In re Anonymous

John D. Bennett, S.

In these two adoption proceedings, the petitioner is the present hnshand of the mother who divorced the natural father in 1954. The natural father contests the proceeding and joins issue on the question of abandonment by him of the children. Unless the question of abandonment be resolved in favor of the petitioner, the application must be denied in the absence of a consent from the father (Domestic Relations Law, § 111).

The facts show that the contestant and his former wife executed a separation agreement dated September 18, 1953, which was later incorporated into a divorce…