Iowa Adoption Record #89181

Iowa Adoption Record: # 89181

Researcher looking for Any Birth Family
Jeff Schultz

Adoptee's Info
Birth Name: Penny Nordgren
Adoptive Name: Sandra Elaine Jones
Date of Birth: Jul 15, 1946 at 0430 (now 77 years old)
Gender: Female
Birth Location: Des Moines city, Polk county, Iowa USA

Birthmother's Info
Name: Helen Margery Nordgren (Nelson)
Born: Feb 22, 1909
Age at Adoptee's Birth: 37
Religion: Lutheran

Birthfather's Info
Name: Charles Russell Baker
Born: May 10, 1909
Age at Adoptee's Birth: 36
Religion: Protestant

Born at Hospital: Booth Memorial
Birth Certificate:
Adoption Agency: Lutheran Social/Welfare Services

Additional Info
The info. on penny nordgren notes she was one of 163 children born at the Booth memorial Hospital for unwed mothers in Des Moines, IA. she was adopted by the Lutheran Welfare/Social Services in Des Moines, Iowa...the mother's first husband's last name may have been Nordgren or her maiden name or second spouse's last name(not verified). Per Non-ID paperwork when adopted in 1946 the biological mother (per Des Moines Register articles in 1949 and 1951 was only one of 4 to 5 unwed woman to give birth at the Booth Memorial Hospital between 1941 and 1951) had two children by the first husband Nordgren and the son was 15 yrs. old and the daughter was 13 years old at the time of the birth of Penny Nordgren (the Biological Mother's father was from Sweden dying at age 41 of unlisted cause and the Biological Mother's Mother was living a housekeeper. The Biological mother also had an older married sister)...the first husband of the baby's mother, allegedly Mr. Nordgren, died of strep throat or bacterial infection, after marriage of 7 yrs. to the Biol. mother, most likely in the mid- late 1930s to early 1940s...Penny's Biol. mother re-married and divorced after 2.5 yrs. of marriage before becoming pregnant by a third man (the Biological father) who was 36 yrs. old at the time of Penny Nordgren's birth and an artistically inclined sign painter who worked with Window displays with asthma who had a family of three daughters ages 12, 8 and 4; both of his parents were still living (but divorced) and he had two older sisters. The biological mother left the Des Moines hospital and was going to speak with the biological father about raising the child together, but this was unavailing and a week later the mother called the Lutheran Social Services and stated she would not be able to keep young Penny Nordgren...If Nordgren is the last name of the first husband, it is a popular name in the midwest region of the USA...however there is a slight possibility the Lutheran Welfare/Social Services agency in Des Moines, Iowa may have taken adoptions out of state this has not been definitively established to-date.


Registered: November 28, 2018
Updated: December 8, 2018