Disguising illegitimacy on birth certificate

[Fogmoose]

It happened on Marriage Certificates, too. My G Grandmother married in 1887. It's a long story, but basically she lied about her mothers name because her mother was illegitimate! The funny thing is, my G Grandfather (her husband) was himself illegitimate, though he may not have actually known it. The man he lists as his father on the MS either died (most likely) or else abandoned the family several years before he was concieved! So it was not unheard of that people would lie about illegitimacy in the Victorian era as it was becoming a greater stigma then it had perhaps been in prior generations.

[Kaybron]

My maternal grandmother lied on her Marriage Certificate.  Her name was Ada Olive Grey Smith.  I have not been able to find a birth record for her.  I have been searching for over 10 years.  On her marriage certificate she states her father's name is Albert John Oscar Smith.  No record of this father, also looking for over 10 years for this.  I have used professional researchers and still not able to find a birth record for my grandmother or anything about her father. 

I did a DNA test a few years back and recently had a cousin on my mother's side complete one so I could look for connections this way.

Regards Kaybron

[iolaus]

There is the possibility that she didn't deliberately lie - but the way the questions were asked/answered made them assume

One of my ancestors was illegitimate (the baptism record shows his as the son of either Thomas Williams or William Thomas - I'm guessing his mother couldn't remember which way round the names went and is blank on the birth certificate) and on most of his marriage certificates (man was widowed 3 times) his father is listed as Thomas Williams,  on one it is listed as Thomas HisSurname - I suspect what happened  he was asked his fathers name, he said Thomas and the registrar assumed

I can imagine a situation
'What's your name?'
'Esther Rolls'
'Have you been known by another surnames?'
'Butler' (meaning she was reffered to as her step fathers surname - registrar assumes it was her maiden name)
'Father's name and occupation'
'William, a farm servant'

Registrar assumes William's surname is Rolls

If Esther can't read (or never looked at the certificate/only had short version) she wouldn't have realised it wasn't right (or thought she'd save her son potential embarassment and didn't correct it)

[TopHat62]

If a married woman registers a birth, it is assumed to be a child of her husband.
No "proof" has ever been asked for!

My husband's first wife (deceased) had five children with other people as she roamed between US and UK. She gave them all his name.

[TopHat62]

My sister-in-law had two children with a guy. When she married him after a good ten years together, in the 90s, they re-registered their children. In my family tree, I have seen this done in Norfolk in 18th century.

[Maiden Stone]

When she married him after a good ten years together, in the 90s, they re-registered their children. In my family tree, I have seen this done in Norfolk in 18th century.

Birth registration began in England in 1837 which was the 19th century.
Laws relating to children born "out of wedlock" have changed over time.

[suey]

There have been some quite inventive ladies over the centuries.

Two births 1937 and 1939.  Pop on a wedding ring, nip to the registrar, tell them hubby is on active service...two seemingly legitimate babies.

This one was confusing.  Lady leaves her husband to live with Mr A. She’s living not far from her husband and obviously still married. Six children with Mr A but all registered in her married surname, husband as father...However...every time a baby was born, she and Mr A got on the bus to a neighbouring registration district and registered the babies again as Mr and Mrs A.
The children all thought their parents were married to each other, it wasn’t until their mother died and a half sibling from her marriage turned up that they learned the truth .  The discovery of a whole new family of half sisters and brothers caused a great deal of upset, some rifts were never healed.

[TopHat62]

It's sad that rifts in one generation lead to alienation in another. Seems many tell lies, too. A friend found that his uncles and aunts had told their children that his parents weren't married, when his father had divorced his first wife and remarried. Another person in his family, told a woman that her deceased father was illegitimate, when all that had happened was the mother became pregnant and married when 4-6 months gone.

So it seems there are people who go out of their way to try to legitimise their children and other people who try to de-legitimise legitimate children out of spite.

[Fogmoose]

It's sad that rifts in one generation lead to alienation in another. Seems many tell lies, too. A friend found that his uncles and aunts had told their children that his parents weren't married, when his father had divorced his first wife and remarried. Another person in his family, told a woman that her deceased father was illegitimate, when all that had happened was the mother became pregnant and married when 4-6 months gone.

So it seems there are people who go out of their way to try to legitimise their children and other people who try to de-legitimise legitimate children out of spite.

Sadly, I've learned that one should never underestimate the capacity for human evil. Kindness as well, but it doesn't get as much publicity!