Resource Type

[Adoption Statements of Greta Wohlfeld, Michael Wohlfeld, and Kalen Hoyle] (open access)

[Adoption Statements of Greta Wohlfeld, Michael Wohlfeld, and Kalen Hoyle]

Personal statements of Greta Wohlfeld, Michael Wohlfeld, and Kalen Hoyle regarding the adoption of Greta Wohlfeld from Jiangxi Province, China. Greta shares that she used to be in a Girl Scout troop with other adoptees and that she celebrates Chinese New Year with a friend who was also adopted from China. Michael and Kalen discuss the decision to adopt from China and their experiences bringing Greta home from China. There is a photo of the family with two dogs at the end of the statement.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Wohlfeld, Greta; Wohlfeld, Michael & Hoyle, Kalen
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Adoption Statement of Camille Davis, Grace Davis, and Kathryn Thompson] (open access)

[Adoption Statement of Camille Davis, Grace Davis, and Kathryn Thompson]

Personal statements of Camille Davis, Grace Davis, and Kathryn Thompson regarding the adoption of Camille and Grace from the Fuling Social Welfare Institute in Chongqing Municipality China (Camille) and SWI Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China (Grace). Camille and Grace discuss their experiences growing up in California as adopted children and Kathryn describes her background and how she and her husband, Scott Davis, decided to adopt. There are three photos included of Camille Davis, Grace Davis, and Scott Davis and Kathryn Thompson.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Davis, Camille; Davis, Grace & Thompson, Kathryn
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Adoption Statement of Vonna, Grace, Zoe, and Kai Purtell] (open access)

[Adoption Statement of Vonna, Grace, Zoe, and Kai Purtell]

Personal statement of Grace, Zoe, Kai, and Vonna Purtell regarding the adoptions of Grace, Zoe, and Kai from Guangdong Province (Grace and Zoe) and Yunnan Province (Kai), China. Grace and Zoe are twins, and Kai, their younger brother describe each other and share some of their interests. Vonna discusses how growing up in a military family shaped her ideas about her family, stating that "The military's made of multiracial people..and you never thought twice about it." There is a photo of Grace, Zoe, and Kai Purtell on the last page of the document.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Purtell, Vonna; Purtell, Grace; Purtell, Zoe & Purtell, Kai
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Adoption Statement of Sarah Heath and Celena Kopinski] (open access)

[Adoption Statement of Sarah Heath and Celena Kopinski]

Personal statement of Sarah Heath and Celena Kopinski regarding their adoption from the Changzhou CWI in Jiangsu Province, China. They discuss their chance encounter which lead to them discovering they were twins who had been adopted separately, Sarah by parents in Nashville, Tennessee and Celena by parents in New York City. There is a photo of Celena and Sarah on the second page of the statement.
Date: April 2016
Creator: Heath, Sarah & Kopinski, Celena
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Adoption Statement of Sophie Mei] (open access)

[Adoption Statement of Sophie Mei]

Personal statement of Sophie Mei regarding her adoption from the Yangxi County Social Welfare Institute in Guangdong Province, China. She describes her childhood in California and Utah, how she raised funds for her orphanage, and her trip to Guangdong Province where she visited the orphanage. There is a photo of Sophie on the last page of the statement.
Date: October 16, 2016
Creator: Sophie Mei
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Adoption Statement of Tinka] (open access)

[Adoption Statement of Tinka]

Personal statement of Tinka regarding the adoption of her son from Hunan Province. Tinka discusses her work as a volunteer in orphanages in Hunan Province from 1995-2005 and how she adopted her son and moved back to Switzerland. There is a photo of her with her son at the end of her statement.
Date: March 22, 2017
Creator: Tinka
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview with Zoe, Grace, and Kai Purtell] transcript

[Interview with Zoe, Grace, and Kai Purtell]

Interview with Grace, Zoe, and Kai Purtell regarding their adoptions from Guangdong Province (Grace and Zoe) and Yunnan Province (Kai), China. At the time of the interview, Grace and Zoe (twins) were nine years old and Kai was five years old. Kai shares his adoption story and the surgeries he's had to correct his cleft palate. Zoe speaks about her desire to visit China when she's older and Grace speaks about her skill with drawing.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Purtell, Zoe; Purtell, Grace & Purtell, Kai
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Oral History Interview with Jian Rzeszewicz] transcript

[Oral History Interview with Jian Rzeszewicz]

Oral history with Jian Rzeszewicz regarding her adoption to Washington from Zhan-Jian, Guadong Province, China. She shares what her childhood was like, particularly that the diversity of the general population in Washington helped her feel more accepted, and her parents' efforts to connect her to Chinese culture and other adoptees. She also discusses her connections to the other girls adopted at the same time as her and her trip to China where she visited the orphanage where she lived as a baby. She also shares the emotional impact of meeting her foster mother and her advocacy for adopted children in the United States.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Rzeszewicz, Jian
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview With Meikina Stuy] transcript

[Interview With Meikina Stuy]

Interview with Meikina Stuy regarding her adoption from Guangdong Province, China, discussing her parents' search for her birth parents and her thoughts about her adoption.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Stuy, Meikina
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Oral History With Longlan Stuy] transcript

[Oral History With Longlan Stuy]

Oral history of Longlan Stuy regarding the adoptions of Meikina, Meigon, and Meilan from Guangdong Province (Meikina and Meigon) and Henan Province (Meilan) in China. She shares her views on international adoption and the difficulties of sharing Chinese culture with her daughters in the United States. She also speaks about her work researching birth parents for adoptees.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Stuy, Longlan
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview With Meilan Stuy] transcript

[Interview With Meilan Stuy]

