Booth Memorial Hospital and Maternity Home Contact Information

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INFORMATION ON BOOTH MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AND MATERNITY HOMES

"I must go, not only to those who need me, but to those who need me now." William Booth

I have made this webpage for other's who were born at Booth Memorial Hospitals and (Unwed Mother's) Homes run by the Salvation Army in the 1940's through the early 1970's. These maternity homes were founded by William Booth. He and his wife Catherine first began the Salvation Amy at the turn of the 20th century. These homes spread over the years to many big cities throught the US. When I initally began this search in June 2000, I had very little information to go on regarding my birth mom. To make things worse, there was virtually NO information on the Maternity Homes run by the Salvation Army on the internet. Please note that Booth Memorial Hospital was NOT an adoption agency and they did not assist in adopting out the babies that were born there. That was handled by either a state or private adoption agency or private attorney.

The Salvation Army has the medical and birth records of the mothers who had babies there. MY records contained my birth mother's name at the time of my birth, her DOB, her address at the time, her parents names, address and DOB's, if she had siblings or other children at the time, her occupation and the occupation of the birthgrandparents, her nationaltiy, and religious preference. When the homes closed in the early 70s with the legalization of Rowe vs Wade and the society acceptance of unwed motherhood, all of the records were transferred to the main regional locations of the Salvation Army. There are 4 Territories located through out the United States.

Depending which Booth Hospital you were born at, depends on the information that is available to you and also whether or not you will have to pay fees to search for your birthfamily. I was born in St Louis, so therefore my reunion was organized through the Central Territory. Please see the website of the territory headquarters you were born in for specific information on Initiating a Search. The Salvation Army actually runs an intermediary service, although information about this service was not readily made available to the general public at the time I started searching. In March 2001, I read an article in US Today about the Salvation Army's Eastern Territory offering search help for triad members, so it seems the word is FINALLY out. Yippie! From the many emails I receive, I believe the creation of this website has caused an increase in public awareness in regards to the Booth Records Ministry and the services they offer adoptees born there. I have been recently made aware of the fact that those born in the Southern Territory can only receive copies of their OWN medical records, they may update their medical history, or place pictures or a letter their file. The Southern Territory will not serve as an intermediary between the adoptee and birth parent, nor will they conduct a search. Apparently even though the Salvation is an International Organization, the territories have different procedures to follow depending on the laws of the states they are located in. It makes no sense to me. But that is how it is. In June 2000 when I found the contact numbers to the Salvation Army on an adoption forum posting by Lauren Elliott, a reunited "Booth Baby", my search broke wide open. Then it was only a matter of time in locating my bmom. Some Salvation Army territories will not only locate, but will contact birth families. This service is run specifically through the Booth Memorial Hospital Ministry Department. They have a missing persons registry and actively search for birth families of adoptees born there. I wrote a letter to my birth mother when i started searching and sent that to be included with my file. Unfortunately, my mother never read it. She had passed away just 7 months before i found her.

After your intial contact with them by phone, you will recieve a packet of information to fill out and have notarized. You will send this back to the Salvation Army. Depending on which territory you live in, you may have to send a check for $25 to $50 which is your "donation" for this service. Basically you are giving them your permssion to find and contact your birth family and to release your contact information to them in hopes of a reunion.

We found my birth mother used an "alias" when she came to the Salvation Army. All of the other information she gave about herself and her family, we have found to be correct. They located her through my birth grandmothers DOB, finding her on the SSDI, and then locating her obituary from the library of the county she died in. That lead to my birth mother and her family. My search only lasted 2 and a half months from start to end.

I have also recently learned that mothers at Booth Memorial in St Louis delivered at the home by doctors from Jewish Hospital unless there were medical complications at which time they were sent to Jewish Hospital in St Louis to deliver. On my amended bc the "hospital" section of my birth certificate was left "blank". I have learned that means that I was born in the home. If I had been born in the hospital, my amended bc would of been altered in some way to cover the name. like with white-out or a marker.

At the start of this search, I wondered why this information is not all over the internet. Thus this web page was "born". I can't help but to think of the numbers of people who could be helped by the Salvation Army in locating birth relatives if only this information was easily accessable to the general public. Here I am.. shouting this information from a mountain top! :o)

While searching, I did not find one single webpage or support group for adult adoptees who were born at Booth Memorial Hospitals all over the country. I have learned that we are called "Booth Babies". I hope this website will lead to many successful reunions for alot of people. I know the heartaches of searching. I've been there! I pray this page is the answer you have been looking for.

BOOTH MEMORIAL HOSPITAL TERRITORY HEADQUARTERS