Orphan Trains - PBS Transcript

Credits: by Nancy S. Ashe