Family research? Completely confused and stuck?

Question

I have researched my tree, and my great great grandfather was called Ernest Jaynes born 1959, Gloustershire england

On census records it shows, Father William Jaynes and Mother Emily.

I have been in contact with some one else researching the same family tree, she has the birth certificate and Marriage certificate for ernest.

it shows Ernests mother, Eliza (madien name) Jaynes and father is left blank.

on his marriage it says father John Jaynes.

I have researched everything and can not find an Ernest living with a John or Eliza Jaynes in england

I am hoping if anyone can help me out and find anything to do with a John and Eliza Jaynes, Gloustershire, england, UK

Thank you so much in advance

Answer 1

I don't have info on UK genealogy, except as found in the US genealogy, but FOUR (4) generations in 49 years? I think there is a mistake somewhere...

Answer 2

I'm guessing you meant 1859 and not 1959. I'd hate to think anyone my age is a great-great anything.

I'm going to throw out a very real possibility. Reality is that you're talking Victorian England. People were prim and proper. If there was something hinky about Ernest's birth, his mother may have given him to someone else in the family to raise. Always take a birth certificate over a Census record. Census records are notoriously inaccurate. Contrary to an answer to another question on the board, they're also not considered a primary source because the person giving the information may not know the truth...people answer for each other and there's nothing that said the answers to the personal questions had to be accurate.

My suggestion is to look for a baptismal record. BMD says he was born in Westbury on Severn. Start there. Whenever two documents take you in different directions, look for #3 to give you perspective. Baptismal certificates are preferable to death certificates because the parents were likely to be around and would have been providing the information.  

Personally, I'd order the LDS church records for that town and not only look through the baptismal records, but also look for a marriage or death of someone named Jaynes. My intuition tells me it's possible that his dad died before he was born and his mother is using her married name on the document. The other "parents" could have been an uncle and aunt who took him in after his father died and raised him as their own.

The other possibility is that you have records on two different men. Back to needing that third document to set things right.

Answer 3

Everything that Genevieve said above is true.

Marriage certificates are notoriously unreliable.  Many a person of doubtful birth told the vicar a name of a ficticious father to put in the box or 'adjusted' their age.  The birth certificate is more likely to be true.  Obviously, if the fathers space is blank, it indicates illegitimacy.

As Genevieve hints, the church baptism records may be more useful.  Vicars knew the ins and outs of their parishoners quite well, and many would enter the name of a reputed father in the record, especially if there was ever likely to be any question of the father being chased for maitenence through the poor laws.  Again, 1859 (I presume) is a bit late for bastardy records, but they do survive for some parishes and years and might help out as well.

If he is on the census with different named parents then they are probably his uncle and aunt.  The family relationship should probably state 'nurse child', but whose to say William was being completely accurate when he gave the census enumerator his answers?  Ernest may well have known that William was not his real father, but that doesn't mean he knew who the guy really was.  "John" is probably complete fiction.  Eliza could have died, been sent to the workhouse or married.  Her child would have gone to her nearest relative.  This William guy is probably her brother.

Follow Genevieve's suggestions.

Answer 4

there an Ernest Jaynes born June 1859 Westbury on Severn Gloucester, on the free B M D site. You could try going through the Gloucester pages, I think they are on Cyndies list. Good luck it does take a long time though