Hi All I have a relative born in Norfolk in 1910. His birth certificate does not show a father, and the mother is living with her parents with the person in question shown as a grandson in the 1911 census. He was born out of wedlock. However, when he marries in 1938 the marriage certificate has a name for his father, which is identical to that of his grandfather. We have a very good idea who the biological father was, and his name was quite different. Was it common in this circumstance to do this? Was a father's name required and could not be left blank? Other thoughts :- a 'white lie' to either help any children from the marriage or the bride's family were religious and wouldn't have accepted such a son-in-law. Any thoughts, knowledge of general practice, legal requirements, theories - all gratefully accepted.. Tony

Hi Tony, Had the same situation with my maternal grandmother. No father's name on birth, grandfather's name on marriage as the father. My mother told me that her mother grew up believing that her grandparents were her parents, while being told that her natural mother was her "sister". So much for family secrets. My grandmother's mother actually married the man believed to be the father a few years later, having more children. However, my grandmother was left with her grandparents and was raised by them. Good luck with your research, Elizabeth -----Original Message----- From: Tony Ellis Sent: Sunday, November 13, 2011 5:05 PM To: NORFOLK@rootsweb.com Subject: [NFK] Grandfather's name as Father on Wedding Certificate Hi All I have a relative born in Norfolk in 1910. His birth certificate does not show a father, and the mother is living with her parents with the person in question shown as a grandson in the 1911 census. He was born out of wedlock. However, when he marries in 1938 the marriage certificate has a name for his father, which is identical to that of his grandfather. We have a very good idea who the biological father was, and his name was quite different. Was it common in this circumstance to do this? Was a father's name required and could not be left blank? Other thoughts :- a 'white lie' to either help any children from the marriage or the bride's family were religious and wouldn't have accepted such a son-in-law. Any thoughts, knowledge of general practice, legal requirements, theories - all gratefully accepted.. Tony ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NORFOLK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

I have seen certificates roughly the same date with the father's name left blank so it must have been allowed. One option is that he had made the pretence for reasons of employment. Or to save face- although only witnesses get to see a marriage certificate he may have had to conjure up a deceased parent. He would not have been able to carry off an open deceit if he lived married and worked where he grew up I would have thought. Rosie On 13/11/2011 22:52, Elizabeth Inmon wrote: > Hi Tony, > > Had the same situation with my maternal grandmother. No father's name on > birth, grandfather's name on marriage as the father. My mother told me that > her mother grew up believing that her grandparents were her parents, while > being told that her natural mother was her "sister". So much for family > secrets. My grandmother's mother actually married the man believed to be > the father a few years later, having more children. However, my grandmother > was left with her grandparents and was raised by them. > > Good luck with your research, > > Elizabeth > > -----Original Message----- > From: Tony Ellis > Sent: Sunday, November 13, 2011 5:05 PM > To: NORFOLK@rootsweb.com > Subject: [NFK] Grandfather's name as Father on Wedding Certificate > > Hi All > > I have a relative born in Norfolk in 1910. His birth certificate does > not show a father, and the mother is living with her parents with the > person in question shown as a grandson in the 1911 census. He was born > out of wedlock. However, when he marries in 1938 the marriage > certificate has a name for his father, which is identical to that of his > grandfather. We have a very good idea who the biological father was, and > his name was quite different. > > Was it common in this circumstance to do this? Was a father's name > required and could not be left blank? Other thoughts :- a 'white lie' to > either help any children from the marriage or the bride's family were > religious and wouldn't have accepted such a son-in-law. > > Any thoughts, knowledge of general practice, legal requirements, > theories - all gratefully accepted.. > > Tony > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > NORFOLK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NORFOLK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Could anyone tell me please if the burial records for Narborough are online? Also, are the 1844 marriages for Wendling anywhere to be found? The registers online on Family Search finish in 1837. Jan

Yes, that sort of thing was common at that time (with variations), not always for obvious reasons and not only in Norfolk. My paternal grandfather was illegitimate, although his parents lived openly together and produced several children, all with their mother's surname, When he married in 1906, on the certificate he gave his father his correct first name but the same surname as his own and his mother's. This was in a small Wiltshire village where he and his parents were all locals. His new wife and father-in-law were from distant London, but the reason could not have been to deceive them since his mother and his new mother-in-law were sisters! Jim Fisher On 14 Nov 2011 at 9:05, Tony Ellis wrote: > Hi All > > I have a relative born in Norfolk in 1910. His birth certificate does > not show a father, and the mother is living with her parents with the > person in question shown as a grandson in the 1911 census. He was born > out of wedlock. However, when he marries in 1938 the marriage > certificate has a name for his father, which is identical to that of > his grandfather. We have a very good idea who the biological father > was, and his name was quite different. > > Was it common in this circumstance to do this? Was a father's name > required and could not be left blank? Other thoughts :- a 'white lie' > to either help any children from the marriage or the bride's family > were religious and wouldn't have accepted such a son-in-law. > > Any thoughts, knowledge of general practice, legal requirements, > theories - all gratefully accepted.. > > Tony > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > NORFOLK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > -- My web site is now at http://www.jimella.me.uk Family history, Gardening, Humour, Politics and more ...and blogs at http://jimella.livejournal.com and http://jimella.wordpress.com

Hello Tony I have an ancestor whose grandfather's name appears on her marriage certificate as being her father. This is particularly impressive feat as the grandfather died five years before she was born. The ancestor in question was born c.1844 and married in 1863, but notwithstanding this, her birth does not appear to have been registered. There is however a baptism which gives a mother's name and a (presumably) fictous father, since he had the same surname as the mother and the maternal grandparents. The mother died in 1845, so the child was brought up by her grandmother and she was recorded in census data as being a daughter rather than a granddaughter. Regards Peter ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tony Ellis" <aellis@bigpond.net.au> To: <NORFOLK@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, November 13, 2011 10:05 PM Subject: [NFK] Grandfather's name as Father on Wedding Certificate > Hi All > > I have a relative born in Norfolk in 1910. His birth certificate does > not show a father, and the mother is living with her parents with the > person in question shown as a grandson in the 1911 census. He was born > out of wedlock. However, when he marries in 1938 the marriage > certificate has a name for his father, which is identical to that of his > grandfather. We have a very good idea who the biological father was, and > his name was quite different. > > Was it common in this circumstance to do this? Was a father's name > required and could not be left blank? Other thoughts :- a 'white lie' to > either help any children from the marriage or the bride's family were > religious and wouldn't have accepted such a son-in-law. > > Any thoughts, knowledge of general practice, legal requirements, > theories - all gratefully accepted.. > > Tony > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > NORFOLK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message