could people change their surname without formally doing so?

[caron]

I have got a very strange situation in my family tree that is confusing me, and I cannot solve.


My great grandmother was called Caroline Mayhew and was born in  1858 to Susan Mayhew out of wedlock (there was no father mentioned on the birth certificate) and was brought up  by her grandparents as Susan  was working away, and therefore was brought up as a  MAYHEW.  When caroline married in 188o she says her name is Caroline Fox and her father is George Fox an Engineer.

Her mother Susan was single in the 1871 census, and was calling herself Susan Mayhew  but when she marries in 1874 she says her name is Susan Fox a widow.  She married a william Munday in 1874 and after the marriage she  was calling herself Susan Munday which is her married name.

I have not found a marriage between Susan Mayhew and a George Fox between 1871 when Susan was a Mayhew and 1874 when she said she was a widow at her marriage.

Susan had another child out of wedlock in 1865 and he was brought up as George Mayhew until Susan married William Munday and then he was called George Munday, which is his stepfathers surname, but when he marries himself in 1888 he is calling himself George Fox.  He says his father is George Fox a deceased soldier.

So Susan, the mother, Caroline and George her children are all changing their name in different years to fox.  I have not been able to find a George Fox the father, as I dont know when he was born, or where he was born.

Could Caroline and George change their surname to Fox without any formal documentation?

If Susan the mother had not actually married George Fox, would she have had to provide documents to prove her identity in 1874 when she married? 

Very confusing.  Who is George Fox Senior?
Any thoughts?

[suey]

I have got a very strange situation in my family tree that is confusing me, and I cannot solve.


My great grandmother was called Caroline Mayhew and was born in  1858 to Susan Mayhew out of wedlock (there was no father mentioned on the birth certificate) and was brought up  by her grandparents as Susan  was working away, and therefore was brought up as a  MAYHEW.  When caroline married in 188o she says her name is Caroline Fox and her father is George Fox an Engineer.

Her mother Susan was single in the 1871 census, and was calling herself Susan Mayhew  but when she marries in 1874 she says her name is Susan Fox a widow.  She married a william Munday in 1874 and after the marriage she  was calling herself Susan Munday which is her married name.

I have not found a marriage between Susan Mayhew and a George Fox between 1871 when Susan was a Mayhew and 1874 when she said she was a widow at her marriage.

Susan had another child out of wedlock in 1865 and he was brought up as George Mayhew until Susan married William Munday and then he was called George Munday, which is his stepfathers surname, but when he marries himself in 1888 he is calling himself George Fox.  He says his father is George Fox a deceased soldier.

So Susan, the mother, Caroline and George her children are all changing their name in different years to fox.  I have not been able to find a George Fox the father, as I dont know when he was born, or where he was born.

Could Caroline and George change their surname to Fox without any formal documentation?
Yes they could

If Susan the mother had not actually married George Fox, would she have had to provide documents to prove her identity in 1874 when she married? 
No
Very confusing.  Who is George Fox Senior?
Any thoughts?

Very simple answers - you can call yourself by whatever name you like and can still today.  It becomes 'legal' if that is the name that you are commonly known by.

And no to the second question, no-one would have questioned her upon marriage unless she was perhaps known in the parish by a different surname.

Caroline has an illegitimate child, when she meets Mr Munday she has most likely invented a dead husband for the sake of decency.

As to name swopping I have a family in my tree who use two surnames over three generations, swopping back and forth...one in particular I call 'Make yer mind up Jim' as each successive time I find him he's changed his name 

[Marmalady]

As Suey says, you can call yourself any name you like so long as it isn't with intent to defraud.

I too have a family where they swap between two surnames throughout their lives.
The father was illegitimate and brought up by his paternal grandparents -- he used both his mother's and his father's name interchangeably. It didn't help that he also used two christian names interchangeably too!
On some censuses they use one name, on others they use the other. Their children's birth registrations are a mixture between the two surnames --in no logical order.
Some of the children were registered with one surname but baptised with the other.
Luckily, on a couple of baptisms the vicar has helpfully recorded the family as xx alias yy so I could tie them all in together

As adults, some of the children used one name and some of them the other -- so there was obviously no agreement between them all as to which name was "correct"

[Romilly]

I think it happened a lot!

Having looked extensively for my 3x G/Grandfather as William James Warren, Born Oxford St Giles in 1857, I could only find him from 1881 onwards. I did however find his wife, Eliza Watkins marrying a Samuel Dulston, Born Oxford, St Giles in 1857! Who knows why...? But I did find that Samuel Dulston's mother drowned herself in the Oxford Canal and his father was later admitted to a Lunatic Asylum... And so perhaps that explains it?

Romilly.

[AntonyMMM]

Their children's birth registrations are a mixture between the two surnames --in no logical order.
Some of the children were registered with one surname but baptised with the other.

Historically a birth registration gave no surname at all for a child - the entry is indexed ( and therefore the surnames is assumed) according to the stated marital status of the parents.

That only changed comparatively recently.

[Marmalady]

Their children's birth registrations are a mixture between the two surnames --in no logical order.
Some of the children were registered with one surname but baptised with the other.

Historically a birth registration gave no surname at all for a child - the entry is indexed ( and therefore the surnames is assumed) according to the stated marital status of the parents.

That only changed comparatively recently.

Well then the parent's surname on the children's birth registration changed back and forth between the two surnames with no logical pattern

[caron]

Thank you all for your advice. I always thought you had to change your name by deed poll but if somebody can change their name when they want I guess my three relatives all chose to change their names at different times. I still feel that the father then mention May of existed. They are all using the same father name on their marriage certificates.  I think I will see if there are any records of a George fox having to pay maintenance for both of the children.  I inherited a photo album from my gt grandfather with photos back to mid 1800 but not many names. There are a few men in military uniform.  Perhaps one may be George fox as he is said to be a deceased soldier in 1888 on his sons marriage certificate.  I was interested to hear other people have the same surname changes in their families too.