Genealogy Chat

At the end of the day, nothing is 100% certain. You don't know that your own father, who is supposedly the father of all your siblings, and married your mother before you were born, is actually your father. And with advances in science, you can't even be sure nowadays that your mother is your mother!

I received one today, a marriage of 1976, so modern., where there is no father or occupation. Although we know that her parents were brother and sister as her mother had been to prison for crimes of incest.

Well I have one where stepfather is shown as father, one where child was registered at birth as illegitimate (but with a very odd middle name) and gives her real father's name on her marriage cert and another one where we know the lad was illegitimate, yet he gives a father's name and occupation on the marriage cert - completely made up as it bears no resemblance to anyone in his family!

Jill

On a marriage cert I have the mothers name and occupation instead of the father. However it was a couple of years too early for civil registration and cannot find a baptism unfortunately. Also cannot find mother or daughter on 1841 census so don't know what happened to daughter.

You never know what may turn up :)

PS I'm not sure whether she had a stepfather or not, however, on one of the certificates of another relative, the stepfather was put as the real father on the marriage certificate,

well I will get the marriage cert first anyway...I know they are all 'mine' as it were , at least if the marriage cert sheds no further light I will have it to pass down lol

In this game anything goes so don't try and read into it. Best thing is to obtain as much evidence as you can and form your opinion from that.

I started researching my grandson's mums tree last year. Family folklore had provided some pointers but it turned out they were for the wrong generation, nevertheless they were part correct in assuming there was an 'adoption' somewhere in the past.

Fred Roberts b abt 1808 was always thought to be the son of John and Mary Roberts, ne Davis. We sent for his marriage certificate and this looked perfectly ok with his fathers name and occupation shown as expected.

We then tried to find his birth certificate but to no avail, but we did find his parents marriage but this was 2 years after his birth. We then looked for a birth cert in his mothers name only and there it was. On obtaining this no father was shown. The 1911 census confirmed him with the family but he was shown as Fred Davis, not Roberts. He obviously started using his stepfather's name after that.

It is possible his stepfather was his real father as he was working in the same area as his mother at the time of his birth, but I guess we will never know.

I have both kinds in my certs.

One who says his father is so and so,but I know he is a stepfather to an illegit ancestor and one left blank.
Mind you I have one for my D.I.L that puts fathers name and turns out to be her grandad....

Thanks Kathleen, I think it will be the case that the child thought the step father was father...and he might well have been lol. There is no birth record of him with fathers name though so he may either have been reg under mum's name ...or just not registered at all .

I've seen both cases. Sometimes the father's name is left blank and other times the stepfather's name is given. You can never be sure as it all depends on what information was given - and how much knowledge the person had. They may think the step-father is the real father!!

Kath. x

that the name of father was left blank if married person was illegitimate even if they had subsequently taken name of 'step-father' ?

Just wondering if , as funds being short, I will opt for marriage cert that I am sure of...or a birth that might not be him at all lol.