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Here's a strange one. My Great-Grandmother was unmarried and chose to give her son Thomas (my Grandfather) her maiden name Elliott as his surname. She died in the workhouse, leaving my Grandfather an orphan. It's apparent therefore that had my Great-Grandmother ever married, my surname would not currently be Elliott. Unfortunately, I don't know my Great-Grandmother's first name, but I know she must have lived in Lancaster, Lancashire UK around the late 19th/early 20th Century and if anyone out there knows a womanwho had a son named Thomas and who later died in the workhouse in Lancaster (although I know it's a slim hope), or if anyone could suggest any way in which I might be able to gather some relevant information, I'd be more than happy to hear from you. It's frustrating not knowing my origins beyond my Grandfather, nor even knowing what my real surname would have been if my Great Grandmother had married the man who fathered my Grandfather.