Genealogy Chat

Many thanks to you all on your replies. It seems like the Victorians with their social taboos have won the day again! I suppose it does fill up a gap on a certificate but hey, doesn't it just make life impossible for genealogists!! I will have to assume (which I hate doing in this game) that the father was never known and his grandfather fitted the bill for this purpose. No doubt the old fella is sitting up there on a cloud with a twinkle in his eye knowing what he knows!! cheers Ken.

Hi Kenneth This exact same thing just happened to me. I ordered my (birth) maternal grandfather's birth cert and there was just a line where the father's details would have been. He had then taken his mother's surname as his. However, on his marriage certificate to my (birth) grandmother, he had put his own name (feasible - boys were often named after their fathers) where his father's should have been and an occupation and 'deceased'. I think that it was probably to 'save face' as you say. Mandy :)

I ordered a copy of the birth certificate of my great great grandfather Henry Walton born 1861. His parents are given as Henry Walton and Jane Walton (formerly Parsons). I then ordered the certificate for Henry Walton born 1844, and his parents are given as George Walton...and Jane Walton (formerly Parson). I was wondering whether this meant that Henry b1861 was in the care of his grandmother, or if there could be any other explanation...it's interesting to hear that others are having similar problems! Pat

They even made a song about it ! See "favourite genealogy quotations/poems" on general topics ... Seriously though .... My great grandfather came over from Germany (about 1885 ?). In the 1901 census his place of birth is Stepney ! On his marriage certificate, g-grandad, Henry Frederick Coleman, gives his father as Henry Frederick Coleman(deceased) !! Is that common, to repeat *both* christian names ?? I am wondering if he entered Britain illegally, and didn't want to draw attention to himself, hence the discrepancies. And if you read the boards here, he wasn't the only one who lied in the registry office, in the census, etc, etc !

Hi Kenneth I didnt have the same problem as you but similar. My Nan on her Birth Certificate had a fathers name but she had never ever mentioned her father we asked but she would change the subject. and her fathers name was Jack Davis it seemed such a made up name he was a Tailor. On my Nans marriage certificate it said her father was Charles Day who was a Tailor, but Charles Day was her Grandfather who had also died before she married. So for the past year I finaly came to the conclusion that her Granfather was also her father. but then out of the blue her mums marriage certificate turned up and sure enough it was Jack Davis. So I think what happened Jack Davis couldnt have been a very nice man and perhaps disappeared. and as she lived with her granfather as a child she classed him as the nearest she had to a dad and put him on the marriage certificate. My Nan married in 1930 so obliously you didnt need to produce your Birth Certificate. So I wouldnt worry about it too much. Hope you understood what I said as I rambled a bit. Debbie

I think this may be common certainly in my own research of the mid to late 1800s in my tree it has led to some confusion as my great grandfather on my mother's side only has his mother (who has the same name as her mother) on his birth certificate but on his marriage certificate it names his mother's parents as his parents. His mother didn't actually marry until 7 years later and on her husband's death certificate in the 1940s it does state that my great grandfather who registered the death was his step son. So I still don't know who his father was!!

My grandfather, who was born illegitimate has "unknown" on his birth certificate where the father's name is required. On his marriage certificate to my grandmother, however, are details of his maternal Grandfather. where the father's name and occupation is required. Has anyone else come across this or was this common practice to "save face" (incidentally, his grandfather was by then, deceased and may have been a convenient name to put without any hassle) Was it practice also back in 1930's to produce your birth certificate when getting married? ..... or should I think the worst about my g.g.grandfather and his daughter??