Adoptions were not formally recorded in most British and British-settled countries until the 1920s. In the IOM it was 1928. There are rarely public records of private adoptions or fostering before that date, apart from entries which had taken place earlier and were later included in the registers. Adoptions before 1928 were usually a private legal transaction between the two parties (if there was any formality at all). They occasionally come to light in wills which state the relationship in detail, including previous names and "son/daughter of..." presumably because of legal implications.
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