* Fathers Name on Marriage Cert

[davidm_uk]

I've just found an image of a marriage "certificate" via the parish records on Find My Past. I'd previously had a marriage and christening index entry via Family Search and these, together with census and Ancestry birth records, I have correctly identified her parents. Her father and mother appear in the census' either side of the marriage.

However the marriage cert shows someone else as the father! His name is given as Henry Hunt Worman, and the woman being married is Ruth Worman. Census' show a Henry Hunt in the same town, and there are various connections between the Warmans and the Hunts, not least being that the name of Ruth's mother was Arabella (or Isabella) Hunt. I've not yet found the connection between those two. (I realise that the Worman and Warman are either transcription errors or natural creepage)

It seems like Henry Hunt "stood in" as the father at the marriage and invented the Hunt Worman surname for appearances sake.

I'm struggling to work out the best way of handling this in FH/AS, so that if I do discover a family relationship I can make the connections without having to undo too much. At the moment I've just recorded Henry's connection via a note in the marriage source.

Any suggestions?

[mjashby]

I'd tend to record two sets of parents, heavily noted to describe the inconsistencies, and hope that you can identify the 'why' of how she came to have two fathers (and mothers?) recorded at some time in the future. The end result might, of course, just come down to speculation if you can't find 'real evidence'.

You don't give any indication of when Ruth was born, but presumably before July 1837 if you haven't managed to identify a Birth Registration. If so, maybe her Baptism record will provide some clue. Whatever the outcome, you will still need to highlight/record the multiple relationship appearing in official records, and decide which set of 'parents' you want to pursue.

Question: Did either of the 'fathers' leave a Will which might explain the links?

Mervyn

[davidm_uk]

I have a christening index entry from Family Search for Ruth, christened 20 March 1857, St Mary, Hitchin, Hertford, with parents Samuel Warman and Arabella. I have her in the 1861 and 1871 census with parents and siblings, I have her in the 1881 census with new husband, and an 1881 census for parents Samuel and Isabella (Arabella - transcription problem I think).

It's the above that make me think that Samuel and Arabella are her "real parents". Arabelle was born Arabella Hunt - I have a christening entry for her, and the marriage index entry for her to Samuel in 1840.

I also have 1881, 1871 and 1861 census entries for Henry Hunt, and there are various census and other sources that link the Warman and Hunt families together e.g. a Warman child living as grandson with John Hunt and family.

"Fathers" are all labourers of one sort or another, so doubt very much if there are any wills.

My next step is to go back another generation or two to see if I can find a family relationship between the Warmans and the Hunts.

Of course it may be that for some reason Samuel couldn't attend the wedding, and John just stood in as a friend, and gave a made up name for the sake of the records!

It's this sort of stuff that makes the research even more interesting for me.

The post was mainly about how best to deal with this in FH (and/or AS), eg can I show Ruth with two "fathers" in some way? I have a flag that I can set manually for any individual that displays a ? against their diagram box, to help remind me that there is something tenuous about the data.

[tatewise]

There is no problem with an Individual having two (or more) parents (either Fathers, Mothers, or both).
This caters for various scenarios such as adoptive, foster, illegitimate, and step-parents.

See the how_to:recording_children_other|> Recording Children for multiple partnerships which although not exactly your scenario should make things clear.

There is a Birth entry for:
Births Mar 1857
Worman Ruth Hitchin 3a 228

If you obtain the Birth Certificate it may help resolve the mystery.
This should give the actual birth parents, which my be Samuel and Arabella, or may be not.

If not, then Samuel and Arabella are some form of adoptive/foster parents who attended the christening.
Perhaps Henry Hunt is the actual birth father who decided to attend the wedding.