I recently discovered that I had long attributed the wrong set of parents to my mother’s great-grandfather Anthony Turnbull. Anthony was in fact born in 1862 in Kenton, Northumberland to mother Mary Jane Turnbull. Mary Jane married David Nixon the next year per the registration index and Anthony can be found living with the family as Anthony Nixon until 1891, when he reverts to Anthony Turnbull. Anthony married Margaret Watson but I do not have a copy of the certificate and will need to order it to see if he listed his father’s name. He did name a son David Nixon TURNBULL and another son Robert Armstrong Turnbull (no idea where that one comes from).
Because he went by TURNBULL I feel that David Nixon was probably not his dad. Am I out of luck in discovering the identity of his true father? I have done my DNA so am hoping if I can narrow down some candidates, DNA might be further proof.
Finally, I can’t find his mother Mary Jane (b 1838 in Heworth to Joseph and Jane) in the 1861 census and am wondering if she was sent to a home or institution to give birth?

Any advice appreciated! This has been a big surprise!

P.S. Anthony died in Canada in 1944 and his parents are left off his death certificate, so evidently his children didn’t know much either.