Genealogy Chat

I have a birth certificate which says Albert Edward Gray born 4th January 1882 Fathers name Albert Gray mothers name Caroline Gray formerly Warne living at 42 De Beauvoir Square Kingsland Hackney yet I cannot find any marrige for this couple Have found them on the 1891 census, do you think they were not married if so I thought you could not register a child in the fathers name and why would she have her maiden name there. There does seem something a bit strange here do you agree thank you for reading this Margaret

Hi Margaret, Although officially father's name could only be entered if couple were married or father attended to register birth proof of marriage was not required. Your couple may not have married at all or may have married after the birth of their first child(ren). My gt gt grandparents John Manley and Margaret Cliffe lived as husband and wife from 1842 onwards, stated they were married on all censuses and gave mother's name as Margaret Manley, formerly Cliffe on 9 birth registrations. Then in 1880 they snuck off to a neighbouring parish, gave an address which was not the one they were living at with their family and got married, 20 years after the birth of their 9th child! I've often imagined the conversation between this 60 year old couple which led to them doing this. Good hunting Judith

Hi Margaret, Children can be registered under any surname you choose! They may not have married, she may have just used his name, as my G Grandmother did, before marrying Mr Prior after 25 years! All ten children born out of wedlock have his surname, and on every certificate, G gran is Mrs Prior! Try looking for a marriage later than you think was 'decent'!! My Gran said they didn't marry becase he had a previous wife who was in an asylum - and you couldn't divorce your spouse if they were incarcerated, so they married after first wife had died. I've found the marriage, haven't verified the asylum bit though. If there is a largish age gap between them, it may be that one of them had a previous partner. Maggie

Thank you both I think that must be the answer Margaret

Another possibility is that Caroline was a widow, who married before (or after!) Albert's birth. Try Freebmd to see if any Albert Grays marry a Caroline, note the surname, and see if there's an earlier Caroline marrying a man of that surname. You could be widowed very young, and if there were no children of that first marriage, there may be no clues on the birth certificates of subsequent children. Brenda