Hi Yogi,
Thanks for your Thank You.
Some thoughts
I am concerned though that you write that Emily and Jordan Pearson did not have children themselves. If you are basing that view on Emily's d.c. then I have offered you a good explanation as to why that d.c. may not note any children of that marriage.
The information on any BDM certificate is only ever as reliable as the informant's own knowledge. As you already have a copy of the d.c. for Emily, would you please re-check and note the details on it in full, including those of the informant. Information found on Vic certificates is perhaps amongst the most detailed in the world, and even the smallest clue may help you advance.
While there are NO Census records that will help your search for Frederick, the Victorian BDM records are often considered to be of more value in family history searchings for example than UK census records... The basic tenets for family history research remain the same, however the Vic BDM documents are far more detailed than say a UK BDM document, so the focus should be on finding the Vic BDM records, and detailing all the information on them. Rchatters familiar with the Vic records will then be able to offer advice as to further understanding those records. Where some writing may be hard to read, then of course there is always the Decipher board at RChat where experienced people are willing to help.
Fostering/adoption records for that era are not readily available, as many fostering placements were informal and within family or extended family or benevolent friendly societies or lodges. Recordkeeping of those informal arrangements was of much less significance than for instance in making sure the orphaned child was fed, clothed, sheltered and educated.
Frederick Leslie Pearson did not need to state that his parents were dead on his AIF records, he was clearly over 21 years of age and was entitled to nominate any person as his n o k on his enlistment. Many men did just that, nominating friends rather than living parents or living siblings. Within my own forebears who enlisted, I have several examples where the n o k nominated was NOT the living relative of the enlistee, although the enlistee lived at home with both parents and younger siblings. Thus it is possible that Frederick Leslie Pearson was born to Emily and Jordan, .... and of course it is also possible that he was not. Perhaps they were his foster parents, BUT as Emily died when he was around 8 years of age, then he was most likely fostered out AGAIN .... and that may have meant he would have enlisted under a different surname ...
I share:
A child born in 1881 was fostered into one of my family lines at age 8 months.
The child died in 1898 and was buried with the fostering mother's family plot in a well known Cemetery in Australia.
The child's name is on the headstone. It gives his full birth name and notes the names of his foster parents.
The d.c. confirms the details as found on the MI
The birth certificate shows the detailed of the birth parents.
Further research found the early death of the mother
Further research showed the death of the father occurred many years after the death of the fostered child.
Further reading of private family papers in light of the d.c. of that birth father, explained the fostering of the child as a direct consequence of the lack of someone to be there for the children on six days out of seven as the father's work was not close to his home, and he was not keen on his own abilities to raise his children alone.
Cheers, JM
