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When my great grandfather Thomas Henry Edington passed away and his son was sorting through his belongings he found a copy of his birth certificate which listed him as Thomas Henry Edington Watson. No one alive ever recalls him using Watson as his surname. My mother remembers clearly the day they found the copy as her father thought it was very strange!
Then when my grandfather died, my mother found the copy of the birth certificate again and this time recalls seeing with her own eyes the name 'Thomas Henry Edington Watson'.
The copy has in time disappeared and we cannot find it anywhere.
We know that Thomas Henry's mother was Alice Watson (she was 17 when he was born) and his father listed on his marriage and death certificate is George Edington (on both these certificates the name Watson is not listed beside Thomas Henry's name). Thomas Henry was born in 1905 and Alice and George married in 1910.
On the 1911 census Thomas Henry Edington Watson is listed as 6 years old, a second child with the name Edington Watson, a 6 month old baby with the surname Edington, Alice Edington (formerly Watson, they married in 1910), George Edington (occupation listed as fireman at sea) has been scored out however I have read that this could be down to him simply not being in the house that night and with an occupation like fireman at sea then this is a likely possibility. There is also a 14 year old boy listed as a 'lodger' with the name Thomas Henry Watson.
Everyone has place of birth listed as 'North Shields' except the lodger boy who has 'Aberdeen' listed as his.
after much confusion we have figured out that the 14 year old is Alice's brother and that although Alice was born in North Shields she lived in Aberdeen sometime between 1881 -1905.
I have recently obtained a copy of Thomas Henry's birth certificate from the archives and it has shed no light on the name situation. No father is listed and bizarrely he is listed as Thomas Henry Edington not as Thomas Henry Edington Watson (my mother swears blind that not only does she remember her father saying it but that she saw it with her own eyes decades later).
Also, it is probably worth noting that Thomas Henry was very dark skinned (considering he was native to North East England) and I have seen this myself in photos of him that he was a lot darker than those standing next to him.
I'm at a complete stump with this whole situation but it is incredibly fascinating so any ideas, advice or where to go's from here would be massively appreciated!!!!
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Welcome to the boards Kelsey.
Could this be Thomas Henry's birth:-
First name(s) THOMAS HENRY E
Last name WATSON
Birth year 1905
Birth quarter 1
Registration month -
Mother's last name -
District TYNEMOUTH
County Northumberland
Country England
Volume 10B
Page 283
Record set England & Wales births 1837-2006
If he was illegitimate but George was his father then Alice probably did what lots of mothers did for their illegitimate child - give him his father's surname as one of his forenames. Once his parents married there would be every chance that he just dropped the Watson and was just known by his father's surname.
It's something that happened in lots of families.
You can order a copy of the birth certificate from here:-
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/default.asp
It will cost £9.25p
The birth certificate will not give a surname (no birth certificate from those times did. It was just assumed that the surname of the child was that of his father - or if no father was named then that of his mother). In your great grandfather's case it would be assumed that his surname was Watson as that was his mother's surname at the time so this is what went into the birth index.
EDIT - The 1911 census image actually says that the boarder is Alice's brother.
Kath. x
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for info
1911 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcription
5 Cross Street North Shields, Tynemouth, Northumberland, England
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Print transcription View image
Household Members
First name(s) Last name Relationship Marital status Sex Occupation Age Birth year Birth place
Alice Edington Wife Married Female - 24 1887 Durham South Shields
Transcription
Thomas Watson Boarder - Male School 14 1897 Aberdeen Scotland
Transcription
Thomas Edington Watson Son - Male - 6 1905 Northumberland North Shields
Transcription
George Edington Watson Son - Male - 3 1908 Northumberland North Shields
Transcription
Alexander Edington Son - Male - 0 1911 Northumberland North Shields
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This is the marriage reference for George and Alice's marriage certificate:-
First name(s) GEORGE
Last name EDINGTON
Marriage quarter 4
Marriage year 1910
Registration month -
MarriageFinder™ GEORGE EDINGTON married one of these people
MARY M STEPHENSON, >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>ALICE WATSON<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
District TYNEMOUTH
District number -
County Northumberland
Country England
Volume 10B
Page 403
Record set England & Wales marriages 1837-2008
Don't buy certificates from any other site online apart from the one posted above as some sites charge a fortune. The GRO is the cheapest place to buy certificates.
Kath. x
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Thank you both for all your help, I'm glad it was so easy to resolve :-)
Can you offer some advice on another question mark I have?
Alice was born in South Shields in 1888, then in 1901 she is recorded on the census as living in Aberdeen (makes sense as that's where her younger brother was born) but then in 1901 at the next census she is living in Chirton. Was it common for family's to relocated like that and then relocate again? If so do you have any ideas why? It's all very confusing.
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Yes she would move if her husband George re-located for work,,,,,,miners moved often.
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1891 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcription
Wellington Street, St Nicholas, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Learn more
Print transcription
Household Members
First name(s) Last name Relationship Marital status Gender Age Birth year Occupation Birth place
Robert Watson Head Married Male 22 1869 Marine Fireman England
Transcription
Mary Jane Watson Wife Married Female 22 1869 - England
Transcription
Alice Watson Daughter - Female 3 1888 - England
Transcription
Mary Ann Watson Daughter - Female 1 1890 - Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Transcription
Charlie Clark Brother-In-Law - Male 13 1878 Scholar England
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Since her father was a marine fireman I would imagine that they moved around between coastal towns because of his work. People moved around just as much in those days as they do today. As Kay has already said, miners moved from pit area to pit area quite frequently. People also moved from agricultural areas to towns as the spread of the railways opened up new jobs.
Kath. x
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