Frank Lewis from Wolverhampton/The Black Country: Hard to trace

[Matt7924]

I have been looking on and off for a Frank Lewis whose son Cyril Dyson Lewis married my grandad's cousin Doris Wyres. Their marriage certificate from 1945 shows Cyril's father as Frank Lewis, occupation drapery salesman and it doesn't show Frank as deceased. However, the 1939 census shows Cyril and his mother Lily living in Wolverhampton and Lily's marital status is shown as widowed.  When I looked for Cyril's birth entry from 1916 it gave his mother's maiden name as Lewis. Assuming her last name before marriage could have been the same as her husband's, I've looked for a Lily Lewis who married a Frank Lewis in the Black Country region and I've found nothing. Cyril's birth was registered in Dudley (it seems possible he was born in Sedgley or Coseley as they came under Dudley registration district and Doris came from this area). By a coincidence his second wife also came from Coseley (Doris died at a fairly young age)

[Milliepede]

It's possible Cyril was illegitimate and made up a fathers name when he got married which wasn't unheard of.
There may not be a Frank Lewis but if you obtain the birth certificate for Cyril it will have his parent(s) on it.

In these cases middle names can often be a clue to the father so Dyson in this case. 

Also fathers weren't always noted as deceased even if they were as just their names were asked for.

To summarise the first step would be to get the birth for Cyril and see if a father is named 

Note no mothers maiden name is listed for his birth on the General Register Office birth index.

[Milliepede]

If his mother was Lily Louisa Lewis born 1888 then she died under the name Lewis and I think was a single lady. 

[Matt7924]

It's very interesting to think Cyril made up his father's name for the marriage if he was illegitimate, I've never heard of this before. I often wonder where the name Dyson came from, I can get his birth certificate to find out.

I also never knew fathers always weren't shown as deceased as other marriage certificates I've got show fathers as deceased and I just remembered Doris's father (my great grandad's brother in law) was shown as deceased on their certificate. 

Lily was the Lily Louisa Lewis you mentioned, she would have been single at the time she died, but if she had been married then her husband (if he existed) would have died before 1939

[coombs]

It was quite common for illegitimate people to invent a father for the marriage cert when marrying so as to save face.

I think in the early decades of civil reg 1837 to around 1870s/1880s, whether the father was deceased or not was rarely mentioned.

A cousin found our ancestor's father mentioned on an 1845 marriage cert for our ancestor's brother and listed him as still being alive in 1845. He actually died in 1831 aged just 41.

[Milliepede]

Dyson could be the fathers name but if so will be difficult to find which Mr Dyson it may have been.

For Lily to say she was a widow wasn’t unheard of either, more respectable than saying you were unmarried if living alone with a child. 

Do let us know what the birth says and if we can help further.

[mckha489]

Don’t forget you can get the cheaper £3 image for that birth which you can then download immediately.

[Mabel Bagshawe]

Lily Louisa is showing as a single woman in 1921 - working in service in Teddington, Middlesex

[Matt7924]

It's possible Cyril was illegitimate and made up a fathers name when he got married which wasn't unheard of.
There may not be a Frank Lewis but if you obtain the birth certificate for Cyril it will have his parent(s) on it.

In these cases middle names can often be a clue to the father so Dyson in this case. 

Also fathers weren't always noted as deceased even if they were as just their names were asked for.

To summarise the first step would be to get the birth for Cyril and see if a father is named 

Note no mothers maiden name is listed for his birth on the General Register Office birth index.

I didn't see about how no mother's maiden name is listed before, I was sure when I saw his entry his mother's maiden name was shown as Lewis, which made me wonder if he was illegitimate