Honorable W. A. 

State Registrer of .Vital Statistics 

T.exas State Board of Health 

Austin, Texas 

Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-1278-A 

Re:~ Method of procedure in the 

described adoption case. 

We have received your letter, toge~ther with enclosures, requesting the opinion of this department upon 

the above stated question. Your letter reads as follows: 

"In accordance with your opinion O-1278, 

Issued 8-24-39, I declined to accept, and returned to Judge Culver, ,the adoption decree 

Issued In the 17th Judicial District of Tarrant County, No. 28887-A, in whFch it appears 

that Riley A. Ransom and his wife, Mattle B. 

Rans~om are permitted to adopt the infant of 

Vanda Lea Foerster,' on the ground that accordkg to the sworn statement of Riley A. Ransom 

and his wife Mattie B. Ransom, they are'negroes, 

while the birth certificate for the chlld~ born 

November 24', 1939, shows that the Infant born 

to Vanda Lea Foerster is a while illegttimate. 

Since the child 1s illegitimate, the certificate 

contalns no information as to the father. 

"I am enclosing 

" 1 

II 

Adoption decree, 

2 A phOtOStatic copy of the birth 

record, 97232, 

(3) The sworn statement of Riley A. 

Ransom, and 

(4) The photostatle copy of Judge 

Culver's letter. 

"Please advise me as to how to proceed in this 

case. " 

Section 1 of Article 46a, Vernon's civil Statutes 

provides, in part: 
Honorable W. A. Davis, Page 2 (9-1278-A) 

"Sec. 1. Any adult resident of this 

State may petition the District Court in 

the District of his residence or In the 

District of the residence of the child to 

be adopted for leave to adopt a minor child; 

such petition shall set forth the facts 

relevant to petitloner and child, and be 

verified by the affldavlt of the petitioner. 

* * **)I 

Section 8 of Article 46a, Vernon's Civil Statutes, 

provides as follows: 

"Sec. 8. No white child can be adopted 

by a negro person, nor can a negro child be 

adopted by .a white person." 

Rule 47a. Section 26 of Article 4477, Vernon's 

Civil Statutes, provides, in part: 

"(26) Provided further, upon entry of 

final order of adoption the Judge or Clerk 

of Court sharl notify the Registrar of Vital 

Statistics in State Department of Health of 

actlen taken, giving the names and addresses 

of the nstural parents, If known, or of the 

child's next kin,, the date of birth and name 

of such child before and after adoption and 

the name and address of foster parents. 

* * t, Copies of all reports of adoptions 

and reports of revocation of order of adoption and of annulments shall within thirty 

(30) days after~such order be mailed to the 

.Reglstrar of Vital Statistics of the State 

Department of Health. Upon receFpt of copy 

of any final order of adoption the State 

Reglstrar of Vital Ststlstlcs shall cause 

to be made a record of the birth in the new 

name or names of the adopting parents or 

parent. He shall then cause to be sealed 

and filed the orlginal certificate of birth, 

If any, with the adoption decree of the 

Court and such sealed package may be opened 

only upon order of a Court oft record. f * *.' 

The Birth Certificate No. 97232 enclosed with 

your letter discloses that the mother of the child in question was a white person, but no information whatsoever is 

contained therein as to the father. The sworn affidavit 

of Riley A. Ransom dlscloses that the petitioners named in 
Honorable W. 

the adoption 

A. Davis, Page 3 (o-1278-~) 

proceedings are negroes. 

thereof, 

chllcl Fn 

1939, of * *hit-" 

The adoption decree, in paragraph numbered two 

refers to the fact that Elvis Jean Ransom, the 

question, "was born on the 24th day of November, 

negro parent at Dallas, Dallas County, Texas, 

Judge Culver's letter reads; in part: 

he * t, The flndlng in the decree to the 

effect that the Infant adopted and re-named 

Elvla Jean was.born on the 24th day of.November 1939 of negro parentage.must have been 

overlooked by your office. In every case such 

issue would be one of fact, and in this particular case the child was before the Court ,and ~, 

competent evldence,lntroduced to the effect 

that while the mother of the child was white 

the father was a negro,,and the appearance of 

the child seemed to be conclusive on that 

point. * * *.' 

As provided by Section 8~of Article +6a, supra 

"No white child can be adopted by a negro person, * * *.ll 

The courts of this State have not interpreted this-partlcular Article, but the word "negro" was used as synoqvmous 

with the popular words "colored persons" in Article 2900 

of Vernon's Civil Statutes, which reads, Fn part: 

"i * Y. The terms 'colored race' and 

'colored children,' as used in this title, 

include all personsof mixed blood descended 

from negro ancestry." 

In view of the Legislature's definition of the 

above terms, it is the opinion of this department that all 

persons of mixed blood descended from negro ancestry, however remote, is a negro, 

of ArtFcle 46a, supra. 

within the meaning of SectFon 8 

A District Judge has jurisdiction to render a 

decree of adoption, so long as the provisions of Title 3 

of Vernon's CFvil Statutes, which pertain to adoptlon, are 

complied with. Judge Culver, in the Instant case, had the 

judicial power to render the decree which he did render. 

The race or color of a person is a question of fact, and 

in the instant case this fact was determined by Judge Culver 

upon competent evidence introduced at the hearing before him 

The adoption decree issued in the instant case by Judge 
Honorable w. A. Davis, Page 4 (0-1278-A) 

Culver reflects the fact that the Infant sought to be adopted is a negro, and this finding of fact takes precedence 

over the recltdtlon of facts as contained In the Birth 

Certificate. 

Under the foregoing authorities, you are respectfully advised that it Is the opinion of this department 

that the adoption decree Fn question Is valid, and should 

be accepted by you and flled under Rule 47a, Article 4477 

of Vernon's Clvll Statutes. 

This opinion Is not In conflict with our opinion 

No. o-1278 referred to by you In your letter of request. 

The adoption decree, which was under consideration in that 

oplnlon did not dlsclose the facts regarding the race of 

petitioners In the adoption proceedings and of the minors 

who were purportedly adopted. This decree was held to be 

void for all purposes for the reason that the court did 

not have the judicial power to render the decree.whlch It 

did render. Under these circumstances you would be justlfied In refusing 4% accept Pond file the decree, and this 

was the effect of our Opinion No. O-1278. 

Trusting that the above satisfactorily disposes 

of your inquiry, we remain 

APPROVED AUG 15, 1940 Very truly~ yours, 

/s/ Grover Sellers A'M'ORNEYGENERALOF TEXAS 

;;EM;SSISTANT ATTORNEY 

DBD:RS-ds 

APPROVED 

OPINION 

COMMITTEE 

BY /a/ R.W.F. 

CHAIRMAN 

By /s/D. Burle Davlss 

D. Burle Daviss 

Assistant