On 22/02/2012 03:32, Marg Strong wrote: > There is a record of a birth and the child is registered under the > father's surname. In all other records she is listed under the surname > of the man my ancestor married. There were two other children in the > same situation, but without birth records that I have found, just the > names, each with different last names. Another researcher who has done a > lot of work as this is her direct ancestor, has noted that there were no > marriages for these childdren. > > I entered this first child under the "spouse" and noted "unmarried." but > the father still shows up under the spouse button. Is that how I should > do it?
As far as Legacy is concerned "spouse" means "husband" or "partner" or "Person an individual had a one-night stand with". In reports you can change the wording to reflect the exact status if you want. You are correct to enter the child as if the parents were a married couple, but to check the "This couple never married button." > > And when there is no birth record, but a last name different than the > mother's, do I enter those two children under the marriage "button" with > no name in the father's blank? I'm assuming you mean there was a child with surname A, 2 children with surname B and then a husband with surname C. You will need to give the woman 2 unmarried partners with their respective children and then a husband. > > Later when all the children are listed in census and other records by > the last name of the man my ancestor finally married, is it likely or > unlikely there was a formal adoption (this is in the late 1800s) or they > just informally took that name? Should that be noted under notes or in > the notes in the census record? For a start, it might depend on what country we are talking about. I don't know about the US or elsewhere, but here in the UK (certainly England & Wales, Scotland might be different) there was no formal adoption until the 1920s. On the Census a step-child might well be given the stepfather's name but there were no legal niceties involved. When writing up the Source for these entries you should enter the children's names exactly as they appear in that Source. So you might have a birth record showing Joe Bloggs and then a Census record showing Joe Doe. You may wish also to enter in Notes that the children apparently took the name of their stepfather. -- Jenny M Benson Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
