Genealogy Chat

In the 1980's...just blank??? Why??? Any help/advice very much appreciated. Thanks! ! !

The child was probably illegitimate. Kath. x

Illegitimate, is the answer, sorry! OC

Illegitimate ~ even though it was the 80's?! ! ! He even has his Dad's name as his middle name and his Dad's surname, so how does that work when his Dad isn't down as the Father? Confusing... Stella

Were the parents married at the time? Perhaps the mother was married to someone else at the time so wasn't free to marry until after the birth. When you say he has the father's surname what do you mean, as you say the father isn't mentioned on the certificate. Kath. x

Star If I were you, I'd go look for the marriage of ...who you think his parents are Kind regards Gerri x

Star It still happens now days If my OH wasn't there with me to register our 2 children then his name wouldn't of gone down, and all because we're not married. Julie Adding this on to go with what Reg has put. My 2 were born in 1997 & 2000 and they are both illegitimate

Star Parents not married = child illegitimate. Illegitimate = father's name cannot go in the space for 'father' UNLESS he attends registration with the mother. surname = anything you want to call yourself, as long as you are not doing it to defraud or deceive. OC

Definition illegitimate adjective 1 born of parents not married to each other Reg

The word illegitimate also has legal implications, mostly to do with inheritance rights. An illegitimate child cannot automatically inherit any property etc from the Estate of his biological father, and has no inheritance rights unless the biological father specifically names the child in his Will. This was an important distinction when the laws of Primogeniture were in operation in England, up until the late 1800s. OC

Star, I suppose one can never be 100% sure - but if the child you are talking about has the name of the man you think is his father as his given names, it implies he is, indeed the father. I know of one case, back in the 1700s where an illigitimate child is baptised as William Wix and with his mother's surname. The baptism immediately prior to the child's baptism was the child of William and Eliner Wix. I don't think it is drawing too long a bow to think that William Wix was the child's father. Victoria

Victoria It was very common for a child to be given the name of his biological father as his two forenames - indeed, it was often encouraged by Vicars, and later by Registrars, who felt sympathetic towards the woman, but whose hands were tied by the law of the land. A nice compromise. The fathers of most illegitimate children are well known, both to the mother AND to the wider community. OC

Ok, thankyou people...I get it now. They weren't married at the time and maybe the Father was at work for example when the Mother registered the baby, so therefore the Father wouldn't have gone onto the Birth certificate unless married at the time, which then legally she is allowed to do without him being there?

Star Yes, that's right, except that the law of the land states that the husband of a married woman is ALWAYS (and legally) the father of her children. If he isn't, and knows he isn't, he has to go to the Registrar and kick up a big fuss, and provide proof that he is not the father of the child. OC

It would depend on whether or not he had been married to the child's mother. If he was her husband, he would, as OC said, have been automatically assumed to be the child's father........unless the mother indicated otherwise. Reg

Hi Beryl I have a relative who died during his wife pregnancy , on the birth cert. it states Father's name and' Deceased ' below his name.

just to add if the parents marry after the birth, they legitimise the birth and the birth can be re registered with the father added. My twins were registered (1995) with no father, as he couldn't get time off work to attend with me, however youngest (1998) has his father on his cert. All three were registered with my maiden name. When we married 2002 we re-registerd all three births. Now if we apply for one of the boys certs, we will only get the latest one showing them with the married surname.

From what I am reading in this thread about registering births - it seems that you have to go to an office in person to do that. Is that correct? Over here, I just got a form that we completed and signed and mailed in to the relevant department of the government. They do check with the hospital etc. about the birth before accepting the application (this I know because I made a mistake with my second son's birth date - I got mixed up with the spaces for date and month on the form)

When our son was born, someone from the registrar's office visited the hospital on a weekly basis to do the paperwork. Mind you, new mothers stayed in hospital for 10 days at that time. Reg

Margaret It is a long time since I have had to register the birth of a child, lol, but basically, yes, you have to go in person to do the registration. However many large hospitals have regular visits from the Registrar, who will do the registration there and then, for those who wish to do so. OC