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]
Three special aspects of this terrible time are related to adoption. These are in addition to the orphans and separated families created when foresighted Jewish parents sent their children ... [more]
Hyde's father was serving in the US Army during the War of 1812 when his mother died, and his father had also died by 1817. He was taken in by neighbors, the Wheeler family, who became his ... [more]
Lloyd's parents died when he was nine and he was then raised by relatives. As an adult he worked for several South Wales newspapers, but the success of three novels he wrote during this ... [more]
Mabo was born in the Murray Islands, north of Australia. His mother died in childbirth, and according to tribal custom he was adopted by his paternal uncle and aunt. As an adult he worke... [more]
MacBride is described in several sources as the "adoptive" grandson or great-grandson of Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), author of the Little House series of semi-autobiograph... [more]
Mandela was born into the Thembu sub-tribe nobility of the Xhosa people in Mveso, South Africa, initially raised by his parents there and in Qunu. He was early marked for great things, and ... [more]
Pa Maretu was adopted by Obura (born ca. 1836), who was the son of Maretu I (1802-80), one of the first Christian converts (in 1823) on Rarotonga, the main island in the Cook Islands in the... [more]
Masters was born in Pusan, Korea, and adopted by an American family when he was six. He was the first Asian-American to be hired by the Kansas State Police Department and the first Korea... [more]
McCarthy's mother died when he was 10 and his father when he was 14. Relatives then sent him to boarding school. Unable to go into farming because of the Great Depression, and impoverish... [more]