[Adoption Statement of Zoe Watts] (open access)

[Adoption Statement of Zoe Watts]

Personal statement of Zoe Watts regarding her adoption from Yulin, China. She describes her thoughts about "fitting in" and the struggles she has had with identity, both internally and in how she is perceived. There is a photo of her at the end of her statement.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Watts, Zoe
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Adoption Statement of Parrie Liu Maio] (open access)

[Adoption Statement of Parrie Liu Maio]

Personal statement of Parrie Liu Maio regarding her adoption from Changsha, Hunan Province, China. She discusses her aspirations for the future and her feelings about adoptions following her getting in contact with an adoption worker from her orphanage. There is a link to an essay she wrote about adoption on "No Hands But Ours" and a photo of Parrie Liu as a child.
Date: 2016~
Creator: Maio, Parrie Liu
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Adoption Statement of Delaney Isley, Darrell Isley, and Betsey Isley] (open access)

[Adoption Statement of Delaney Isley, Darrell Isley, and Betsey Isley]

Personal statements of Delaney Isley, Darrell Isley, and Betsey Isley regarding the adoption of Delaney Isley from the Fuling Social Welfare Institute in Chongqing Province. Delaney's statement discusses her interests, family pets, and dealing with bullies. Darrell and Betsey's statement describes how they arrived at the decision to adopt from China and their efforts to involve Delaney in Chinese cultural activities. There is a photo of the Isley family on the third page of the statement.
Date: 2016~
Creator: Isley, Delaney; Isley, Darrell & Isley, Betsey
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Adoption Statement of Nora and Marilyn Brock] (open access)

[Adoption Statement of Nora and Marilyn Brock]

Personal statement of Marilyn and Nora Brock regarding the adoption of Nora Brock from the QiChun Social Welfare Institute in Hubei Province, China. Nora discusses her eighth birthday, which was spent in China, and Marilyn describes the process of adopting Nora. There is a photo of Nora Brock being interviewed on the second page.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Brock, Nora & Brock, Marilyn
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Adoption Statement of Emi Pennington and Diane Pennington] (open access)

[Adoption Statement of Emi Pennington and Diane Pennington]

Personal statement of Emi and Diane Pennington regarding the adoption of Emi Pennington from Shaoyang, Hunan Province, China. Emi discusses her ambivalence toward visiting China and Diane speaks about the reactions she receives from other people when her and Emi are together in public. There is a photo of Diane and Emi on the second page of the statement.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Pennington, Emi & Pennington, Diane
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Adoption Statements of Lily Selvaggi and Tina Fletcher] (open access)

[Adoption Statements of Lily Selvaggi and Tina Fletcher]

Personal statements of Lily Selvaggi and Tina Fletcher regarding the adoption of Lily from the Guigang City SWI, Guangxi Province, China. Lily states she hasn't considered her Chinese history much due the inaccessibility of the information and Tina, also an adoptee, describes her and her husband's family history and experiences parenting Lily. There is a photo of Lily holding a black cat on the second page of the document.
Date: unknown
Creator: Selvaggi, Lily & Fletcher, Tina
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Adoption Statement of Hannah Weaver] (open access)

[Adoption Statement of Hannah Weaver]

Personal statement of Hannah Weaver regarding her adoption from Foshan City in Guandong Province, China. She discusses her feelings on adoption, her Chinese identity, and the impact of rude or ignorant comments regarding her ethnicity or adopted status. There is a photo of Hannah with her parents at the end of her statement.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Weaver, Hannah
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Adoption Statements of Jencie, Juliann, Mary Ann, and Antony Tomasek] (open access)

[Adoption Statements of Jencie, Juliann, Mary Ann, and Antony Tomasek]

Personal statements of Jencie, Juliann, Mary Ann, and Anthony Tomasek regarding the adoptions of Jencie and Juliann Tomasek from Hubei Province (Jencie) and Guangdong Province (Juliann), China. Jencie shares her memories of the trip to China to bring Juliann back to the United States and Juliann states she is curious about China and that she dislikes the assumptions her peers make about her knowledge of Chinese culture. Mary Ann and Anthony discuss the adoption process for both girls and the trips to China to bring their daughters home. There is a photo of the Tomasek family on the last page of the document.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Tomasek, Jencie; Tomasek, Juliann; Tomasek, Mary Anne & Tomasek, Anthony
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History
[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 Statements of Avery Kimberlin, Paul Kimberlin, and Robyn Kimberlin] (open access)

[Adoption Statements of Avery Kimberlin, Paul Kimberlin, and Robyn Kimberlin]

Personal statements of Avery, Paul, and Robyn Kimberlin regarding the adoption of Avery Kimberlin from the Xuzhou Social Welfare Institute in Jaingsu Province, China. Avery briefly shares her thoughts on adoption, Paul describes the joy he has in being a parent, and Robyn shares some details of her background and how her and Paul arrived at the decision to adopt. There is a photo of Avery on the first page and a photo of the Kimberlin family on the third page of the document.
Date: unknown
Creator: Kimberlin, Avery; Kimberlin, Paul & Kimberlin, Robyn
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
[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
[Interview with Avery Kimberlin] transcript

[Interview with Avery Kimberlin]

Narrative history of Avery Kimberlin regarding her adoption from Jiangsu Province, China, describing what she knows about her adoption and how she reacts to questions or comments about being adopted.
Date: unknown
Creator: Kimberlin, Avery
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 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
[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
[Interview With Hannah Weaver and Her Parents] transcript

[Interview With Hannah Weaver and Her Parents]

Narrative history of Hannah Weaver and her parents regarding her adoption from Foshan City in Guandong Province, China. She shares her involvement in the Families with Children from China's culture camp in Austin, Texas and her decision to start a birth parent search. Hannah's mother speaks about the curiosity Hannah has always had about her birth parents and both her parents share their thoughts on Hannah's birth parent search. Her mother also discusses her decision to adopt from China and their current family dynamic.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Weaver, Hannah
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Oral History with Michael Wohlfeld and Kalen Hoyle] transcript

[Oral History with Michael Wohlfeld and Kalen Hoyle]

Oral history interview with Michael Wohlfeld and Kalen Hoyle regarding the adoption of Greta Wohlfeld from Jiangxi Province, China. They speak about how they made the decision to adopt from China and the trip to get their daughter, Greta. They discuss the information they know about Greta's birth family and their thoughts on the lack of information regarding Greta's early life. They also speak about the challenges of raising a Chinese daughter in the United States and the issues of identity regarding race.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Wohlfeld, Michael & Hoyle, Kalen
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Oral History with Marilyn Brock] transcript

[Oral History with Marilyn Brock]

Oral history with Marilyn Brock regarding the adoption of Nora Brock from the QiChun Social Welfare Institute in Hubei Province, China, describing the experience of adopting Nora and Nora's friend group of other adopted Chinese girls, "The Ladybugs." She also speaks about the family's trip to China for Nora's eighth birthday.
Date: 2015~
Creator: Brock, Marilyn
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
[Interview With Paul Kimberlin] transcript

[Interview With Paul Kimberlin]

Interview with Paul Kimberlin regarding the adoption of Avery Kimberlin from Jiangsu China, discussing his and his wife's decision to adopt from China, and their family and friend's reactions to their decision.
Date: 2016~
Creator: Kimberlin, Paul
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History