Illegitimate in 1850?

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Profile	Posted by	Options	Post Date
Member Since: July 2003 Posts: 0 Send Message	Jane	Report	15 Sep 2005 12:34
Member Since: July 2003 Posts: 0 Send Message	I have an ancestor, Wiliam Reid who first appears in records on a wedding certificate of 1874 when his father (not deceased) is given a s shoemaker. Insubsequent censuses William gives his birthplace as South Africa and told family that he had returned to this country an orphan - which contradicts the wedding certificate. I have found William Reid, shoemaker in Manchester at Watson St in 1851/61 and 71 censuses - but no mention of a son called William. I suspect he was the illegitimate son of the shoe maker, but I can't find where he was prior to 1874. Birth certificates searched around 1850 (his age varies a bit in subsequen censuses) with William Reid named as the father haven't yielded anything. Can anyone help?
Member Since: August 2004 Posts: 4 011 Send Message	Kate	Report	15 Sep 2005 12:41
	You might want to have a look at your thread title!! Anyway, just because it doesn't say 'deceased' after the father's name on the marriage certificate doesn't mean his father wasn't deceased. Sometimes they put it on and sometimes they didn't. Maybe you should ask if there are any experts on South Africa on here... Kate.