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Features

Oblates

Today the word is almost synonymous with "monk" or "priest:" there are religious orders called the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, etc. But ... [more]

O'Brien, Daniel Dion

O'Brien was born in Portland, Oregon and adopted transracially (his birth parents are African-American and Finnish) when he was aged two by a family with two born-to and six adopted childre... [more]

O'Connell, James F.

According to his story (first published 1836) O'Connell was a crewman on the ship John Bull, which was wrecked in the 1820s. He and a few fellow crewmen then sailed in an open boat, landing... [more]

O'Connor, Hugh

O'Connor was born in Rome and adopted by the famous American actor Carroll O'Connor (All in the Family) and his wife while he was in Rome in acting in the 1963 film Cleopatra, with Richard ... [more]

Oedipus

Oedipus was the son of King Laius of Thebes and Queen Jocasta. There was a prophecy that Laius would be killed by his own son, so the baby was abandoned on a mountainside to die. (This was ... [more]

Okada Keishu

Okada is the adoptive daughter (some sources say daughter-in-law; both may be true) of Okama Kotama. Her adoptive father left a Shinto-based religion called Sekai Kyusei Kyo and founded a s... [more]

Olaf the Tree-Feller (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]

Oldfield, Bruce

Oldfield was a Barnardo boy from birth. He was then fostered by a family in Durham but when a teenager his behavior was so difficult that he had to go back to a children's home for a few ye... [more]

Omahuru, Ngatau

The story of Ngatau Omahuru is one of a number of similar ones from colonial New Zealand involving the kidnapping of white children by Maori and vice versa. An example in this directory of ... [more]

O'Neil, Robert Vincent, Jr.

Foyster and O'Neil, adoptive half-brother and -sister, are associated with Borley Rectory, known as "the most haunted house in Britain." Adelaide is the adopted daughter of the Re... [more]

Orphan Brigade

This is a red herring, listed here to correct what might be a misunderstanding. The Orphan Brigade had nothing to do with orphans or child soldiers or the Janissaries. The "Orphan Brig... [more]

Orphan Trains of the USA

Between 1854 and 1930 between 150,000 and 200,000 children were shipped from the eastern USA to western states and territories. The operation was in some respects similar to that involved i... [more]

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