Baptisms & Marriages

[ostrauts]

Dear All,

I'm hoping for some assistance in regards to baptisms & marriages. 

My x2 Great Grandfather, Joseph Woodbridge died in 1883.  I have his probate & will to confirm his death and last known residence.  His wife Sarah, formally Hall lived until 1912 and remarried to become Sarah Adderley.  In the census records she is recorded as living with her son and three daughters.  Her three daughters were born; Amelia (1885), Beatrice (1886) and Ada (1888) and they all have the surname Woodbridge.

In the baptism record for Amelia lists her father as William Swatkins, but on her birth certificate no fathers name appears.  Her marriage certificate however records her father as Joseph William Woodbridge (deceased) occupation; Butcher.

I can't find a baptism record for Beatrice, but her marriage record has the same father details as Amelia.

Finally, Ada has no father name on her baptism record.  But the home address is the same as her two sisters.

I can't work out how the three daughters have their father recorded as Joseph Woodbridge, as each of them were born following the death of Joseph Woodbridge.  Its very odd.

Is it simply a case of errors have been made when the baptisms and marriages were recorded?

Thanks for any advice anyone can give.

[halhawk]

Hello

I see Sarah did not remarry until 1892, so on registering the girls' births she would have used her then surname of Woodbridge, and either refused to name the father or admitted that their father was not her husband.  The real father could only have been named if he also attended the registration and agreed, and even so the girls would still have been given their mother's surname, since she was not married to their father.

The details on marriage certificates are informant-driven, so the girls presumably gave the name of their mother's first husband even if they knew differently. There is no requirement to show any proof of this information. Often a made up name, or other male relative is given on such marriage certificates.

It would be interesting if Beatrice's baptism record ever turns up, to see if a father is named.  The information there again depends on what is known/said at the time.

Best wishes
halhawk

[Neil Todd]

No errors, it was simply the done thing when not legally married. In the eyes of the church as well if the father was named as the unmarried partner of the mother it could have been noted in a completely unfavourable way of, "Bastard".

I have three Uncles and an Aunt with exactly the same format, similar era.

Neil

[jim1]

On Amelia's Baptism she is listed as Amelia Eliza Swatkins Woodbridge.
Parents: William Swatkins Woodbridge & Sarah Swatkins Woodbridge.
Living at 88 Lady Lane.
His occ. Beer house keeper.
Seems Sarah was married to someone else in 1881:
Joseph Woodbridge  46 / butcher ( died 1883 )
Sarah Woodbridge  36
Joseph Woodbridge  13
Sarah Woodbridge  12
Jonah Woodbridge  5 ( living with his mother in 1891 )
David Woodbridge  3
Annie Woodbridge  10
James Woodbridge  1
Louisa Newton  19
Edward Gardner  23
James Whitehouse  16
The children seem to be spread out all over the place in 1891.
RG11; Piece: 2980; Folio: 59; Page: 44

jim.

[ostrauts]

Thank you all for your help on this matter.  It's made things more clear as to the relationship of the three daughters.

[jim1]

There's no marriage that I can find of Sarah to William Swatkins so they all seem to have taken the name Swatkins-Woodbridge. As Joseph Woodbridge died in 1883 William Swatkins must be the father but embarrassment re their illegitimacy has prompted them to go with their mother's husband on their marriages.

jim

[LizzieL]

On Amelia's Baptism she is listed as Amelia Eliza Swatkins Woodbridge.
Parents: William Swatkins Woodbridge & Sarah Swatkins Woodbridge.
Living at 88 Lady Lane.
His occ. Beer house keeper.

Looking at the parish register for the baptism, the names of parents have been spread across the two columns for parents christian names and surnames. I have commonly seen this for unmarried couples with different surnames, so reads William Swatkins and Sarah Woodbridge.
Address looks like 88 Sandy Lane (not Lady Lane).

ADDED: Have also found Ada's baptism, interestingly address is 90 Sandy lane. As no father mentioned was this Sarah's address and in 1885, the address given was William Swatkins, living next door?
I can't find baptism for Beatrice either. Have looked through Bordesley registers on Ancestry for any Beatrice in case surname has been indexed incorrectly for 1886, but nothing comes up/

[LizzieL]

On 1891 census Sarah and her children are still at no 90 Sandy Lane. The occupier of no 88 is a Out door beer retailer but he's called Henry Phillips a widower. Living with him is his widowed niece and her daughter.
In 1881 at no 90 was John Matthew a shoemaker. No 88 seems to have been uninhabited.

No sign of a William Swatkins anywhere nearby.

[BumbleB]

There is a William Swatkins living in Harborne with a wife and family in 1891 - although I can't see a marriage between William and Angelina - and in 1881 he appears to be in Malta in the Marines.

Greenfield Road, Harborne is only 5 miles from Sandy Lane, Aston.  Not ever so far away