Hi. Just wanted to share the demolition of one of my oldest 'brick walls'
My maternal grandfather was William Maxwell, born 1902. His marriage and death certificates list his parents as Jane Ewing and John Maxwell, however his birth certificate was not to be found. I searched everywhere for it, but to no avail and his parents were similarly absent from official records. His sons would not discuss the matter, and his daughters (including my mum) knew nothing.
I eventually discovered that my grandad was in fact christened William Ewen. He was the youngest of four boys, born to Georgina Ewen and David Maxwell. Of the four, three started off with the Ewen surname, while son #3 was a Maxwell. The birth certs of sons 1, 2 and 4 show only the mother's name, that of son#3 shows both, alongside a date and place of marriage (which turned out to be fictitious anyway).
Errant dad David was of Orkney stock from the island of Stronsay, and he returned there permanently around 1903, leaving behind a destitute partner and four illegitimate children, all of whom spent parts of their lives in local poorhouses. David, however, became a tea merchant, and died around 1916, leaving about £7500 to his brother (and nothing to his ex or his offspring).
Totally not what I expected to find, but I was so happy to finally get to the bottom of this family mystery.
