Genealogy Chat

Marriage certificates only ask fo details of the father. As my grandad was illegitimate, when he married would there be no details of his parents on the form? Also when unmarried people have a child now the father can be entered on the birth certificate only if they both attend the regitrar. When did this start?

Robert If your grandfather knew who his father was he may have given his name on the marriage certificate or there might just be a blank. He may also have fibbed and made up the name of a father or used his grandfathers name and pretended this was his Dad, just to make things look good.

My great grandfather was illegitimate and his marriage certificate has his mother's husband down as his father but with his mother's maiden name. He could have been his father as his mother got married about 18 months after my gr grandfather was born but if this is the case why have his mother's maiden surname down? Melanie

Thanks Helen, my Grandad (and we) knew who greatgrandad was (they later married )I just wondered if the name could be entered as I want some evidence that he was the father.

On records at that time I believe that they could enter whatever they decided would be the truth...whether this was the case or not! The only way to tell if your ancestors father is entered is to get a copy of the certificate in question (I would go for Birth and Marriage...you never know) Certs are expensive (£7 from local records offices) but if you can get to the library for the area where the birth/marriage took place then you can often search the microfilm records for free. Good Luck, -Kat

Thanks Melanie thats very interesting. Thats what my second question is about. In former times I dont think illegitimate fathers were recognised at all and children automatically got the mothers name (by law). In your case it must have been to make the form look right as children of married couples got the fathers name (by law). I think.

Thanks Kat, I do live in the same area so I will try that.

Don't know whether this will help but I am trying to find out whether my gr gr grandmother's future husband was living anywhere close to her at the time she would have got pregnant. This would have been around the 1861 Census. Haven't had much luck yet but I thought it might confirm the likelihood of him actually being the father. This could be a road you want to try if you find a name on the marriage certificate that is not anyone you know. Melanie

Does this mean if you apply for a birth certificate of someone you know to be illegitimate, it may not have the fathers name on. My Gt Gt Grandfather had an illegitimate brother who has the mothers maiden name as a surname. I keep saying I'm going to apply for his birth cert. to confirm they actually had the same Father, but is this not necessarily the case? I'm talking around 1895 here by the way!!

Quoting from a book ' Between 1837 and 1875 if the mother informed the registrar of an illegitimate child's birth and also stated the father's name, the registrar could record him as the father. From 1875 a man could only be named as the father of an illegitimate child on the birth certificate if he consented and was also present when the birth was registered. The space for the father's name is therefore blank on the birth certificates of most illegitimate children. If a father is not named on a certificate, that does not prevent further research of that ancestral line since he might be named in parish or poor law union records or in courts' records'. Hope this helps. Maz. XX

Thanks Marion. My grandad was born in 1883 and since his "dad" then married his mum he might have consented but not been able to find the time (he was a miner). He was living with him in 1901 as "step son" even though she had no previous marriage. Do you know if there were local registrars in each village since the only real form of trasport in these days was a horse! What is the Book?

Thanks for that, think I've got it, although it might be clearer in the morning without the wine fuzzing my brain!! The "parents" involved got married in 1898 and on the 1901 Census, the illegitimate son is down as Son to Head of Household (father in law) which threw me for a bit, but they carried on and had more children so I'm hoping they're both named, fingers crossed X

The book Ancestral Trails by Mark Herber. Your library should have it or Smiths/Amazon or wherever for about £20.00. Definitely one for the Xmas list as it covers EVERYTHING for Britain. It is published in assocation with the Society of Genealogists. Maz. XX