This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: GordonPertJohnson Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.britisles.scotland.ans.general/5890.1.1.3.1.2.1.2.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: I agree that wrong parents can appear on any certificate, but more usually on death certificates (as the person in question is not around to say "Hey, that's not right!"). The informant for paupers or persons in some kind of institution is often the head of the institution, who has no record of the deceased's parents, and probably little interest. Such errors in marriage certificates are rare, though, and often where the spouse has lost contact with one or both parents at an early age. The curious case of the 17 age must be down to either badly-written numbers, misreading of the certificate (Ancestry has many misreadings), or trying to pretend one is much younger than the truth.... Still, it adds extra interest to the detective story that is genealogy. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.