Читать книгу Collins Tracing Your Family History - Ryan Tubridy, Anthony Adolph - Страница 101

Taken aback, yet very excited, we sought a birth certificate. George Moore was born on 22 June 1852, at Barnby, as George, son of Harriet Moore, an unmarried woman from Barnby. And to seal the case we found the marriage of William Curtis and Harriet Moore taking place on 12 April 1855.

I cannot explain why George said he was born in Reading, but it seems that sometime after the 1861 census was taken, William and Harriet decided to alter George’s surname and year of birth to make it fall within the year of their wedding. This made George seem like their legitimate son, or else George decided to do this himself. Illegitimacy carried some stigma at that time, and perhaps it was considered best all round if the matter was glossed over.

The moral of the story, as Mark and Daniel discovered, is that the answer to a family mystery can be found, but you must keep on seeking new information about the person you are after: eventually, with sufficient persistence, you may well succeed.

Top: The birth record of George Moore, later called George Curtis, revealed at last. Bottom: Medical certificate from 1875 for George Curtis on enlistment.