Genealogy Chat

I'VE RECENTLY RECEIVED A BIRTH CERT FOR MY GRANDMOTHER UPON WHICH THERE IS A FATHERS NAME SHOWN. NOTHING UNUSUAL IN THAT EXCEPT THAT THERE ARE TWO LINES THROUGH THE NAME, EACH LINE WITH A NUMBER, IE, ARTHUR CROSSED OUT WITH A NUMBER 2 ABOVE IT AND THEN BLACKHAM BELOW ALSO WITH A LINE THROUGH IT AND A NUMBER 3 ABOVE. (ARTHUR BLACKHAM IS NOT THAT NAME SHOWN THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE) THEN IN THE MARGIN THE REGISTRAR HAS WROTE 2 AND HIS INITIALS AND THEN 3 AND HIS INITIALS. IS THIS LEGAL? COULD THE FATHER HAVE ORIGINALLY BEEN NAMED ONLY LATER TO BE STRUCK OFF FOR REASONS UNKNOWN? CAN ANYONE TELL ME IF I CAN TAKE THE FATHERS NAME AS GOSPEL AND USE IT TO TRACE FAMILY BACK OR SHOULD I IGNORE IT? DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THIS ONE????

The numbers beside each crossing out are the references the registrar must make when he alters a certificate. He is certainly allowed to do this, but why is another matter. If the father is not married to the mother I think he needed to be present to have his name on the cert. If the father was married to the mother, clearly he is crossed out because he is not the biological father. Is there a date to show when the alteration was made, or do you think it was done at the time of registration? Who is the informant? nell

hIYA LITTLE NELL. The father wasn't married to the mother, and the mother was the informant Marg

I'd guess that the registrar asked the father's name and wrote it down before realising that the mother wasn't married to him, and then crossed it out. Fathers not married to mothers had to be present at the registration if they wanted their name on the birth cert. nell

Was the cert from the GRO or local office? Could be as previously said that this is the name that the mother gave but registrar then realised he shouldn't have entered it, but it could also be that in writing up copy register to send to the GRO he had copied father's name from the entry above/below by mistake and then corrected the error. If you got the cert from the GRO it might be worth asking local register office to check whether anything is written in the father's name column of the original register.

Margaret, I also have a birth certificate that has the father's name crossed out - father wasn't married to the mother. As to the accuracy of the father's name - is there anything to indicate that it is the father? On the certificate I have, I'm fairly sure that the name is correct, and the child also has the father's surname as her middle name. However, not convinced I'd be so sure as to trace his family history! Hope this helps, Kate