I am a descendant of Helen Florence Lyne. She was not illegitimate. I have her parents' marriage certificate.
Her father was Alfred Edwin Lyne, also known as Stock. Her mother was Mary Trist. Alfred signed up to The Navy under the surname Stock, but married under the name of Lyne. She are not sure why he uses two names, but it adds complexity to the search and may have been dos mother's maiden name with an estrangement from his family(?). He does return yo England in 1871 and makes a will, but returns to sea. I find him in ships' census in various places, but poor Mary was left in relative poverty, living with her sister in Cawsand (parish of Rame) and eventually moving up to London. Helen Florence married Henry John Fane Preedy and spent much of her life in India, so Helen Florence had an interesting life. These people are my direct grandparental ancestors.
My grandmother bought a cottage in Cornwall actually in Cawsand, knowing there was a bit of a family connection. She told me that her great grandfather went to sea and never came back. She liked to think he was a pirate and we gently smiled. The story, however is correct, though Alfred Edwin was not a pirate. Though if he is the same man who marries in Hull twenty or so years late( I have a copy of the certificate) then he was certainly a cad. We still have the cottage. It turns out to be opposite the house that Mary Trist was brought up in. The Trists were an important Devon family, being the biggest land holders in the county at one time. They had too many sons though!
