Hello Lisa,
Could Minnie just have been a local midwife?

Regarding the fostering (sometimes paid in a lump sum, or given a pittance now and then by a parent if he or she was still around), as opposed to an adoption (often by a relative or childless couple who then considered the child to be their own), one way of indicating one or the other is did your mother consider the Carringtons to be her grandparents when she was growing up? Were they part of the family?
If not, do you know what happened to them?

Sue