At what point does it become apparent that an ancestor had been illegitimate?

[Mowsehowse]

The point being..... have you searched non-conformist baptisms?  (This might not be your chap though, because if he was 77 yrs in 1940 he would not have been born around 1876.)

I thought census information indicated birth around 1862/3

Ooops. I had the apprentice docs year [1876] in my mind.   

So this non-conformist burial could actually be the correct chap!!

[GailB]

Name:   John T Horton
Birth Date:   abt 1863
Date of Registration:   Mar 1940
Age at Death:   77
Registration district:   Totnes
Inferred County:   Devon
Volume:   5b
Page:   618

[Honor]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the help, my grandma's pretty certain that he was illegitimate but I suppose that doesn't account for the supposed absence of a birth record  I don't know what his mother was called but my grandma is under the impression that John's mother was a maid that had a baby with her employer, whose surname was Adams 

John married my great great grandmother Frances Provo and she is later known as "Fanny Horton", I've managed to trace her family line back but have always drawn a blank with John. I'm still waiting for a copy of their marriage certificate to arrive so that I can see if it sheds any light on who the father was 

[Honor]

The point being..... have you searched non-conformist baptisms?  (This might not be your chap though, because if he was 77 yrs in 1940 he would not have been born around 1876.)

I thought census information indicated birth around 1862/3

Ooops. I had the apprentice docs year [1876] in my mind.   

So this non-conformist burial could actually be the correct chap!!

Sorry everyone, I'm just reading all of the comments, please bear with me

[Honor]

I may be way off the mark here but things do not seem to add up.

There is a previous post by the OP here:

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=755335.msg6048149#msg6048149

Then there is this marriage:

Name:   John Thomas Horton
Registration Year:   1891
Registration Quarter:   Apr-May-Jun
Registration district:   Totnes
Parishes for this Registration District:   View Ecclesiastical Parishes associated with this Registration District
Inferred County:   Devon
Volume:   5b
Page:   341
Records on Page:   Name
Sarah Jane Campin
Herbert William Dawe
John Thomas Horton
Susan Provo

These records:


UK, Apprentices Indentured in Merchant Navy, 1824-1910
SCHOOLS, DIRECTORIES & CHURCH HISTORIES
NAME:    John Thomas Horton
BIRTH:    abt 1862 - Brixham
OTHER:    24 Feb 1876 - Dartmouth
   
UK and Ireland, Masters and Mates Certificates, 1850-1927
IMMIGRATION & TRAVEL
NAME:    John Thomas Horton
BIRTH:    1863 - Brixham
CIVIL:    23 Sep 1897 – Brixham
(This is a second mate’s certificate for foreign going vessels)

1901 Census:

Burton Street, Brixham

John Horton, Head, M, 38, Mariner 2nd Mate Seas, Brixham, Devon
Fanny Horton, Wife, M, 38, Dartmouth, Devon
John T Horton, Son, 8, Brixham, Devon
Olive Horton, Daur, 5, Brixham, Devon
Ida Horton, Daur, 3, Brixham, Devon
George Horton, Son, 3, Brixham Devon

The 1911 Census shows the same family and indicates that John and Fanny had been married for 20 years.

Gail

Hi, sorry for the confusion, Susan Frances Provo was later known as Frances Susan Provo and then when married she was known as Fanny Horton. I know that John was definitely in the marines or the navy, confusingly his son with Frances/Fanny was also called John and was also in the Navy

[GailB]

No problem Honor, I realised that when I found her birth registration 

[mgeneas]

I found that one of my great grandfathers was illegitimate when I got his marriage certificate. It said so in the place where fathers name would be.

[Honor]

I found that one of my great grandfathers was illegitimate when I got his marriage certificate. It said so in the place where fathers name would be.

Hi guys,

I have the marriage certificate and apparently John's father was also called John Horton and was a valet 

[LizzieL]

John Horton is easily found on 1939 register (confirmed by family members he is living with) - so you can find his dob