Re: Grandma watkins

Thanks for all the helpful comments - but I am no closer to a
solution!
Some more details of my searches -
The trouble really started with my grandfather's marriage certificate
when James William Watkins , aged 27 - son of Thomas Watkins married
Emma Jane Gill daughter of Henry Gill, aged 20 in East Stonehouse
(Plymouth) . It later developed that both must have lied about their
ages - Emma Jane cannot have been more than 18 and her father Henry
died in 1874, and James (according to his birth certificate) must have
been 28. James was a soldier and, on his attestation papers from May
17, 1883 when he joined the North Sfaffordshire Regiment he says that
he was born in Wandsworth. His supposed birth certificate gives his
birth address as 52 Hunter Street with mother Helen Scully and father
Thomas Watkins. I can find the reference to his birth on the BMDs (but
no marriage between Helen Scully and Thomas watkins) and no trace of
father Thomas or mother Helen (with variants) in the 1861 census
(according to records on Ancestry, Origins network and The
Genealogist) - or even for a James of the right age and right parents
on the same sites for the 1871 census.
I wander back to these sites every so often to see if I may have
missed something - but no luck - so still hoping for some fresh ideas
from the group.

Bryan Manktelow

On Thu, 22 Nov 2007 18:26:03 +0100, Bryan <bryan@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Been having problems with my great grandmother for years! On my
grandfather's birth certificate from May 1863 her name is given as
Helen Scully and her address as Hunter Street in Southwark. I have not
been able to find her under her maiden (or 'married' name Watkins) in
the census returns for 1861 and 1871 - or any other records on line -
and am beginning to wo nder if she really existed!
1. When reporting a birth was there any check on the validity of the
details or could people lie their heads off?
2. If the name of the father was given on a birth certificate did this
mean that the pair were married - or just that the woman knew the name
of the father.
3. How does one find out if a child was illegitimate?

Thanks for any help!

Bryan Manktelow
.

Relevant Pages

  • DNA and Birth Registartion
    ... MONTREAL - A Quebec man who has failed to have his name removed from the birth certificate of a young girl he found out was not his biological daughter wants to argue his case before the Supreme Court of Canada. ... "The message the courts have sent is that we can falsely name someone as the father and this goes against the judicial system and the values upon which it is based. ...
    (soc.genealogy.britain)
  • The Role of the father has been downgraded
    ... The Role of the father has been downgraded ... party is no longer hostile to same sex couples. ... While changes to the law which have given homosexual couples the same ... The birth certificate that names two female parents will disclose to ...
    (alt.politics)
  • Re: Off-Topic -- Gender Discrimination
    ... So clearly it isn't genetics that the state is ... give damn one about making sure they know who the genetic father is. ... state accepting the signature on a birth certificate over a DNA test. ... shouldn't be enough for the mother either. ...
    (rec.games.frp.dnd)
  • Re: Can you force a woman to undergo a DNA test (paternity)?
    ... He is named on the birth certificate as the father. ... and would do a DNA test to prove it. ... him the result - the child was not his. ...
    (uk.legal)
  • A dads role will never equal a mums
    ... When Mr Hutton brought forward his Child Maintenance Bill a year later, ... their father is and why they have not helped support their family. ... A woman can only become a mother after she has carried her child to term; ... the father off the birth certificate just "because a relationship has broken ...
    (soc.men)