Sealed Records

hello. i was born at St. Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville, NY. I am not sure if it was private or not. sorry. thanks :) Jen

i too have the same question. my husband was in the millitary and the girl he was seeing gave birth to there child...a little boy on november 25 1992 and the bm had a lawyer and the adoptive parents had a lawyer....my husband gave his mother power of att. to finalize the adoption. he met the parents, but never the child. he felt he wouldn't be able to go through with it. i am trying to get in touch with the adoptive parents but i think the file is sealed. the child was born in md and i think the adoptive parents were the ones that gave him his name, samuel joseph. like i said i think the file is closed and i want to find a little bit of info on the adoption, how can i do this if its sealed???????? thank you for any help.... and good luck!

Holly, That's a tough situation. Does he know who the attorney was? Does he have any contact with the birth mother? I would try to find out if the adoption was completely closed(not talking about sealed records) or if the parents are facilitating some sort of contact either with the Bmom or thru the attorney. He may want to simply write the adoptive family thru the attorney, send pictures, updated health info and say he'd like the same. It would open doors in a safer, less threatening way than if you contact the atty looking to open records. If the parents met your husband previously, they may be more willing to open their lives to him, but I would imagine his best approach is to communicate with them and not thru the court-chances are that you wouldn't be able to unseal records anyway. Good luck!

my husband was in the middle of the red sea when he gave his mother power of att. to take care of the adoption. i don't know why she didn't get a lawyer for my husbands side. everyother side got one. my mother in law is not exactly willing to tell me anything. i know the date of the childs birth and that he was born in maryland. that the adoptive parents took him from the hospital. he was given up right after birth. my husband never saw the child. he only has a photo of the child when he was about 4 months old. i don't know if it was sealed or closed. my mother in law did say that the adoptive parents would think about telling him when he was old enough. but i don't know anything other than that. sorry. but i'm glad there are places to go to talk to people who have the same trouble.

need to know how to open files that have been sealed until I reached 21. Today is my 26 birthday, still won't open files. What should I do?

Hi Jen, I am trying to help my mom find her birth parents. I am in West Virginia so I don't know if this will help or not...We went to the courthouse where the adoption was recorded. We were told we would have to petition the judge to unseal the records. We have to write him a letter giving all the information we have (date of birth, adoptive parents names, etc.,), explain why we want to open the records, and pay a fee. If he feels the reason is suitable, he will call us in to meet with us before he opens the records. We are still waiting for him to get back to us. I hope this will help you. Best of luck in your search. :) Missy

Hi Jen...If you were born in Bronxville, NY...it is likely that your adoption was handled by Westchester Adoption Agency....which is now called Westchester Social Services....they took over all the files years ago....Hugs, Brenda....

I have been going through the same thing. I was adopted and born in New York. I have called every government agency imaginable and have been told by all, and by the court system there that adoption records are permanently sealed, and the only way to get them opened is to hire an attorney, who will petition a judge, who will rule on whether or not it's a life and death situations. Even then, they may not open them. I would try listing on as many search sites possible, and specifically those that deal in New York adoptions. I am continuing my search for a way to get the information without going through the government agencies and the courts. When I learn more, I will let you know.

For those of you born in NY, you should register with the NYS Adoption Registry, where you will be able to apply for non-identifying information. If both of your birthparents have registered, you will also have access to identifying info. This would be a good starting point, if you have not already registered.I wish you all the best of luck!!

Hi, Here is what happened to me. I went to the local court house and asked the records clerk for my file # to go see if my file was sealed or not. Much to my surprise they gave me my file # and my birthmothers last name. I wrote down the information on another piece of paper and then walked down the hall to see if in fact it was sealed. The guy took the piece of paper away and came back and sure enough it was. He asked if I wanted to have the slip of paper back because the last name was so uncomman that it would not be hard to find her. And from there I found out who she was and I actually know her family. The unfortunate thing was that she died 2 years prior but her family has welcomed me with open arms. Don't give up!!!!

hi i am lookin for my sister who was adopted do you know anything at all about when and where you were born. or even what your mothers name is or dad for that matter. i know this is so hard but if u have any info at all maybe both are searches r over ~~ame please email me at amethompson@hotmail.com

My dads name is Steven Raasch and my moms name was Shirley Sesterhenn. I was born in Libertyville, IL at Condell Hospital

Okay this is a little weird, I'm adopted I was born January 1984 in Condell Memorial Hospital in Libertyville Illinois. I'm told my mother's name might be Shirley Anderson or Shirley Sesterhenn . I also am looking for her but was told on ancestry.com that she may have passed away. I found my father's side but my mother side is still a mystery. You can reach me better at

We have the same mother, contact me at willytrotti@gmail.com

Hello, Jen. To top off of what Leight mentioned, each state has their own system and laws. Here, in GA., i filed a petition with Georgia Adoption Reunion Registry (GARR). By doing that, I was able to obtain a wealth of non identifying information, including medical related info.. If you were adopted in NY, I would check with any adoption agency for a starting point, or even the DHS, DFCS, or CPS (not sure how they're titled in other areas. I'll list a couple of starting points, in case you haven't tried them. I hope these can help, even if a little bit. Good luck on your search,Chris