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Hancock, John

Hancock's father, a Congregationalist minister, died when he was a boy of seven, leaving his mother a destitute widow with three children, and he was adopted by his uncle, Thomas Hancock, a... [more]

Hannibal, Abram Petrovich

Hannibal was born an African prince, but kidnapped as a young boy about 1692 and sent to Istanbul as a hostage. A year late he was sent as a present to Tsar Peter of Russia, who used him as... [more]

Hansen, Ashia

Hansen was born in Evansville, Indiana, and was adopted by academic English and Ghanaian parents when she was three months old, and lived in Ghana before immigrating to Britain when she was... [more]

Harald of Sogn (under Norwegian Ruling Families)

In the Middle Ages fostering was practiced between the great families of Norway, possibly as a means of cementing interfamily alliances or demonstrating reciprocal status relationships. Acc... [more]

Harrison, Pakariki

Paki Harrison is the eldest of 21 children, and was a tamaiti whangai (foster child) of his grandparents until he was 17 or 18. He comes from a long line of Maori carvers and began carving ... [more]

Harry, Deborah

Harry was adopted aged three months. Her family includes a born-to sister and a cousin who lived with her parents. She spent most of her twenties working at odd jobs, including spells as... [more]

Hawai'ian Royal Families

The history of the royal dynasties of Hawai'i has been as tangled as that of many others. Until the early 19th century each island was ruled by its own dynasty, but Kamehameha the Great (17... [more]

Haynes, Lemuel

Haynes was the illegitimate son of an African father and a middle-class white woman, born in Hartford, Connecticut. His parents abandoned him and he was indentured (a limited and temporary ... [more]

Head, Bessie

Head was the child of a wealthy white South African woman and a Black servant when interracial relationships were illegal in South Africa. Her mother was sent to a mental hospital as punish... [more]

Hedgewar, Keshav Baliram

Hedgewar was the fifth of six children of a very poor family in Nagpur. His father was a Hindu priest. When he was 13 both his parents died the same day in one of the epidemics of bubonic p... [more]