Genealogy Chat

I have a brother and sister, all brought up in and of the same family i.e all full siblings. When I looked up birth records, both my brother and I have the same information (mum's maiden surname and married name) but my sister's has my mum's maiden surname and a different surname entirely.It is the same on my sister's BC...Mum's actual maiden name and then 'formerly known as (different surname to my dad's altogether). When it says formerly known as does that refer to a previous marriage? And if so, how, on my parents marriage certificate, (they didn't get married until 13 years after I was born unbeknown to any of us) does it have her listed as spinster? Or could she have been adopted?

Many thanks

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.

The format of the registers changed in 1969 so that if a woman had married more than twice before her present marriage not all her previous married names would be shown.

It is important to remember that the definition of the maiden surname in registration is NOT the surname at birth but is the surname used at the first marriage. So someone who was born Ellen Hudson but who had changed her name to her stepfather's surname of Culshaw before she was married would have a maiden surname of Culshaw not Hudson. The reason for that is when tracing back , the next step would be to find the marriage of a child's parents and so it is necessary to look for the names used at marriage. The marriage certificate should show the natural fathers name not the stepfathers and so therefore you would have the birth name. That's the theory!


As far as a marriage cert is concerned:-

Column two is the name and surname of the bride and groom at the date of the marriage. Those last 6 words are crucial - the name used at the date of marriage is not necessarily the one on the birth certificate of the bride or groom. These days the words "Name changed by Deed Poll" or "formerly known as ................." or "otherwise" indicate that the bride or groom has changed their name since birth but that is a fairly recent phenomenon. In the past, the bride or groom were simply asked for the names they were known by. Remember that it was not necessary to produce any proof of the use of a name.

Names were changed in all sorts of ways. One of the most common would be by the bride or groom using a stepfathers surname. Or a person might use a mothers maiden name or indeed a name chosen at random because they didn't like the one they were born with or because they wanted their original identity hidden for a variety of reasons.
In later records it is possible to find a mother registered along the lines of Margaret Blinco otherwise Margaret Joel. This shows that she was using a name to which she didn't have legal entitlement e.g. she was living with someone called Blinco and using his name but was not married to him. Margaret Blinco otherwise Margaret Joel formerly Smith would show that she started life as a Smith, married and became Joel and was now living with someone and using his name.

The practice is often different - and the information is only as good as that provided to the registrar at the time.

IGP - a nice explanation. My only quibble is your "legally entitled to" phrase - since anyone was generally legally entitled to use any name they fancied.

Is your sister older, or younger than you?

If your Mum is still alive, the most obvious would be to ask her for an explanation.

I'd assume there must be a reason your parents didn't marry until 13yrs after your birth. Maybe she had been married previously, but told a little porkie when marrying your Dad, i.e. said she was a spinster.

If your sister is the eldest, I'd guess your Mum was married when she met your Dad. Have you looked for a possible first marriage.

If your Mum is still alive please don't be angry with her if she has hidden information from you, usually - and though misguided - family secrets are to protect the children not to deceive them. Don't judge parents who lived in a different world to your generation, they will have been subjected to prejudice which doesn't exist today.

Good luck, I hope you get to the bottom of things

Hi, yes my mum is still alive, but it is impossible to ask her as she is a very secretive person and would probably never speak to me again for unearthing the secrets. No...I'm not angry, I know things were different then, and on top of that she is an Irish Catholic so lots of guilt to contend with.

My sister is the eldest, yes. I think the reason they didn't marry til I was 13 was that my Dad was married previously, and we have just discovered that his first wife died 3 years before he married my mum, so presumably that meant he was free to marry her?

I have looked for a possible first marriage for my mum in this country, but it could be that she married him in Ireland which I believe is harder to trace?

IGP...I haven't had a chance to digest all the info you gave me yet, as I have 3 children home for christmas and it's impossible to concentrate! But thankyou for the info, I will read it when I have enough peace and quiet to do it justice.

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