Genealogy Chat

Top tip - using the Genes Reunited community

Welcome to the Genes Reunited community boards!

  • The Genes Reunited community is made up of millions of people with similar interests. Discover your family history and make life long friends along the way.
  • You will find a close knit but welcoming group of keen genealogists all prepared to offer advice and help to new members.
  • And it's not all serious business. The boards are often a place to relax and be entertained by all kinds of subjects.
  • The Genes community will go out of their way to help you, so don’t be shy about asking for help.

Quick Search

Single word search

Icons

  • New posts
  • No new posts
  • Thread closed
  • Stickied, new posts
  • Stickied, no new posts

Surname change

Page 1 + 1 of 2

  1. «
  2. 1
  3. 2
ProfilePosted byOptionsPost Date

patchem

patchem Report 5 Jan 2013 10:00

Have you found any of your family in 1901, to see who was living where, with whom?
(One sister born in 1899, or have I found the wrong family?)

MarieCeleste

MarieCeleste Report 4 Jan 2013 18:33

Christopher - I've looked into this a bit more.

Although the census said that Mary and your grandfather had been married for 14 years I don't think that's true - I think that's how long they'd lived together but they didn't actually marry until 1910 (I haven't posted it as you wish to maintain privacy). Not uncommon for people to distort the facts on census for the sake of acceptability. Quite likely Mary wasn't free to marry until then.

That's how some of the births are registered in both names. If grandad went with Mary to register the births then his name could go on the record but if Mary went alone then they would be registered in her surname only.

I honestly think that Mary and Minnie are the same person.

MarieCeleste

MarieCeleste Report 4 Jan 2013 18:10

Christopher, I see that Minnie's birth was registered in both surnames, but her brother just in one.

I'm thinking that your grandfather must have had a very understanding wife?

Christopher

Christopher Report 4 Jan 2013 17:29

To MarieCeleste.

My aunt (Minnie), born 1906, is shown on her birth certificate, as having the father whom I have assumed was my Grandfather. But her mother was not Mary, shown on 1911 Census as "Wife" and married to "Head" of household for 14 years. Her mother was a Minnie Ferren, formerly Lonergen.

Lonergen is the name which now seems to be the one my father was born with.

The day before I found out the new name, I applied to the General Records Office (GRO) for a birth certificate without knowing the Vol & Page numbers, just the exact date of birth. I then sent them the extra information in an email, only to get an automated response. To get them to actually look at the information you are giving them, you have to fill in a complaint form - even though it was not a complaint, but trying to make their job easier in not trying to find a birth record that apparently does no exist!

Thanks to everyone for the interest they have shown.

Christopher

Christopher Report 4 Jan 2013 16:45

To BM and InspectorGreenPen,
I have an original marriage certificate of my parents which was in my mother's personal effects after her death. That has only the surname which I have. The other marriage entry is Hand written, with an "A" after the page number. This is an entry under the surname that I have only just found out. Otherwise the volume no. Page no. and spouse name are all the same

MarieCeleste

MarieCeleste Report 3 Jan 2013 11:44

Christopher - the family probably isn't as complicated as you may think!

Sounds very much like they just did births and marriages in a different order, certainly not uncommon back then.

You're saying that you father's sister had a different mother - is it just the surname that is different, or the forename too?

I can understand if you are reticent about posting details on here, but if you do choose to then we'll be more than happy to help make sense of things.

InspectorGreenPen

InspectorGreenPen Report 3 Jan 2013 07:37

In your OP you say "I have today found 2 records of my mother's marriage in1929."

By this are you saying you have simply identified two possible entries in the GRO Index at this stage, not that you have two individual certs? My guess is that there is a single marriage cert but with both surnames, the one given at birth and the one he later became known by, hence the two index entries.

It is possible his mother was unmarried at the time of his birth, hence the birth was registered in her maiden name, but that she subsequently married and he 'adopted' her married name. Have you found a marriage record for his mother and if so was it before or after his birth?

BradM

BradM Report 3 Jan 2013 00:00

What does the father's name say on both certificates of marriage for your father?

:-)

Christopher

Christopher Report 2 Jan 2013 23:52

Thanks for reply.
Father was born in 1902. As could not find his birth details, but was on 1911 Census, I applied for one of his sister's birth certificates, in order to find out my grandmother's maiden name. To my surprise, that proved that she had a different mother - her former surname was the same as the birth surname I have now found for my father; an unusual name at that. It seems to be a very complex family!!

KempinaPartyhat

KempinaPartyhat Report 2 Jan 2013 19:07

Brummiejan ...lol :-D

Poor man is new to this I didnt want to scare him ....but yes Christopher Brummiejan is right ....

Would you like us to look as we may be able to find his family before he married which may answer you questions

brummiejan

brummiejan Report 2 Jan 2013 19:04

He won't be officially adopted as this didn't happen before about 1927.
Does he give his father's name on the marriage cert?
Jan

KempinaPartyhat

KempinaPartyhat Report 2 Jan 2013 18:50

Prehaps your father was adopted?
prehaps your father was given away ?
prehaps your father married before ?

Theres been lots of reasons for name changes ......none right none wrong ...try to order the one that does exsit IF you cant get it he MAY have been adopted

Name change records dont exsist as far as I know and two of my children have changed their names BUT cant change their birth recorded name UNLESS their parents married AFTER the childs birth but again this was after a certain date which someone here will know

you could give us the name and we could take a look for you !?

Christopher

Christopher Report 2 Jan 2013 18:42

I have been trying to find a record of my father's birth without success.
I have today found 2 records of my mother's marriage in1929.
One has my father's name as I know it, and the other, same first names but different surname.
I then looked up birth record of the unfamiliar name and found it exists.
i am now guessing that his surname was changed between birth and the 1911 Census. Are there any records of name changes?