Sheila Elizabeth Crisell 1922 - 1995

[Schoch]

The person has 2 birth certificates issued.  One under the last name of Crisell, the other under the name of Gibson. Her mother is given as Annie Grace Crisell and the birth is given as Kelvedon, Essex (although the cert. was issued in Newcastle).  There is a written note on this one saying it was issued under the Legitimacy Act of 1926.  I believe this was an "adoption" issue but am not entirely sure.

Annie Grace married the year after her daughters birth and subsequently a 2nd birth cert was issued.
Annie married a Robert Gibson and the new cert. reflects this fact. The 2nd cert also now gives Sheila's father as Robert Gibson.

Now the obvious explanation is that Sheila was born out of wedlock to an unknown father. But it could also be that Robert later adopted her, knowing that she was his daughter.

If the 1st reason is valid I wonder if there is a way to determine who he was. If the 2nd explanation is correct  then I have a bit of problem here.

This question is rather crucial to my search as Sheila later went on to marry someone who, on paper, was her 1st cousin.  If Robert was not her natural father then her marriage would have been to a 1/2 1st cousin.

Any thoughts or advice 


Regards

Richard

[mazi]

 the legitimacy act is not to do with adoption, rather, if both parents marry after the birth then the child becomes legitimate.

Robert, therefore should be the child’s natural father.

Mike

Added:  first cousins marrying is not uncommon

[Schoch]

Thanks Mike,
The simplest answer is sometimes the most obvious one.

My only issue is that Sheila Gibson/Crisell did, I have been informed by other family members, track down her birth fathers family some years ago.  I have never been able to prove this all all parties with this information have long since passed on (long before I became interested in Ancestry research).
The 2 copies I have of the birth certs are recent copies and I was kind of hoping there was some way to view the originals, to see if there were more details contained in them.


Richard

[KGarrad]

Her mother's husband will be her natural father - that's what the Legitimacy Act was all about

The certificates you have will state "Certified to be a true copy of an original entry" - so there is no more information to be found.

ADDED:
The entries on the GRO Indexes:

June qtr 1922
Crisell    Sheila   (Mother's maiden name:)  Crisell    Newcastle T.    10b   257
Gibson    Sheila    Crisell    Newcastle T.    10b   seeM27 (March 1927)

March qtr 1927
Gibson    Sheila    Crisell    Newcastle T.    10b   199

[Jebber]

If Robert Gibson wasn’t her father, the second certificate would be an adoption certificate. That is the procedure when a stepfather adopts his wife’s child, there would be no mention of the legitimacy act.

[mazi]

But of course they could have told fibs to the registrar as it was the easiest way to legitimise the child,
As the adoption act did not arrive till 1929

Mike

[KGarrad]

But of course they could have told fibs to the registrar as it was the easiest way to legitimise the child,
As the adoption act did not arrive till 1929

Mike

The Adoption Act (1926) came into force on 1st January 1927.

[mazi]

But of course they could have told fibs to the registrar as it was the easiest way to legitimise the child,
As the adoption act did not arrive till 1929

Mike

The Adoption Act (1926) came into force on 1st January 1927.

I should have checked. 

Interesting, in March quarter 1927 they could have legitimised the child under the adoption act, although with more paperwork to do, even if he was not the natural father.

Mike

[Schoch]

Thank you one and all. 

Not sure I am any further ahead, but it now seems more likely that Robert was her natural father. So 1sr cousin marriage it is then

DNA does not provide any information in this regard, as most who have registered don't even have a family tree to search. But if any 1st or 2nd cousins do pop up in the future it will be very interesting indeed.


Richard