Finding my great grandfather

One of the most common lies is the father's name on a marriage certificate. If the person marrying is illegitimate they often make up a father out of embarrassment. Or maybe they were told by the family that person was their father when he wasn't. There were so many cover-ups in order to maintain respectability. You really have to keep an open mind and verify the information somewhere else to confirm it.

Be aware a lot of lies are told on birth certificates . all my father's family had the wrong mother stated on theirs . I could tell from the census records one " wife " was on the census but his legitimate wife , who had left, was on the birth certificates to make the children legitimate. DNA has proved this in our family and only one of the deaths admitted the correct mother. My father was born in 1890 by the way .

I didn’t find my GGF until the 2011 census was released, the birth date was 10 yrs out everything fell into place after that. If you know where your GGM lived you might find the baptism records, you will find a lot of “natural” children registered.
Subscribing to Ancestry for a few months will give you many more leads to follow but the female line can be very difficult to follow.

I’m not sure from what you’ve said if you are looking for your grandfather’s birth certificate and also looking for his father?

Was your grandfather old enough to have been mentioned on the 1911 census (1921 due for release next year on Find My Past)? He may not have given his age correctly on his marriage certificate - I’ve come across that, so search a few years either side. Do you have his death certificate, which should give a date and place of birth, though that would only be as accurate as what he’d told the person registering the death?

As for his father, very difficult unless for instance your grandfather was given a middle name which was the surname of his father (not uncommon), or if your grandfather was born in a workhouse which might possibly have some useful records though they would probably be closed for 100 years. I have illegitimate ancestors but have never managed to find the fathers.

I have subscriptions to Ancestry and FMP and would be happy to have a look if you give me some details.

My daughter did a DNA test on Ancestry with the hope of finding her grandfather’s family. She found two half uncles who had no idea of the existence of an older half brother. They welcomed her to their family. If your brother is happy to help just go for it. It will come up with dna matches for you to follow up. It may take some researching but who knows what you may discover.

Good luck

Sorry, I meant your great grandmother, his mother.

Your grandfather's birth must have been registered so maybe extend your search for names, dates and places. Presumably he'd have been registered in his mother's maiden name, but it's not guaranteed. I'd try and find out more about your grandmother as it may give you a lead.

Sorry, that was a typo! There is no father's name on my grandfather's marriage certificate. I have done autosomal DNA test with find my past and ancestry and neither have solved the problem. I have tried various sites for research including The Genealogist. A Y DNA test looks to be the only option left. I was wondering if anyone had one done and could recommend a site.

why don't you put name and details you have on here or on the facebook Ancestry site. It will be looked up by someone with a subscription. People moved around back in the day and are often not born where they then live.

You say that there is a Father?

Have you tried variations on the dates you have (presumably from census returns) don’t forget that on older census returns they often rounded up or down by 5 years.

Hopefully if you do your DNA you will put it on Ancestry to find a match?I haven’t got a Grt Gradfathers name at all, nothing on birth Certificate, but still no matches on Ancestry after some years.