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.