Adoptive or Foster Parent(s) Died
Only listed here when this resulted in a change of placement
Bear Woman
Bear Woman was an Inuit girl who became lost while playing hide-and-seek with her brothers. She was found near death by a large bear, who took her home and raised her as his own (see also ... [more]
Bergman, Ingrid
Bergman's mother died when she was two and her father when she was 12. She then lived with an aunt, who died six months later, and then with an uncle. Her first film was Munkbrogreven in 19... [more]
Cullen, Countée
Cullen was raised by his grandmother until her death, and then in 1918 he was adopted by the Rev. Frederick Cullen and his wife. His first collection of poetry was published in 1925, and... [more]
Delamere, Paora Kingi
Delamere was born to Te Kohi Edward Delamere and Arihia Ngarori Nikorima, both descended from important Te Whakatohea families, the sixth of their seven children. He was given to chief Paor... [more]
Ellison, Edward Pohau
Ellison was descended on both sides from Maori chiefs and also from English whalers and farmers. He was the 11th of 12 children, and was given to his father's cousin Harirota Eyes and her h... [more]
Hamilton, Alexander
Hamilton and his older brother were the illegitimate sons of James Hamilton, a Scottish trader, and Rachel Faucett Lavien, who was married to another man. He was born on the Caribbean islan... [more]
Hensley, Albert
Hensley's mother died when he was a baby and he was fostered by his grandmother for five years, until she died. Then he went through a series of foster families for two years, before going ... [more]
Hoo-moo-thy-ah
Hoo-moo-thy-ah was born into a traditionalist Yavapai family in Arizona, just before the establishment of Ft. McDowell, built by the US government to subjugate his people. When he was about... [more]
Ruth Luka Ke'ekikolani (under 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]
Seed, Michael
Seed was born in Manchester and adopted as a baby. His adoptive mother committed suicide when he was seven and his adoptive grandfather also died before he was 10. He was then raised by his... [more]
Tolstoy, Leo Nikolayevich
Tolstoy was born the son of a noble landowner in Russia but his mother died when he was two and his father when he was nine. He was then raised by relatives, first a grandmother, who died, ... [more]
Williams, Jett
Williams is the birth child of Hank Williams, the country and western singing star. She was born in Montgomery, Alabama, (named Antha Belle Jett ) five days after he died and adopted by he... [more]
Wright, Richard Nathaniel
Wright was born on a Mississippi plantation, where his father was a sharecropper and where his ancestors had been slaves. In 1913 or 1914, Wright's father left the family for another woman.... [more]
