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Lucia
19-01-2005, 12:34 AM
Hello, I am trying to find out more about my grandmother's father(Richard Mellon), who was illegitimate. I would like to find out more about Richard's father. Here is what I already know:-

* I am absolutely certain he has no birth certificate and his death certificate doesn't give an accurate date of birth.
* His mother was called Isabella Mackintosh.
* He had a sister called Nora, but she has no birth certificate and I have tried all varients.
* I have a copy of his marriage certificate which says his father is Richard Mellon, Seaman. This intrigues me as family hearsay has it that Richard's father was a German sailor. I would like to clarify the details on the certificate as I do not see it is a reliable source as he lied about his mother.
* I have no certain place of birth. On the census, Richard's birth place is listed as England, but I think this was to hide his illegitimacy as it is too vague. His sister Nora was 2 days old on 1901 census, so I think it unlikely that she was born in England
* Richard was in the RGA. Would his records include any detail about his family?
* None of the family no anything about him - Not even his own daughter.

Richard was born c1896 and was living in Inverness at the time of the census.

I hope someone can help,
Thank you very much,
Lucia
:-)

Aragina
19-01-2005, 3:46 AM
Surname First name(s) District Vol Page

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Births Sep 1894
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Mellon Richard Newport M 11a 213

From FreeBMD i hope it helps it might be the right one you never know *g*

Mary Young
19-01-2005, 10:36 AM
On the census, Richard's birth place is listed as England, but I think this was to hide his illegitimacy as it is too vague. Hi, Lucia
A listing of place of birth, "England", isn't vague, it's normal! The Scottish census regarded England as a foreign country, and no further detail was required.
Similarly, anyone born in Scotland and living in England, would declare their birthplace as "Scotland".

Lucia
19-01-2005, 4:34 PM
Aragina, Thank you so much for looking that up, but I am 100% certain he did not have a birth certificate. There were complication when he died because no one knew how old he was.
Thank you so much for your kindness,

Mary, Thanks for letting me know. I didn't realise that was the norm.
Thank you so much for your help,

Lucia
:-D

Mary Young
19-01-2005, 9:07 PM
... 100% certain he did not have a birth certificate. There were complications when he died because no one knew how old he was. Hi, Lucia ... just thinking aloud here ... how can you be 100% sure of a negative result? :) There is always somewhere else to search :(
For instance ... here's an illegitimate boy. If the birth was registered, it would be with the mother's surname. A first son would usually be named for his paternal grandfather. But being illegitimate, he may have been named for his maternal grandfather, with the middle name for his father.. So he could be registered, e.g. as John Richard Macintosh. But he "went by" his father's name (Richard Mellon). This was common in Scottish families in this situation.
Do you know Isabella's parents? Where were they c.1896? She may have gone home to have the baby, and registered the birth there. And/or his name will be in the church register.

Geoffers
19-01-2005, 11:11 PM
Hello, I am trying to find out more about my grandmother's father(Richard Mellon), who was illegitimate...........Richard was born c1896 and was living in Inverness at the time of the census.
Was he baptised - possibly in or around Inverness??? Since his sister was 2 days old in 1901, maybe start by looking for her baptism just to see what is recorded?

Geoffers
Charlbury, Oxfordshire

Lucia
19-01-2005, 11:22 PM
Hi Mary, I know what you're getting at so will try to find a birth certificate under his mother's name, but I think this is unlikely because his mother disowned him. When asked she would always deny any relation to Richard.
I have thought about what you have said about parish registers. I'm sure Nora would have been born in Inverness as she is 2 days old on the census. How would I be able to find her in church records as there are a few churches in Inverness? I have thought about finding the church nearest to the address on the census, but the address is illegible. The problem I am having with researching my Scottish family tree is that it is so hard to go back as their names are too common. On 1901 census Isabella is living her brother-in-law, his family and her sister, yet still I can't manage to trace her or any of her relations on any previous censuses. Do you know of any common Scottish naming patterns as this could give me some clues?
Thank you so much for your help
Lucia
:-)

Lucia
19-01-2005, 11:24 PM
Hi Geoffers, Thank you for the advice. The only problem is I have no idea which church she would have been baptised in. Is there any way I could find out?
Thanks
Lucia
:-)

Aragina
19-01-2005, 11:32 PM
Do you know of any common Scottish naming patterns as this could give me some clues?
:-)

http://www.twicelovedtreasures.com/new_page_5.htm

Lucia
19-01-2005, 11:47 PM
Thanks so much Aragina,:-D
Lucia

Mary Young
20-01-2005, 12:00 AM
Well, I was right in a way - Isabella went home to her sister for birth of her baby girl! A pity they were in Inverness, more difficult to track any baptismal record for this child.
Although Isabella disowned her firstborn later in life, she obviously looked after him from birth to at least age 5, so perhaps the birth was registered !:) Almost certainly as a Macintosh - illegitimate children had no "right" to the father's name.

Genevieve
20-01-2005, 11:53 AM
http://www.twicelovedtreasures.com/new_page_5.htm

Thanks for this link - I've just started on my husband's Scottish ancestry and this helps explain some of the naming patterns we've seen. I'd assumed that, as is more common in English families, the first son would likely be named after the father but this hadn't held true.

Also might explain why my husband's grandfather greeted his arrival with 'Here's young James' (which is what he was duly named rather than his mother's preference which was Benjamin). To redress the balance a bit WE now have a baby son...Benjamin.

Lucia
28-01-2005, 6:45 PM
Thank you so much everyone for your help :-). Mary has been really helpful and she has helped me get back further. I will talk to my grandmother to see if she can give me any more information.
Thanks again
Lucia