Illegitimacy & Dead Ends

[andferdav]

Don't put too much faith in a father's name on a marriage certificate.
My great grandfather was illegitimate and his mother never told anyone who the father was.
On my g-g's marriage certificate he gave a father's name I assumed was his stepfather's name and it lead to all sorts of wrong conclusions - I looked for marriages, I looked at censuses etc. etc. and found absolutely nothing.
Eventually I found a baptism record for him with a mother's name only and that opened the floodgates.
It turns out the name he gave was his own surname and his stepfather's christian name!
It didn't help that he gave the wrong age and place of birth!!
Andrea

[LizzieW]

My 2 x g.grandfather was illegitimate and when I first bought what I thought was his marriage cert, (it turned out to be the correct certificate), I discounted it because there was a totally different name for his father and at that time I hadn't found out that he was illegitimate.  

Since searching on FreeREG, I see that he was illegitimate and that is what is listed in the Parish Register.  However, as my 2 x g.grandfather was born in a very small village in Lincolnshire where this man also lived, I am fairly certain he must have been his father, or like other illegitimate ancestors I have he would have just made up a name, giving the "supposed" father the same surname as himself.

Unlike Andrea's experience, I know my 2 x g.grandfather didn't have a stepfather, his mother died in a workhouse still single, when 2 x g.grandfather was only 16.

Lizzie

[acorngen]

Lizzie,

Funny coincidence on this thread is that you have the surname in your interests that my 3 x great grandfather put on his marriage cert.  Bettison

Rob

[LizzieW]

Hi Rob

I was only really interested in Bettison my 2 x g.uncle married a widow and living with her (before she married 2 x g.uncle) was her mother with the name of Bettison.   Despite getting no response from a couple or people who have her in their tree on Ancestry, I have found out who her first husband was and who her parents were and I'm satisfied with that.  I don't need to go any further, unless you have any interesting info.  The family appear to have come from the Clay Cross area of Derbyshire.

Lizzie

[acorngen]

Lizzie,

I have no more info as I chose not to try and track down mine because I would never be able to prove the paternity.  My family started in South Normanton and ended up in Clay Cross.

Rob