Genealogy Chat

I've just started looking at my husband's side of the family. I have a birth in 1933 where there is no father recorded just a line. Yet the mother is identified as Jane Smith formerly Brown. (These are not the right names, but as the person involved is still alive, I'd rather not use them). Smith is the name the child was known by, and was as far as we knew the name of the father. Jane and the child certainly lived with Mr Smith until Jane's death a few years later. So is there any reason the father wouldn't be recorded unless the child was illegitimate ?

Ann It could be that the marriage took place after the birth. Therefore there would be a line for the father's name. My husband's gg grandmother was the same. Her birth and marriage were under her mother's name and line for father

Mary, Thanks for the reply - but the mother does appear to have been married at least when the birth was registered as she is identified as "Smith formerly Brown". Unless of course she wasn't married to the father.....

Hello Ann. If Mr S was the father then his name should appear in the appropriate space. Were the Mother and Mr S married at the time of the birth - if so then he would appear not to be the father - and after that the imagination takes over. Keith

Thanks Keith, Thats more or less the conclusion I'd come to. Mother is calling herself Mrs S, so presumably she and Mr S were married at the time of the birth, unless she is just using the name S. So it does look as though S wasn't the father. Oh goody. Ann

Rules and practices have varied, but I believe, if the parents weren't legally married, the father couldn't be named, unless both parents attended the RO together and signed. Usually this didn't happen because people didn't know However, if Jane were normally going under the name of Jane Smith, for whatever reason, it would be correct to show that On the other hand, if Jane were legally married at the time of the birth, there would be a presumption that the husband was the father and his name would go down. Married women often do play away, but mostly they don't tell and registrars don't want to know All seems consistent with Mr Smith being the father and the couple living together as husband and wife but not having tied the knot (yet)

I think you had better take cover Robin!!!!!!!!! "Married women often do play away" Paul

I think Robin meant "sometimes" not "often"(I hope) Bob