Hi there, I have a puzzle on a birth certificate! I know that this boy was born 28 March 1942 at Forest Gate Hospital, his Mother was Mary Nurse nee Knight. She registered him as her own on 8th April 1942. I know this as there is a note in the margin written by the Superintendent. Mary took him as her own a month after he was born. The question is: there is no Father on the birth certificate. I know that Mary WAS married to a Thomas Nurse, wouldn't he have been down on the certificate even though he wasn't the birth father please? If Thomas had died, would she have been able to adopt John even though she didn't have a husband in 1942 please? Thanks for answering this for me. Diane

I am not clear if you are saying Mary Nurse, (nee Knight) is the natural mother or not. I note the birth was during WW2 where there was every possibility Thomas Nurse was absent on wartime duties. The ambiguity I am reading into your original message is whether you are saying that John Nurse was not the son of either Mary or Thomas Nurse but another unknown couple and somehow Mary just took him in a form of instant adoption. Or if you are saying the Mary was the natural mother. If the Mary was the child's natural mother, even if the child was illegitimate, the question of adoption does not arise. If Thomas Nurses' name was not on the birth certificate then presumably he was not the father and the child was illegitimate. If Thomas was already deceased as a result of the war or had been absent on war duties for more than nine months, Mary Nurse may have found it difficult adding Thomas Nurse as the father. The other possibility is Thomas was still alive and that he was aware of the forthcoming child but refused to have his name entered on the birth certificate as the father knowing it was not his. Michael -----Original Message----- From: Diane Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2012 11:45 AM To: essex-uk@rootsweb.com Subject: [Ess] Adoption in West Ham Hi there, I have a puzzle on a birth certificate! I know that this boy was born 28 March 1942 at Forest Gate Hospital, his Mother was Mary Nurse nee Knight. She registered him as her own on 8th April 1942. I know this as there is a note in the margin written by the Superintendent. Mary took him as her own a month after he was born. The question is: there is no Father on the birth certificate. I know that Mary WAS married to a Thomas Nurse, wouldn't he have been down on the certificate even though he wasn't the birth father please? If Thomas had died, would she have been able to adopt John even though she didn't have a husband in 1942 please? Thanks for answering this for me. Diane ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Any problems, please contact the List Admin: Essex-UK-admin@rootsweb.com ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ESSEX-UK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hello Diane, A childs Birth Cert. gives only the natural father' name or no father (for various reasons) is given, or father (deceased). I cannot answer the question "adoption" but sure some one will. eddy in bavaria > Mary took him as her own a month after he was born. The question is: > there is no Father on the birth certificate. I know that Mary WAS > married to a Thomas Nurse, wouldn't he have been down on the certificate > even though he wasn't the birth father please? If Thomas had died, > would she have been able to adopt John even though she didn't have a > husband in 1942 please? > >

Hi Diane > A childs Birth Cert. gives only the natural father' name or no father > (for various reasons) is given, or father (deceased). This is not *strictly* true. The law assumed (and still does) that if a married woman gave birth then her husband was the father. Even if a registrar had his suspicions, the husband's name would go on the certificate. But I don't think this is particularly relevant to the case in question as the mother was almost certainly a widow, not a married woman. Thomas H NURSE married Mary KNIGHT in Q1 1927 and there were three children apparently born to the couple between 1929 and 1932. It looks highly likely that Thomas died in Q4 1936. I think the "adoption" issue is a red herring. As others have pointed out, Mary would not have needed to adopt John if she was his natural mother. The most likely scenario is that Mary became pregnant by a man who was unwilling or unable to marry her and concocted a story about John being adopted to cover her shame (though I doubt many would have been fooled at the time!). Hope this helps > > > Mary took him as her own a month after he was born. The question is: > > there is no Father on the birth certificate. I know that Mary WAS > > married to a Thomas Nurse, wouldn't he have been down on the > > certificate even though he wasn't the birth father please? If Thomas > > had died, would she have been able to adopt John even though she > > didn't have a husband in 1942 please? > >

I have written to Diane off list as this is too recent a subject, 1942, and people concerned in it could still be alive and would not necessarily be thrilled about having their details bandied about on the the list for all to read in the archives. Regards Jenny DeAngelis <<I know that this boy was born 28 March 1942 at Forest Gate Hospital, his Mother was Mary Nurse nee Knight. She registered him as her own on 8th April 1942. I know this as there is a note in the margin written by the Superintendent.>>