Genealogy Chat

oo i might try looking up unknowns, can't hurt. Just need to get a rellie over there to go to the office! LOL

Foundlings who are recorded as being born are recorded in the surname Unknown, mother's maiden name Unknown. Free BMD has quite a few transcriped - some have names and some are Male / Female. This is an example from Dec 1837 Unknown Jane Elizabeth Pocklington 23 70 Unknown Male Stepney 2 303 Unknown Male Stepney 2 282 And from Dec 1911 Unknown George S Unknown Staines 3a 38 Unknown Mary C Unknown Orsett 4a 1188 Unknown Olive B Unknown Kensington 1a 143 Unknown (Male) Unknown Bethnal G. 1c 225 Unknown (Female) Unknown Leek 6b Lunar xx

Suzanne No, you cannot view the register for yourself, but if you phone, or go in person, taking the cert with you, they will look it up for you. Tip: Make it sound a really fascinating mystery - Registrars are human too, and welcome a break from the routine! Emphasise that you have the original, but cannot read it. Good luck. OC

interesting. He got married 1867 and his son was born that year (well actually his mum must have been about 6mths pregnant when they married), his son was married 1893. The cert was amongst his son's papers when he died in the 1940's. I even thought that maybe he was given his mums maiden name as his surname, but still can't find him.

Hi Suzanne, I'm not 100% sure but I think if you're married in a church, you're supposed to have been baptised first. At least hubby and I were asked if we'd been baptised when we were going to get married 20 years ago. Might your relative have got the baptism cert for this purpose? Do the dates match (baptism & wedding)? My hubby had a similar thing happening with his ancestors. His gt gt grandfather was taken for baptism by his mother in 1845, then by 1851 he was living with an adoptive family, being described as a foundling in the census, but he kept his firstname and surname. He grew up calling his adoptive parents mother and father, but he must have known all along that he was adopted. His marriage certificate states a father's name, but it was his birth uncle's name, and his place of birth varied between where he was really born, and where I believe his birth mother came from. I'd love to know the circumstances of the 'adoption', but can't find any trace of his adoptive family's descendants now. Sorry, I strayed a bit from the point of the thread! :-)

He was married in Parish Church of Acton and the Baptism was Parish of St Thomas in Oxford. strange that the baptism is a certified copy given in 1889 and we don't know why.

Was he married at the Register Office or in church? You can view the actual church registers, usually at the Record Office or archives local to the event. You might find filmed copies at a nearby main library. I don't think you can view registers of civil weddings, .... but this is outside my experience so others may say otherwise. Gwyn

I was watching Psychic Detective and wondered if the same scenario happened to my 3 x g g/f. The subject was baptised by his mother and the abandoned with his baptism cert. He kept his first name. I have a baptism cert that has his name and parents but he is untracable until his marriage. I was wondering if there would be records and where to look for abandoned babies? If anyone actually goes to the registry office are you able to view the page of a certificate? His marriage certificate shows no fathers name but there is some writing at the end of the box and i got that note about sometimes they don't copy well etc. Would it be possible to view the entry do you think? To see if you could read what is written there?