Albert Charles Beckett is a very frustrating person. He has been my brick wall for over a decade. As mentioned in my previous post, my 2x great granny Helen had two apparently illegitimate children with Albert Charles Beckett. The birth certificates say he was a corporal in the Royal Engineers in 1898 and 1902. The problem is, there wasn't a Corporal Albert Charles Beckett in the Royal Engineers at this time.
Recently, I've managed to possibly narrow him down to one of two people. Both of them went on to marry and have other families, so it's a little sensitive. One of them is the only man I can find in the birth records who has the correct name and is the right age to have been the father. I can't find him on the 1901 census, which means he could possibly have been serving abroad at the time the census was taken. However, there is no record of him in the Royal Engineers. The other has a different middle name (still with a C), but was a Corporal in the Royal Engineers at the right time. Could she just have got his middle name wrong?
I'm erring towards the second man, but obviously I have no proof he's the correct Albert. There is a photograph of him online and I was staring at it today looking for family resemblance. He certainly could be the right man, his colouring and a couple of his features look right, but there's no obvious "he's the spitting image!" moment. There are no photos of the other Albert to look at.
Previously, I'd always dismissed the Albert with the wrong middle name, but I think it's time to start investigating him and see if I can find his service record. Was he in Chatham or Gillingham around the right dates for the births? I don't think I'll ever be able to state categorically that he was the man, which brings me to a frustrating dead end on that line. Whatever happened between Helen and Albert that led to two children but no marriage will have to remain a mystery.
Sunday 16 November 2014
Sunday 9 November 2014
In praise of stepfathers
Under 'Father's Name' on my great-grandfather's birth certificate there is a name written, crossed out, and then another name written. The crossed out name is the name of his uncle. I assume he went to the register office with his sister to do the talking for her and the registrar assumed he was the father until the mistake was pointed out. Little things like this are what bring family history to life.
The birth certificate is interesting in another way because my 2x great-grandmother is recorded with the father's surname of Beckett, with (formerly Wallace) written after it. From this, it appears she was married, but all other evidence indicates that she was not. Her brother's name being written on the certificate is a minor detail that helps to round out the whole. I cannot find a marriage certificate, despite trying. Three years after the birth she is recorded on the 1901 census living and working at a lunatic asylum in Essex as a Lunatic Assistant. She is listed as single and is using her maiden name. Her son is living in Kent with his grandparents and is recorded as having the name Wallace, despite Beckett being on his birth certificate. A year later, my 2x great grandmother gave birth to another child by the same man. Then, a few months after that she got married to another man. On the marriage certificate she is listed under her maiden name and described as a spinster.
What happened to the father? What was the nature of their relationship? Why did she claim to be married? He was a soldier in the Royal Engineers, but I'm having trouble narrowing down who he was. I haven't found anyone who matches exactly, but several who it could be. Without knowing where or when he was born and with a relatively common name it has been frustrating. Did he die or did he abandon her? Did she just give up hope he would marry her? Perhaps he was already married.
Whatever happened to him, her new husband knew she was unmarried and that she had two children. I'm glad that he was prepared to take on someone else's children and marry someone who may have been carrying a high level of social stigma. They went on to have six more children (of which three lived) and both my great-grandfather and his sister took their stepfather's name. I still carry this surname and I am proud to wear it. I may never know the truth about my real ancestor and what happened to him, but I'm very glad that "Granny Helen" found a good husband and was able to raise her children in a loving family.
The birth certificate is interesting in another way because my 2x great-grandmother is recorded with the father's surname of Beckett, with (formerly Wallace) written after it. From this, it appears she was married, but all other evidence indicates that she was not. Her brother's name being written on the certificate is a minor detail that helps to round out the whole. I cannot find a marriage certificate, despite trying. Three years after the birth she is recorded on the 1901 census living and working at a lunatic asylum in Essex as a Lunatic Assistant. She is listed as single and is using her maiden name. Her son is living in Kent with his grandparents and is recorded as having the name Wallace, despite Beckett being on his birth certificate. A year later, my 2x great grandmother gave birth to another child by the same man. Then, a few months after that she got married to another man. On the marriage certificate she is listed under her maiden name and described as a spinster.
What happened to the father? What was the nature of their relationship? Why did she claim to be married? He was a soldier in the Royal Engineers, but I'm having trouble narrowing down who he was. I haven't found anyone who matches exactly, but several who it could be. Without knowing where or when he was born and with a relatively common name it has been frustrating. Did he die or did he abandon her? Did she just give up hope he would marry her? Perhaps he was already married.
Whatever happened to him, her new husband knew she was unmarried and that she had two children. I'm glad that he was prepared to take on someone else's children and marry someone who may have been carrying a high level of social stigma. They went on to have six more children (of which three lived) and both my great-grandfather and his sister took their stepfather's name. I still carry this surname and I am proud to wear it. I may never know the truth about my real ancestor and what happened to him, but I'm very glad that "Granny Helen" found a good husband and was able to raise her children in a loving family.
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