Who's the daddy?

[Trish1908]

Hi all
I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction (apolgies in advance for the lengthy post)
Via an earlier post on here I came across a bit of a puzzle: William Bone, born 1863/4 in Tempsford, Beds.Here's what I know so far

Parents Joseph Bone and Susan Browning married Dec 1849
In 1851census they have one son (Samuel)
In 1861 census Susan is listed as a widow, and has Samuel, a daughter (Sarah, born 1855) and another son (Joseph, born 1857). This would imply that Joseph (the elder) died some time between 1857 when the younger Joseph was born, and the date of the 1861 census.

Here's where I got interested.
In 1871 Susan is with her second husband (Thomas Cullip) and has another 'Bone' son with her - the aforementioned William, then aged 7 which would put his birth year at 1864, so...
if Joseph the elder was dead by 1861, who is William's father.

I have tried tracing the birth on the usual sites but to no avail. Any help appreciated.
T

[BumbleB]

It's not beyond the realms of possibility that William is illegitimate    There is a FreeBMD entry for a William Bone in Bedford Registration District, December quarter 1863- 3b, page 317.

Thomas and Sarah don't get married until September quarter 1866, with two possibilities for a death of Joseph Bone in the Bedfordshire area - September 1855 in the Luton Registration District, and December quarter 1857 in Leighton Buzzard District.

[Lostris]

Biggleswade is the RD for Tempsford, so probably its one of these 2 lads ?


Births Jun 1863   

BONE  Male    Biggleswade  3b 369   

~~~~~~~~

Births Sep 1863   

BONE  Male     Biggleswade  3b 327   

[Trish1908]

Thanks BB/ Lostris
I assume my next step would be to request a copy of the birth cert to see if a father is named.
Also, the two possible deaths you found would indicate that either Joseph senior died shortly before his namesake was born (1857) or, like William, the younger Joseph has a different father to his older siblings (if the 1855 death is the correct one).

T

[josey]

Have you been able to track down a baptism? Does William give a father's name when he marries?

Josey

[bedfordshire boy]

Have you checked the IGI at www.familysearch.org ? There's a baptism of a William Bone in Tempsford on 30 June 1867, mother Susan Bone. Check the microfilm at your nearest LDS Family History Centre to see if there's any further detail. He was baptised on the same day as his (half) sister Elizabeth Culliss

I don't fancy either of the deaths quoted. I think it's more likely to be Joseph Bone died June quarter 1856 in Biggleswade registration district

[josey]

Good find bedfordshire boy. It would be interesting to see if this baptism is of a 4 yr old.

Might the Bedfordshire Family History group have images of the parish registers even if they haven't all been transcribed by them? That would save ordering the LDS film.
http://www.bfhs.org.uk/

Josey

[bedfordshire boy]

The fact that William was described in censuses as step son or son in law, which was the same thing, and that his baptism was clearly differentiated from his half sister Elizabeth, makes me think that Thomas Cullip wasn't the father. As his birth may have been registered as Bone also makes me think that a father wasn't named otherwise the surname would have been included - unless he was the same person registered as male Richardson in the same quarter, Sept 1863. The first male Bone born in 1863 seems to have died in the same quarter. But we can speculate until the cows come home. The male Bone birth cert will give the answer one way or another. I suspect that you may not find who the father was, unless, as Josey suggested, William named his father when he married.

David