False Details on Birth Certificate?

[Boudicca95]

Hi there
I have a UK birth certificate from 1903 which has the name of the child's father on it - however, as the child was born out of wedlock, I'm not sure how reliable it is. The child was later informally adopted and never knew who her parents were. I have doubts because the father's surname is the same as the mother's maiden name - not impossible, but unlikely?

What were the rules in 1903? Could the mother put the father's name of the birth certificate without him being present? Was there any need for confirmation?

I have found the baptism record which has a question mark for the father - just his profession - soldier.

Has anyone got any info that could help?

Thanks

Liz

[jorose]

Officially, for an illegitimate birth at that time, the father would have to accompany the mother to have both names on the certificate (at least in England and Wales).

Who was the informant in this case? The mother?

It was quite common to see falsehoods, because there was no requirement for documentary evidence to register a birth. Occasionally they turn up in court records.  Usually these involve just saying you were married to the father, or perhaps making up a husband/father out of whole cloth to avoid having that blank space.

[Boudicca95]

The informant was the mother. Her name is correct, the address is correct (her brother's house - I assume she moved there to temporarily live and give birth).

Hard to know how made up all of the information is! His profession is - private royal horse guards.

[iolaus]

Have you got the actual birth certificate?  Or are you just going from freebmd? as they record the mothers maiden name as the mothers surname if the father is unnamed, whereas if you get the actual certificate it has a line through that section (gro show it as blank)

However if she claimed to be married and gave a name I don't think they asked for proof

[Boudicca95]

I've got the certificate. The father's name is Alexander Wheeler. Her name is Mary Elizabeth Wheeler formerly Wheeler. I think that looks really suspicious - but I the registrar accepted it.

It looks like she looked after her child for the first 1 1/2 years when she had her child baptised and a question mark appears in the register for the father.

[LizzieL]

I've got the certificate. The father's name is Alexander Wheeler. Her name is Mary Elizabeth Wheeler formerly Wheeler. I think that looks really suspicious - but I the registrar accepted it.

It looks like she looked after her child for the first 1 1/2 years when she had her child baptised and a question mark appears in the register for the father.

If I've found the right person from the information, the mother was recorded as Mary Ann on the baptism record, not Mary Elizabeth

[LizzieL]

If the birth registration said Mary Elizabeth and baptism said Mary Ann, either the vicar / clerk made an error OR (a possible scenario)
Mary Ann / Elizabeth wasn't the person who took the baby to be baptised, but the adoptive parents. The mother may have given them the child not long after birth, and 18 months on they discovered there had been no baptism, but they only had sketchy information about the parents. They remembered her name was Mary something, didn't know the father's name but remembered being told he was a soldier.

[Boudicca95]

That's right. I think she was bit more evasive on this record - not sure why. This is definitely her. The DOB matches with the daughter Annie Alexandra.

[Boudicca95]

Interesting about the adoptive family. I know who they are and they lived in the area but at another address. I discovered that they must have kept up contact with the birth mother because Annie Alexandra appears on Mary Elizabeth Wheeler's marriage certificate as a witness when she is about 16 years old. She didn't know that she was her mother. She discovered she was adopted when her adopted mother died and she found her birth certificate!!