Unfortunately certs dont always tell the truth either, it is only what the person says to the registrar.
So the children's marriage certs may NOT say deceased, when he was, if they didnt mention it and the registrar ddint specifically ask.
OR, they may say deceased when he wasnt - if Thomas had done a runner and the children had been brought up to believe their father was deceased.
And Mary may well say 'widow', if she is actually committing bigamy. she isnt likely to say 'I'm already married' ! If she did, then the marriage would not take place.
but, I'm not meaning to be a misery-guts! Getting the certs is defintely the right way to go on this. Our starting point must be to take what they said the situation was, even if later we prove it is wrong.
It would be a recipe for disaster to 'assume' that they are lying, and to 'assume' that something else is the truth - likely to go off on all sorts of wild geese chases with absolutley no evidence to back it up, and then wonder why, further down the line something doesnt tie in, and then frantically trying to 'bend' the evidence or make further unconfirmed assumptions to make it all fit!
lecture over ...... sorry all
Think the tension is getting to me, just cant wait to see what all the certs say! remember to post all the details for us - ooohh did you say the first lot were due the 5th, thats tomoz!! But there is another thread somewhere saying that certs seem to be taking longer than they say, so let's all keep calm and think in terms of next week sometime, then if they do come earlier than that it will be a bonus.
