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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: SumRum on Wednesday 19 October 11 20:21 BST (UK)

Title: Finding father?
Post by: SumRum on Wednesday 19 October 11 20:21 BST (UK)
My grandfather grew up thinking that one man, (his mother's husband), was his father,
however, before his "dads" death, he was told by him that he was not his real father.
The only thing about his real father that is known for certain, is his surname.
Through which ways should I go about finding his father's name?
Title: Re: Finding father?
Post by: Lisajj on Wednesday 19 October 11 20:28 BST (UK)
Your grandfathers birth certificate?
Title: Re: Finding father?
Post by: avm228 on Wednesday 19 October 11 20:33 BST (UK)
Hi and welcome

Unfortunately the birth certificate is unlikely to solve your conundrum if the "false" father was married to the mother at the time of the birth.  In those circumstances he would be the lawful father of the child (and properly registered as such) even if he was not the natural father.  So a finding that he was named as the father would not prove whether he was or was not the natural father.

So: were they married to one another at the time of the birth?
Title: Re: Finding father?
Post by: SumRum on Wednesday 19 October 11 20:38 BST (UK)
Yes, they were married at the time.
However, he was away at war during the time of conception.
Title: Re: Finding father?
Post by: avm228 on Wednesday 19 October 11 20:44 BST (UK)
Yes, I see. So he would have known for sure at the time that he was not the father.

You may as well get the birth certificate if you have not already got it to see whether anything useful appears.  However, as I say if it shows the mother's husband as the father that isn't proof that he was (biologically speaking).

Have you looked for a baptism? Some clergy included information which could be helpful in tracing fathers of children born outside wedlock, though this was much more common in earlier times when the parish was responsible for such children.

Are there any elderly living relatives who might have relevant information?
Title: Re: Finding father?
Post by: Lisajj on Wednesday 19 October 11 20:50 BST (UK)
Unless the natural fathers name appears on the birth cert or in the baptism records, then I can't see how you will find out the truth.
I have had the same problem with my great grandfather - his father was not named on the birth cert or in the baptism records.
Title: Re: Finding father?
Post by: Redroger on Thursday 20 October 11 11:15 BST (UK)
I think the only possible route is by a Y chromosome DNA test, and even then it is unlikely to be conclusive unless the immediate family members have been tested.
Title: Re: Finding father?
Post by: pinefamily on Sunday 23 October 11 07:50 BST (UK)
I don't suppose your grandfther had an unusual middle name, eg John Turner Smith? That could lead to a possible clue.
When you say you know the surname, how do you know this?
Title: Re: Finding father?
Post by: Ruskie on Sunday 23 October 11 07:55 BST (UK)
If you know the surname of the real father, if it is unusual you might be able to find him living near your grandmother in the census - perhaps 1911 or earlier depending on which war you are talking about.  :-\
Title: Re: Finding father?
Post by: halfasheep on Sunday 23 October 11 11:27 BST (UK)
Similar thing has happened in my family on my fathers side. His mother and her sisters all look different - not necessarily a giveaway.

However, looking at her fathers military records, there are quite large discrepancies in conception/birth dates (unless there were particularly long and short gestation periods!).

Unfortunately, people will seek the affections of others, and unless as stated the surname of the biological father is particularly unusual, then it's likely to be a dead end. We never found out who the man involved in our family was, but we're 100% certain it's not the same man for all five sisters
Title: Re: Finding father?
Post by: Redroger on Sunday 23 October 11 16:13 BST (UK)
This is why I always include lodgers when found in census records of families I am interested in. They often become sons and daughters in law in a future census, and obviously natural fathers too.