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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: nelliedee on Monday 21 February 11 16:49 GMT (UK)
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I have a birth certificate for Isabella MArgaret Jameson born 7 April 1847 in Lawford Essex (Registration district) Tendring. it gives her mother as Margaret formerly Drew and her father as William occupation Railway Platelayer.
Everything is OK except for the father's name which I have as Benjamin in all the censuses. Isabella MArgaret also uses a third name Elizabeth ( Elizabeth I M JAmeson).I can track the family all through the censuses. So what has happened with the father's first name? Can I rely on the cert. I have being correct?
All views gratefully accepted!
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Hi Nelliedee,
I have a similar situation where the father on the cert has a different first name. I have always assumed error by registrar.
In fact I have a second instance where the registrar changed the family surname for one birth registration.
So probably is correct, in my opinion :)
Spark
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I agree, registrars no doubt made mistakes, I would imagine at very busy times mostly.
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I have one of mine where the grooms name was John- he clearly signed John.
But the vicar has written James on the marr cert!
Also one that I found for a friend recently,the surname should be Worthington,but again the vicar has written the wrong name.........of Winstanley on the marr cert- good job Mary Jane signed Worthington and that was what her dad's name was too 8)
Goodness knows where he got that from?
Carol
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Perhaps he had been at the Worthington before the service, or was gagging for a pint!Sorry Carole, couldn't resist the association of ideas! :)
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Thanks for the replies everyone. I am relieved that you think what I hoped you'd think !! I just didn't want to make an assumption that would send me down the wrong path.
It's reassuring to know of other human errors too.
Thanks again
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To err is human but to really foul up requires a computer ;D
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Oh so true Carol.
My problem is that when I make a mistake my friendly helpful computer broadcasts it round the globe. Luckily you rootschat experts don't seem to mind helping me put it right without making me feel too foolish. :)
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[quote author=nelliedee link=topic=515816.msg3717519#msg3717519 date=129837357
My problem is that when I make a mistake my friendly helpful computer broadcasts it round the globe. Luckily you rootschat experts don't seem to mind helping me put it right without making me feel too foolish. :)
Same here well said.
I have one in my lot too, Father is Edward ..on marriage and birth cert of Catherine then when she marries he's recorded on her marriage cert as Thomas confused the life out of me, but it must be written wrongly as he was still alive
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So far, I have found nothing like this to make my research more difficult. No doubt the time will come.
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Busylizzie - has he got an explanation for the different name? I assume that sometimes people use names as 'pet' names or just to distinguish themselves fromsomeone else (apart from the errors!). We deal with members of the public at work and several times we have had folk who use a name that isn't on their birth certificate. ???
Redroger - glad to hear you haven't had this problem (Yet!) not one to wish for I might add.
regards to you both
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Busylizzie - has he got an explanation for the different name?
Can't ask him now he's passed, don't think it was a pet name but guess it could have been and at first I thought maybe her Grandfathers name but thats the same Edward,although there was an Uncle Thomas so came to the conclusion it was a written error by the vicar at the time of the wedding
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Sorry busylizzie I misunderstood your post - I thought he was still alive. Your problem sound very similsr to mine.
I also had a problem with the name of one of my husband's great uncles - everyone said he was called Don......I looked for ages and couldn't find him, then the penny dropped when I found the rest of the family, he wasn't Donald or anything like that, he was Gordon. We don't all use the same abbreviations either!
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;D thats like Andrew being either Andy or Drew if they didn't spell it correctly could end up Drow.Droo etc
Glad you found him,,,,,,,,,,sometimes it ain't easy ::)
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So far, I have found nothing like this to make my research more difficult. No doubt the time will come.
All I've got is a g.grandfather who miraculously appears in 1884 as the father of my gran. I can't find anything about him before that, so all I can think is that for some reason he changed his birth name when he met my g.gran. At least he stayed around until his death in 1935!
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So far, I have found nothing like this to make my research more difficult. No doubt the time will come.
All I've got is a g.grandfather who miraculously appears in 1884 as the father of my gran. I can't find anything about him before that, so all I can think is that for some reason he changed his birth name when he met my g.gran. At least he stayed around until his death in 1935!
Not unknown, specially when an inheritence was involved.
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Not sure what you mean Roger. My g.grandfather's first appearance - at least in any records I can find - is when he is registered as the father of my gran. The family lived together from then onwards and had 2 more children. The children grew up and left home, as children do, and my g.gran and g.grandad lived together until her death in 1926. He stayed at the same address until his death in 1935.
Lizzie
ps. It's the same old brick wall I keep mentioning. I'm going to ignore it and hope that it miraculously falls down eventually.
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In Victorian times Lizzie, it was sometimes required for a legacy to be conditional on its intended recipient adopting the surname of the person who left in in order that the surname might continue. I think the practice was mainly confined to the wealthiest echelons of society.