Divorce in those days required an Act of Parliament, and it was very difficult to achieve. One also had to be rather wealthy to be able to afford it, and there were very few reasons for a divorce to be granted. When it came to a death certificate, the informant did not necessarily know the truth, only what they were told. I feel one has to keep a very open mind about the information on death certificates, unless you have proof to hand. People did not necessarily know the truth about themselves, or maybe what they were told was a total fib. For instance, I grew up believing my grandmother to be a twin, which is what she had been told as a child. He parents had both died by the time she was four, and an aunt brought her up. This aunt had obviously told my gran she had a twin sister called Lucy, and my gran died believing this was the case. In the seven years I have been researching, I have found no proof that this 'Lucy' existed. No birth certificate, my grandmother's birth certificate did not indicate that two children were born (usually has the time of birth) and no death for 'Lucy' and no baptism. Not even a burial. In these kind of cases one has to keep a totally open mind and never, ever, assume. Pauline ----- Original Message ----- From: "Roz Jones" <rhjones19@yahoo.co.uk> To: <eng-warks-birmingham@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, January 06, 2007 2:40 PM Subject: Re: [B'ham] Two sets of parents - Same last name > Could it be that parents separated/divorced (i know it's unusual for the time, but it did happen in those days) - and both remarried, that way you could have 2 sets of parents: > > dad + step mum > mum + step dad > > Or he was left with aunt/uncle and their partner - and the people who he thought were his parents were is aunt and uncle, and the people he thought were is aunt and uncle were actually his parents. That way 2 sets of parents - aunt and uncle who raised him as their own, and registered him as their own. He subsequently finds out, and upon death has biological parents put on death cert. > > 2 different possibilities, but at the same time both an option. > > Roz > > Nancy Curry <nancurry@msn.com> wrote: > A quick note: my gr grandfather also seems to have two sets of parents. One set listed on his birth cert. and also in the 1851 census. > > Then, on his death cert. it names two different parents. > > The story was filtered down through the years, that he was left on someone's doorstep, and taken in by a family by the name of GREEN. (That's my maiden name). And on his death cert. Fannie Frasier and James Green were listed, and he was born in Scotland! Since someone had to give that info. to the registrar when he died, there's some question. However, his wife, Maria, who was the informant, was presumably in her right mind - she died 8 years later -. > > So the mystery continues! > Nancy > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Allan Halstead > To: eng-warks-birmingham@rootsweb.com > Sent: Saturday, January 06, 2007 5:10 AM > Subject: Re: [B'ham] 2 Sets of Parents > > > Doesn't all this revolve around 1723's John PERKINS. > > If he is a member of 1719's Thomas's family then the parents would seem to > be Richard & Ann PERKINS - otherwise Thomas & Elizabeth. > > Although, admittedly, life is never as simple as that, is it. > > Regards, > > Allan Halstead > > _____________________________________________ > Tracing Ancestors in Birmingham: > http://www.bham.de/ > > Any problems, please contact the List Admin: ENG-WARKS-BIRMINGHAM-admin@rootsweb.com > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ENG-WARKS-BIRMINGHAM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > _____________________________________________ > Tracing Ancestors in Birmingham: > http://www.bham.de/ > > Any problems, please contact the List Admin: ENG-WARKS-BIRMINGHAM-admin@rootsweb.com > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ENG-WARKS-BIRMINGHAM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com >