Genealogy Chat

Talk about up and down, I was so excited to finally find details on him - I was on a roll.. found the parents marraige (which was after his birth) then finally found his birth registered under his mothers maiden name. Details confirm that he was illegitimate. NOW I AM SO DOWN as the search has come to an abrupt halt. This is the first time I have come across this in my tree, I guess I am just feeling a bit flat.......

I had that with my Granfather But I know who his real father was but can not prove it. That is even more frustrating.

Heck - i bet most of us have at least one rellie born out of wedlock - i have lost count of the number i have. lol

Hi try not to be to down, i have a few like this, you could try the bastardy records sometimes that names the father if they paid maintenance, also baptisms sometimes name the father. if you think thats bad my grandfather was born 1907 and adopted no records and i can't find his birth as it could be a different name. he named his father on his marriage cert, but is it the adopted one??? I love this hobby lol sandra

I love this hobby too... I never considered the bastardy records, would I get access to them through a local records office? In this case it would be southern Scotland. I will have to make a trip to see if I can view the parish records. I am so addicted to this, I think about it all the time! I am at work at the moment !!!! Been here 2 hours and done about 20mins of work so far.......!!!!! Not good is it ??

I was looking through some parish register BTs this week and not once was there an illegitimate child baptised without the 2 parents names being named by the vicar of that particular church. There were several children recorded this way. Have a look for a baptism. You just might be lucky too.

Which surname did he use? If it's the name of the man his mother married then it's likely he was his father.

If its Scotland then I think there is a good chance of finding out who the father was. They were very keen to lay the blame so check out the christening and maintenance records.

Thanks guys, I'm feeling more hopeful.... He was born 1886 James Buchanan (mother Sybella Buchanan). She went on to marry Thomas Martin, James is on all census returns as James Martin. He also married and died as James Martin. Do you think there's a good chance that Thomas is his father??

I felt like that too when I found my first one. Strangely all of mine have been in Southern Scotland too - maybe it was something in the water...! Anne

Karen Do you have the birth cert? Is there a mark or writing in the margin on the left hand side? If so, it there will be an entry in the Register of Corrected Entries regarding his parenthood. You can get a copy of this entry from GROS I think. I have a few like that in my family. Just because he took the surname of his mum's husband, does not mean that he was actually the father. Sometimes the new husband was happy to accept the child of a previous relationship/marraige and allow the use of his surname as it was easier for all the siblings to have the same surname. I take it he did not have a middle name. Sometimes illegitimate children were given a middle name which was actually the surname of the biological father and helps us to trace them. I had this with my great grandad, and (with perseverance) have managed to trace his true father and family. Regards Ellen.

Did the marriage take place quite soon after his birth? I have so many b*****ds in my family I've lost count. What I have found is that if they married quite soon after the birth and the child used the husband's name then he was likely to be the father. Not many men were willing to take on another man's child except sometimes in the case of a widower who needed a mother for his children. My g-gm married 9 months after my g-f was born but my gf always kept her name and was in fact raised by his maternal grandparents. Did James put Thomas as his father on his own marriage cert? This may or may not be helpful because he may have considered him his father as this was who had raised him but in my own cases even when the husband had raised a child for 20 years: that child didn't put him down as father unless he actually was. Hope this makes some sense.

Hi, I don't have his birth cert, the info I have is from the images on Scotlandspeople. James was born Sep 28th 1886 to Sybella Buchanan (no middle name!) Sybella married Thomas Martin 24th Jan 1890 (James was 3 years old) Sybella's father was called James. James took on the surname Martin (on 1901 census) and named Thomas Martin on his marraige cert in 1917 as his father. Am I viewing the same details on Scotlandspeople that I would get on the cert? Kx

Oh I forgot to add that when James married he went on to have my Grandfather who is christened THOMAS JAMES MARTIN.

Hi Karen Yes, the image you see from Scotlandspeople is the actual birth cert, so if there is no RCE entry marked on it then there won't be one. Ellen.

Have just looked at image again and there is a reference in the left margin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think it says R120/495/E does this sound right?? How do I get this info now? Thanks Karen

I got added hope of finding my couple of illegitimate people the other day. I received a birth certificate of a child I knew can't be the father's who's surname she has because he died 6 years previously and there was no father listed yet she was living with her mother and her brothers and sisters. I always thought that I would be looking for young mothers if they were illegitimate but now it could be otherwise! Maybe just being slow and blonde but it encouraged me!

Karen This is what is says about RCEs on the website What does RCE mean? RCE stands for Register of Corrected Entries. An entry in an RCE records an addition or amendment to a record, made after the completion of the original statutory register entry, sometimes by order of a court or Procurator Fiscal. It may relate to paternity, divorce, sudden/accidental death, details which have come to light since registration, clerical errors and so on. The Registers of Corrected Entries are currently being imaged and cross-indexed with the original entries. Until they become available on the site, you will have to order an extract to see the effect of the relevant RCE.

Same here Sheila!! It's a nightmare!!! Think Iv'e figured out who the father was in the case of my gran, but my grandad I'm not so sure about!! What is the bastard? register?? I'd like to check that out. Mine were also born in Scotland 1n 1908/9!! Must be the water!!!!!!

Julie: where will I find christening and maintenance records??