Genealogy Chat

Is it possible that you bought the wrong birth certificate last year??

This looks like your grandfather's birth registration from the new GRO Index.

No mother's maiden name is shown, which indicates that he was illegitimate, but he was apparently given his fathers name as a third forename ..........

WATSON, THOMAS HENRY EDINGTON -
GRO Reference: 1905 M Quarter in TYNEMOUTH Volume 10B Page 283

When my great grandfather died, my grandfather found amongst his possessions his birth certificate which stated d.o.b 18/04/1905 name Thomas Henry Edington WATSON. This caused confusion because he had gone by Edington his whole life. This got lost over the years so I ordered a copy of the birth certificate last year and it said Thomas Henry Edington - no sign of Watson, since we didn't have the original to hand we assumed that my grandfather had read it wrong. We've since found out that his mother was a Watson and he was born out of wedlock so probably did use that surname until his parents married.

My mother remembers Thomas as being very dark skinned with dark hair and dark eyes she describes as being like raisins! This has been backed up by photographs I have seen, he was definitely very dark skinned with dark features to match. He also had his pinky finger and half this ring finger missing on one hand.

Anyway, his seaman's discharge book has since been found in an old suitcase. Inside it has details of his name, date of birth, place of birth, appearance, etc. What we immediately found odd was it lists his colour of eyes as blue and his complexion fair. He was definitely not in anyway of appearance 'fair' and his eyes were 100% not blue. It also lists his distingushing features as none, of course he might have lost his fingers and got tattoos after the book was issued.

Inside the discharge book was his original birth certificate. It states his name as Thomas Henry Edington Watson - different to the copy that I got in August last year.

I'm also struggling to find much info on his two brothers Alexander (1910-?) and George (1908-?) and my mother remembers him having a sister, Olive but I can find no record at all for her.

I'm very confused because I had thought the discription would have to be very accurate in the discharge book but it is completely inaccurate, it's left us wondering if the man my mother knew, her father's father, was actually the same man. She has always felt there was something quite suspect, she had thought perhaps he had been born to a different man other than the one that raised him due to his very very dark skin but never had any prove.

Does anyone have any ideas?