unknown father emigrated to Oz

[ZKT]

My grandfather was illegitimate. His marriage certificate states his fathers name as Thomas Downes.

His father supposedly emigrated to Australia. It is unlikely that his father's family in Oz know anything about his existence, his mothers family are still in the UK and didn't know about him (He was adopted as a baby)'

My grandfather was born in Cheshire UK in Feb 1904 therefore his father could have emigrated any time from July 1903

His mothers family lived in Crewe Cheshire at the time of his birth but were originally from Diddlesbury in Shropshire. She was in service. The family myth was that his father was her employer but this is probably untrue.

His mothers name was Florence Downes - I don't know if it is just coincidence that both his father and mother were called Downes. They were definitely not married. I don't know if they were related.


Any help in finding the long lost father would be much appreciated. Not sure where to start as don't know when and where in OZ to look!

[CaroleW]

It was very common for illegitimate children to invent a father when they married so as to appear "respectable"

This could be why both mother and "father" have the same surnames

[crisane]

Do you have your grandfather's birth certificate?
As CaroleW has said most of us have ancestors who invented fathers for their marriage certificates.

[majm]

Hi there,

Two possible suggestions:

1. Do you have the likely address for Florence in 1901, perhaps that census would help with likely employers. 

2. There were a number of programs running in the decade before WWI to encourage immigration to Australia from the UK, in particular these included training unskilled men at various farming skills in England, before they embarked.  Quite a number of people came to Australia and then enlisted in the AIF when war broke out.   The service records of the men (and women) who enlisted are all digitised and free to search on line.  Some files are very detailed, and run to sixty and seventy pages, most have at least ten pages.  The enlistment records give the names, place of birth, age at enlistment, next of kin, address of next of kin, and on other pages there is often correspondence between family and the AIF base records office.

You can search as a guest at this link.  (for example, DOWNES gives around 130 results when limiting the years to 1913-1919, and the index includes POB (Place of Birth) so you can possibly look for any born in England... or with a next of kin surnamed DOWNES

http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/recordsearch/index.aspx 

These WWI service records are very informative, (full physical descriptions even) and the digitising project is a wonderful online resource and perhaps an untapped research area for you.

Cheers,  JM

[ZKT]

Thanks for help. This gives me something to go on now.
His birth Cert has no father on. He names as Ernest Alfred Downes but he used the surname Gibson Downes and dropped the Gibson when he married. If Thomas Downes is made up, it is possible his fathers name was Gibson.

The census records don't really help due to the 10 year gap between - his mother is recorded as living at home. His grandfather was a coachman for a local Dr and his mother was in sevice but don't know who for. The Dr wasn't Downes or Gibson.
This is going to take a lot of Detective work!!

[CaroleW]

his mothers family are still in the UK

You also say he was adopted as a baby.  Were his adoptive parents called Gibson and was his adoptive father perhaps called Thomas?