Reg#1087

GENETIC HISTORY
(Abridged)
For
Laura Gilbert (Slingluff-Hall-Tinucci)
Born 8/12/59


You were born on 8-12-59 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, at 2:25 p.m.  You were placed in your foster home on 8-17-59, where you were described as alert and responsive.  Your health was good.    Your eating and sleeping habits were always good.  You were described as a cuddly, responsive and secure baby.  You joined your adoptive family on 3-22-60, when you were 7 months old.

Your birth mother was 29 years old and described as a rather slender girl of medium height with reddish-brown hair and brown eyes.  Her complexion was fair and somewhat freckled.  She dressed neatly and was described as both “intelligent” and “attractive”.  She was the youngest of 9 siblings from a Protestant family.  Your maternal grandmother came from an old New England family.

Your birth maternal grandmother was 50 years old when your birth mother was born and your birth mother felt that she was “spoiled”.  After her mother’s death, when your birth mother was 17, she went to live with an older sister.  Two years later, she married and had 2 daughters right away.  Within 4 years the marriage ended in divorce.  She became depressed and began drinking excessively.  She struggled to care for her 2 children on her own, but she was unable to do this due to her personal problems.  She decided to release them for adoption, stipulating that they be placed in the same home.  She then had a son by a man she had hoped to marry, but did not.  Soon after this, your birth mother did marry, but recognized the fact that she entered this marriage too hastily in order to provide a stable home for herself and her son, 6 months old.  There were no children from this marriage, and it ended in divorce.

Your birth mother returned to work in a restaurant and developed a relationship with one of the employees.  She became pregnant and had another son who was also placed for adoption.  Thereafter she lived with a sister for some time to try to get her life together.

Your birth mother met your birth father when she was living with her sister.  After you were born, your birth mother sought help in planning for your adoption, and also the adoption of her son.  Your birth mother knew your birth father for some time, thinking him to be a lot older than he was.  He had proposed marriage and bought her an engagement ring.  She decided that it would not work out and did not go along with plans for his family to raise you.  When she persisted in her refusal to marry him, he joined the Army.

Your maternal birth grandfather worked in a hardware store in a managerial position.  The occupations of her siblings were varied – credit manager, telephone company supervisor, gas station attendant and supervisor in a rubber company.  

The health of your birth family was as follows.  Your maternal grandmother died of cancer when she was 67.  A maternal uncle died of cancer of the throat at the age of 33.  Your maternal grandfather had high blood pressure and was said to have died at an old age.  A maternal aunt had a child with a congenital heart condition.  There was no history of any mental illness in your family, and your birth mother’s siblings were all in good health.  All her siblings were of average height and weight with medium brown hair, brown eyes and clear complexions.  Two maternal aunts had red hair.  There were 7 girls and 2 boys.

You were the youngest of your birth mother’s 5 children.  Two girls were born in 1950 and 1951.  Two boys were born in 1955 and 1958.  The girls had brown hair and red curly hair, respectively.  They both had blue eyes and fair complexions.  The boys had dark brown hair, hazel eyes and were average size for their age.  The older boy had a history of nosebleeds and a slight heart murmur.  He was described as having a “personality plus”.  The younger boy was half Oriental.  All you half birth siblings were placed for adoption.

Your birth father was 18 years old, Roman Catholic of French descent who grew up on a farm.  He was 5’6” tall, with an average build.  He had dark hair and dark eyes.  He was the middle of 9 children, and left school at the age of 16.  He was employed as a cook and dishwasher in the same restaurant as your birth mother.  He tried to keep in contact with your birth mother and had wanted his parents to raise you.  Your birth mother felt very strongly that he was too young to be entrusted with a baby and did not want him to upset her attempts to provide a stable home for you through adoption.

Little is known of your paternal relatives.  Your paternal birth grandmother stayed at home on the farm and your paternal grandfather worked in a factory.  An older sister is described as petite, short and attractive with dark hair and dark eyes.  She was employed as a Civil Servant.  An older brother was in the U.S. Marine Corp.

Sybil Miller
Social Work Intern

April 20, 1989

GENETIC HISTORY
ADDENDUM FOR
LAURA GILBERT (Slingluff-Hall-Tinucci)

According to our files, your birth mother was contacted by Children’s Friend and Service in 1980 when her birth son (born in 1958 and adopted through Children’s Friend and Service) requested a genetic history and wanted to know some specific facts about his adoption.   Your birth mother indicated that she was happily married and had told her husband everything about her past life experiences.  She had not confided in her son who was then 18 years old.  Your birth mother wrote long letters indicating her willingness to meet with her birth son when she and her husband visited New England for a family reunion.  She explained that her husband had 3 children from a previous marriage, who were rather “old-fashioned”, and that she had to carefully consider everyone’s feelings.  However, she did send photographs of herself and requested some of her birth son.   She was sensitive in wanting to understand his reactions to her.  She said that she had never forgotten any of her chil
 dren and wondered about them more than anyone would realize.  She also said that she had received training in nursing, and she was becoming a foster parent.  She said that she had learned a great deal from her experiences and was able to open her home in order to share this knowledge with other troubled teens and be a support to them.

It is not clear from our files whether a meeting was actually set up or whether they just exchanged photographs.

Sybil Miller
Social Work Intern

Renee Brochester
Adoption Coordinator

4-27-89