Genealogy Chat

Thanks to everyone for all the info. I think we need to get a copy of the second marriage certificate and also a birth certificate for the child. That should answere all the questions. Sadly the lady who married twice lost both her first and second husbands and a daughter between the 1901 and 1911 census. Then had a young son from the first marriage to bring up. Hard times. Thanks again for the help. Anne

Anne incase it helps i had a lady who was born luxford married a Mead and then married a Parsonage when mr.mead died.

there were four children from the second marriage two of them show up in the indew mmn luxford and two show up with mmn mead, but i know they are all the children of the second marriage.

hope this helps.
Lee.

Hi mgnv

I do think we need to be aware that some people have named stepfathers as their fathers when we are doing our research. Otherwise we could end up going off and researching a branch of a tree which is not actually related to us. Which isn't to say people might not be interested but I think the majority of us when tracing our ancestors are mainly concentrating on our own blood lines.

The one I am very aware of on my tree is my great grandmother's older half brother. He and his descendants used the name of his stepfather and he said this stepfather was his father on his marriage certificate.

One of my good friends (who lives down the road from me) and I discovered we both had this surname on our trees. Eventually we unravelled the family and found that she was descended from this particular half brother but we only shared the same 2x great grandmother and not the same 2x great grandfather. It was very confusing for a while trying to find the truth.

It was nice to find a friend was a half third cousin!

Sue

Sue -
Re "I've come across people in my research who have got the names of stepfathers on their marriage certificates instead of their birth fathers."
The question is "what is your father's name", and in their case, I'ld say they had two, and it was up to them how they answered, and if they thought their stepfather was the more appropriate answer, I certainly wouldn't be saying it was the wrong answer.

There is currently no obligation on marriage registrations to list all former marriages, as a marriage is a legal method of changing a name.
Additionally the correct definition of 'maiden name' is 'the name in which a lady contracts her first or only marriage.
A 'not recent' birth entry will usually show other married names, whilst a more recent one will show the name used at the time of the marriage if different from the maiden name.

I have a relation by marriage who has been married 6 times. I wonder if some of her husbands have realised this and I am positive her children are unaware of some of them.
Not that I have ever seen any of her marriage certificates LOL.

I think any documents need to be treated with caution and backed up with other information if possible. I've come across people in my research who have got the names of stepfathers on their marriage certificates instead of their birth fathers.

Sue

Thank you Kath. It all falls into place now. Sorry I took so long to answere. Anne

If you mean which name would be given where the mother's maiden name is shown in the birth index, then it would be her original maiden name. However on the actual certificate it should have Mary Bloggs, late Brown, formerly White (as an example).

Kath. x

I have two marriage certs where its a third marriage each time but the bride only shows her current married name and her fathers name so you can see her maiden name .No ref to the first marriage is shown though.
Similarly i have birth certs for children of a second marriage and no ref is made to the mums first married name. It depends how the questions were asked at the time of registration

Thanks again. I havent got the actual certificate, just the page showing her registration. The child only lived for a few years so the record with mothers maiden name on would fit time wise.

A marriage certificate should show all previous names, but that is not necessarily the case with a birth certificate.

It is very likely that a birth certificate would show the mother's maiden name only, not her previously married name.

On registration of a birth, there is no reason to mention the fact that the woman was married before, so this could welll be the correct certificate.

Do the father's details, place, date etc tie up?

Thanks for the information. I was hoping the birth record I found was the right one but it only shows her maiden name. I will have to keep up the search.

have a look on here it is really good for explaining certificates

http://www.dixons.clara.co.uk/Certificates/indexbd.htm

On a new marriage cert a widow would have her married name and her maiden name eg
Jane Smith, formerly Brown. (Smith being married name and Brown maiden name)

Mother's Name
Column 5 of a birth certificate shows the name, and previous names if any, of the mother of the baby. There are several combinations of name possible. If a woman has not been married there will be a sole entry for her name e.g. Martha Robinson. If a woman has ever been married there will be two names shown for her e.g. Martha Robinson formerly Wheeler. If a woman has been married more than once the names shown will be e.g. Martha Robinson late Wheeler formerly Gregory. If a woman has been married, all previous names should be shown whether the baby being registered was legitimate or not.

Hi. I think I am right believing that if a woman is a widow, her maiden name on second marriage certificate would be her first husbands name. If she has a child from second marriage, does mothers name on record revert to her actual maiden name or from first marriage. Hope this makes sense to someone. Anne