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I have a birth cert. for a relative of mine namely Walter Frederick Cage. the cert shows birth date 20/10/1924 at 14 Popes Lane Colchester Essex. It shows mother as Florence Powell (formally Ashdown) and all details of father blank??. I am assuming he took the fathers name of CAGE (possibly another Walter??)..Was she already married?? or did they marry, would someone be kind enough to check for marriage date????
many thanks

Brian

If the father was not named, the mother was not married to him. If they had been married, she could have given his name, but, as they weren't, he would have had to be with her when registering the birth in order for his name to be added to the birth cert.

Did he use the surname Cage during his life? The surname of the child is not actually recorded on a birth cert............

You can check for possible marriage on freebmd...........

As Florence was 'formerly Ashdown', she had married at some stage.............to a Mr Powell

Looks like he was Registered under Powell...I wonder if the C is for Cage and at some time, for some reason, he used that as his Surname....

Name: Walter F C Powell
Mother's Maiden Surname: Ashdown
Date of Registration: Oct Nov Dec 1924
Registration district: Colchester
Registration county: Essex, Suffolk
Volume Number: 4a
Page Number: 1249

Name: Walter Frederick Cage
Birth Date: 20 Oct 1924
Death Registration Month/Year: Oct 2004
Age at death (estimated): 80
Registration district: Colchester
Inferred County: Essex
Register number: C92C
District and Subdistrict: 469/1C
Entry number: 138

Misty x

Hi freewheel- I have looked on freebmd, Maybe missing something?.Walter Frederick did use the name CAGE all his life, I agree with you Florence must have been married to become a Powell?? .
Walter shows as CAGE on his birth cert... Nobody in the family alive today is able to confirm any marriage by his parents
hope that helps???
Brian

On the birth cert - as I stated above - the child's surname is not recorded officially.

The registration posted on here shows that he was registered as POWELL

It MAY be that the father was a Mr Cage, but I'm afraid you are unlikely ever to be able to prove it

If the mother HAD married the father at some stage, the birth would almost certainly have been re-registered to take account of that

Since his mother was already married when he was born, I suspect that she may have given Walter the middle name of Cage because she couldn't actually name his father on the certificate.

Walter may have learned at a later date that Mr. Powell was not his "real" father and so decided to use Cage as his surname later in life.

Kath. x

Hi Misty- you have the right Walter Frederick Cage b20/10/1924 registered 8/11/1924. I would be interested if you could find any marriage between a Cage and a Florence Powell.nee Ashdown in the Colchester Essex area, as i believe he took his fathers name, maybe they never married?. A very old infirm member of the family seems to remember him being brought up by a mother and father????
Thanks for your help
Brian

Ancestry does not show any marriage for either a Florence Ashdown or a Florence Powell to a Cage.

Since Walter's birth is registered as Powell the name Cage must be in the column for first names (and is therefore not his surname at the time of his birth). Birth certificates from that time did not give a surname for a child - this was taken to be the surname of his father or the surname of his mother if the child was illegitimate. Only forenames are given on the birth certificate.

Kath. x

Brian...

I cant see a marriage for Florence Powell to Mr Cage...

Maybe she separated from Mr Powell, lived with Mr Cage and brought Walter up with his father...

Misty x

A shot in the dark....could this be his father, if you bought the cert it would tell you if Florence or Walter Jr registered the death...of course, it could also be a waste of money!!


Name: Walter Frederick Cage
Birth Date: 11 Nov 1891
Death Registration Month/Year: 1973
Registration district: Brentwood
Inferred County: Essex
Volume: 4a
Page: 1222

Misty x

Hi All
Many thanks for your help- I think this will remain a mystery in our family as nobody alive today to confirm any details. I see what you mean about Cage being a christian name in coloumn2 on the cert. He certainly used the surname of Cage when he joined the merchant navy in 1942 and sailed on various ships in ww2 under the name of Walter Frederick Cage, as I have a copy of his Sea Service record.
I think its time to give up this search???

Many thanks for your help tonight

Brian

Hi Mistycat- Thanks for the last reply regarding his father possibly???
You might be on to something as his father was possibly from the Brentwood area, he lived in Basildon when he died somewhere around 1971-72. Basildon is only about 10 miles from Brentwood.
I only knew of him breifly, only meeting him a couple of times, he appears in one or two pics at my wedding in 1971????
Thanks again
Brian xx

Brian.

Have you got Walters marriage cert? He might have named a father on that if in fact he was brought up by 2 parents

Hi Quisgran- No marriage certs available but I know he married by special licence to a Violet Hampshire approx 1947 I think either at Virginia water (Weybridge) surrey or London East???

Brian

Walters marriage....

Name: Walter F Cage
Spouse Surname: Hampshire ( Violet )
Date of Registration: Jul-Aug-Sep 1947
Registration district: West Ham
Registration county (inferred): Essex
Volume Number: 5a
Page Number: 1811

Misty x

Thats the next thing to do. Get his marriage cert

Hi All- you have certainly given me some new avenues to explore, I am closing down for tonight got to get up in the morning, thanks for your help
good nite

Brian xxxx

Nicola.
When was the birth you are talking about? Have you checked to see if its registered under both surnames?

actually Nicola

the question to ask is when did it become NOT compulsory for the father of an illegitimate child to be present at registration for his name to be put on the birth certificate.

If the mother is or has been married, it is assumed that her husband is the father of the child ........ even if he has been dead or absent for 10 years or more! Several people on here have found that out to their chagrin and after years of searching for the father on other records.

Any other man who fathered the child has always had to be present at the registration or present an official letter saying that he agreed to having his name put on the certificate.

In the old days, this was mainly because the father of a child was under legal constraints to support mother and child .......... if the mother went to try to get Parish Relief (ie, before welfare was available), the Parish Relief officers could force a named father to take over the support.


Hence, most men did not want to be named officially.




sylvia