Are You My Father?
10
Who was John Darrington’s father?
Transcript of Are You My Father?
Who was John Darrington’s father?
There was no father listed on John’s English civil registration birth certificate.
FAMILYSEARCH WIKI ARTICLE: ILLEGITIMACY
John Darrington, 30 May 1850, birth registration no. 241, district of Saint Neots, Huntingdon, England.
The Elba, Idaho LDS Ward records listed John’s father as Fred Bird.
Elba, Idaho Ward, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Annual Genealogical Report, Form E, 1907-1948,
(click to go to the FHL Catalog Record)
John Darrington
?
?
Ann Darringto
n
Charles Darringto
nSarah
Darrington
Frederick Bird
?
Which Frederick Bird was John’s father?
No Parish Registers for Eynesbury available transcribed online or microfilmed at the FHL
No Poor Law records for Huntingdonshire microfilmed at the FHL
The Dilemma…
The Solution…
Census Records
1851 England Census Overview
John was born in Eynesbury in 1850
John and his mother, Ann were still living in Eynesbury in 1851
John’s father could have been living in the general vicinity of Eynesbury for the 1851 census
Eynesbury was an agricultural communityCharles Darrington
was an agricultural laborer
Frederick Bird could have been a migrating farm worker
NameAge –
Occupation
Residence
Distance from
Eynesbury
Birthplace
Fred Bird 14 – Scholar
Sandy, Bedfordshire
5.3 miles Godmanchester, Huntingdonshire
Frederic Bird
17 – Convict
Bedford, Bedfordshire
9.8 miles Cambridgeshire
Frederick Bird
22 – Farm Laborer
Graffham, Huntingdonshire
7.0 miles Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire
3 Potential Matches in the 1851 Census on Ancestry.com
(Click the sound button to learn about each Frederick Bird.)
The likely match…
William Woodward household, 1851 England Census, Graffham, Huntingdonshire, page 14, (www.ancestry.com accessed November 8, 2010).
Although there was no direct evidence connecting this Frederick Bird to Ann Darrington, the circumstantial evidence made him a very strong candidate to be John’s biological father.
A deeper look into the census records revealed that this Frederick Bird eventually married and had (more) children:Ann Keech
Arthur Benjamin BirdGeorge Frederick BirdEdwin Bird
Frederick Bird of Graffham…
