Genealogy Chat

my dads birth cert says mother joyce winifred walker formaly waight. think i have found her =birth may 1924 death joyce newman 2003. his dad was reginald a walker=birth 9 dec 1917, death jan 1991. cant find a marriage between them but my dads birth certificte indicates they got married. were they allowed to put any name on the b.cert back then? if anyone can help would be most grateful

oh by the way my dads name keith walker and dob is 30 apr 1948.
thanks in advance if anyone can help.......will be on line for the next hour

Hi Emma,
where in the country does this family come from sothat we can help search

basman

joyce winifred waight born ipswich lived in brentwood essex around time my dad was born. reginald born gloucester and lived in pitsea essex then basingstoke.......regards

Did your dad have any siblings?

Rose

No, they couldn't put any surname they liked (forenames were a completely different matter, however). If a woman were married, she'ld have to say Joyce Walker formerly Weight. If she'd wed as a widow, she'ld say Joyce Walker late Smith formerly Weight. The "lateness" refers to her use of the name, not to the status of Mr Smith - she'ld say exactly the same if she divorced Mr Smith. It was assumed the father was her husband, and she (or the informant) would name the father as Reginald Walker. If she were not married, the mother would be named as Joyce Weight (or Joyce Smith formerly Weight), and the kid would get the name Weight (or Smith). If the father went in and acknowledged paternity, his name would also be entered, and Keith could call himself either Keith Weight or Keith Walker, whatever he fancied (one occassionally sees "Keith Weight or Walker").

So that was what the registrar would insist on.

However, back then, no checking was done, so if she said she were married, she could go ahead with Keith Walker. More rarely, you'll see Joyce really being married, and naming the father as her husband Reginald Walker, and neglecting to tell the registrar Reg has been dead for 4 years. (This was for my grandad's sister - he'ld only been dead for 2 y for my grandad.)

How far back have you looked for the marriage. Don't forget there was WW2 around that time so they may have married and then the dad wasnt around cos he was in the War, for example I know of a couple who married in 1939 ,he was called up and was away in the Army and didnt come back home till 1946. their only child was born in 1947.

I see that Joyce was born in 1924 but she could have married any time after 16 which was the minimum age but with parental consent.
As Joyce passed away as a Newman she must have remarried after Reginald's death but I cant see a marriage for Walker /Newman post 1984??

My husband and his brother both have their father's name on their birth certificates and then mother's name and formerly....... indicating that she was married to the father but this was not so. They never actually married ....just lived as man and wife because he was already married to someone else in the 1920's.

The registrar would only record what he was told and you didn't need to produce a marriage certificate to register a birth.

Kath. x

Have PM'd Emma with a possible marriage in view of possible living relatives

thankyou every one, this information you have all given me has helped loads.......best wishes to u all looking for your own relatives and ancestors
regards emma x