Interview with Meilan Stuy regarding her adoption from Henan Province, China. She shares what information she knows about her birth family and the circumstances surrounding her adoption. She also speaks about learning that Longlan was not her biological mother and how she deals with questions about her family.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Stuy, Meilan
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview With Zoi Kunkle and Pat Jacobs-Kunkle] transcript

[Interview With Zoi Kunkle and Pat Jacobs-Kunkle]

Interview with Zoi Kunkle and her mother, Pat Jacobs-Kunkle, regarding Zoi's adoption from Chenzhou City in Hunan Province, China. Zoi describes her future aspirations and her interests in her birth family and early life in China. Her mother shares her and her husband's decision to adopt and from China in particular, and their thoughts on searching for Zoi's birth family.
Date: 2016~
Creator: Kunkle, Zoi Yi Xing & Jacobs-Kunkle, Pat
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview of Caroline Heath's Parents Conducted by Caroline Heath] transcript

[Interview of Caroline Heath's Parents Conducted by Caroline Heath]

Interview of Caroline Heath's parents conducted by Caroline Heath (age 10), regarding her adoption of from the Yuangchun SWI in Guangdong Province, China. Caroline interviews her parents, asking them why they wanted to adopt her, why her mother has maintained their Chinese adoption group, what were their experiences in China, and what being a parent is like.
Date: [2017..]
Creator: Heath, Caroline
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Oral History with Helena Hong and Elena Triginer] transcript

[Oral History with Helena Hong and Elena Triginer]

Oral History with Helena Hong and Elena Triginer regarding the adoption of Helena Hong from Heilongjiang Province, Hegang to Barcelona Spain. Helena speaks about her childhood in China and how she came to live in the orphanage and Elena describes her decision to adopt and particularly to adopt an older child. Helena also shares how she established contact with the family she lived with in China through social media and her decision to not maintain contact at the time of the interview. They both speak about the transition to living in Spain. The interview is conducted in English, Catalan, and Mandarin with Shanshan Zhang acting as Mandarin interpreter.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Hong, Helena & Triginer, Elena
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Oral History with Nora Brock] transcript

[Oral History with Nora Brock]

Oral history with Nora Brock discussing her visit to China on her eighth birthday and describing the experience of "blending in" in China. She also speaks about her life in Texas, describing her school classes and interests.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Brock, Nora
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview with Tina Fletcher] transcript

[Interview with Tina Fletcher]

Interview with Tina Fletcher regarding the adoption of Lily Selvaggi from the Guigang City SWI, Guangxi Province, China, speaking about her motivations for adopting from China and how she and her family made the decision to adopt. She also speaks about the experiences of raising an Asian child in a predominantly white area and her experiences regarding her own adoption.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Fletcher, Tina
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Oral History with Darrell and Betsey Isley] transcript

[Oral History with Darrell and Betsey Isley]

Oral history with Darrell and Betsey Isley regarding the adoption of Delaney Isley from Chongqing Province, discussing their decision to adopt from China and the adoption process. They also speak about their efforts to connect their daughter to other Chinese adoptees and Chinese culture.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Isley, Darrell
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview With Emi and Diane Pennington] transcript

[Interview With Emi and Diane Pennington]

Interview with Emi and Diane Pennington regarding the adoption of Emi Pennington from Shaoyang, Hunan Province, China. Diane shares how she arrived at her decision to adopt from China and speaks about their family dynamic. Both Emi and Diane share their feelings about the public reactions to them together. Emi also speaks about her feelings on visiting China or searching for her birth parents.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Pennington, Emi & Pennington, Diane
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview with Audrey Copeland] transcript

[Interview with Audrey Copeland]

Narrative history of Audrey Copeland regarding her adoption by Lori Hall from the Maogang Social Welfare Institute in Maoming, Guagdong Province, China. She describes her desire to visit China and her experiences growing up in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Copeland, Audrey
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Oral History with Bai Yi Min Foxweldon] transcript

[Oral History with Bai Yi Min Foxweldon]

Oral history interview with Bai Yi Min Foxweldon regarding her adoption from Kunming, China, describing her experiences as an adoptee growing up in the United States, her thoughts on international adoption, and the general issues surrounding adoption.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Foxweldon, Bai Yi Ming Mershon Blasek (Ming)
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview With Myra] transcript

[Interview With Myra]

Interview with Myra regarding the adoption of her younger sister, Lena, from China and their relationship with Lena's birth family in China. Myra speaks about meeting Lena's birth family and visiting their village.
Date: 2016~
Creator: Myra
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview With Lily Stafeil] transcript

[Interview With Lily Stafeil]

Interview with Lily Stafeil regarding her adoption from Guangdong Province, China. This interview took place when Lily was nine years old and she speaks about her friends and favorite activities at school. Lily shares what she knows about her adoption story, China in general, and that she'd like to visit China when she's older.
Date: 2016~
Creator: Stafeil, Lily
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Oral History With Zoe Watts] transcript

[Oral History With Zoe Watts]

Oral history interview with Zoe Watts regarding her adoption from Yulin, China. She shares her adoption story and her experience of meeting her foster mother. She also discusses her childhood in Texas, dealing with casual racism and stereotypes, and participation in her local Families with Children from China chapter. She also speaks about her grappling with her identity.
Date: 2016~
Creator: Watts, Zoe
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview with Mary Ann and Anthony Tomasek] transcript

[Interview with Mary Ann and Anthony Tomasek]

Interview with Mary Ann and Anthony Tomasek regarding the adoptions of Jencie and Juliann Tomasek from Hubei Province (Jencie) and Guangdong Province (Juliann), China. They speak about how they decided to adopt from China, what the adoption process entailed, and their trips of China to get their children. They also share their efforts to teach the girls about Chinese culture and their daughters' interest in their birth families.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Tomasek, Mary Ann & Tomasek, Anthony
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History