The first clue that John could have been an illegitimate child was the absence of a father’s name on his civil registration certificate. This, in combination with Ann listing her maiden name suggested that John was born out of wedlock.
John Darrington, 30 May 1850, birth registration no. 241, district of Saint Neots, Huntingdon, England.
Census information also supported this statement. The 1851 England census revealed that John and Ann were both living in the household of Ann’s father, Charles, in Eynesbury, Huntingdonshire. Others in the home included Charles’ wife Sarah (47), son William (12), daughter Fanny (6), and granddaughter Ann Mail (2 months). John was ten months old and Ann was twenty-two. The fact that Ann was living at home at the time of this census showed that they did not have continued association with the father.
Darrington family living at 104 Buck Street, Eynesbury, Huntingdonshire, England in 1851.
Source Information: Class: HO107; Piece: 1750; Folio: 261; Page: 26; GSU roll: 193647.
Ancestry.com. 1851 England Census [database on-line].
Another indication that John was born out of wedlock was the civil registration marriage certificate for Ann Darrington and William Woods dated 28 July 1858. This wedding occurred eight years after John’s birth. The fact that Ann retained the Darrington surname and her marital status was listed as spinster added to the evidence that she was not married when she had John.
William Woods - Ann Darrington, 28 July 1858, marriage registration no. 70,
district of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England.
Was William Woods John’s father? No. The records of the LDS Church in Elba, Idaho (where John died) proved that John knew who his father was. In John’s membership record, he gave the name of his father as Fred Bird.[1] This was also the case in the Form-E section of the Church records. Beginning in 1907 these were updated each year to report the happenings of the members from that year.[2] These two church records supported the family legend of Fred Bird being the father of John.
Elba, Idaho Ward, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
Annual Genealogical Report, Form E, 1907-1948,
[1] Elba, Idaho Ward, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Record of members, minutes of meetings, and donations 1881-1895 (Salt Lake City, Utah
[2] Elba, Idaho Ward, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Annual Genealogical Report, Form E, 1907-1948, (Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1950) FHL film 4750.
You are very lucky that your ancestor knew who his father was even though he was illegitimate. For others, I learned in the British Family History class about bastardy bonds (in the poor law records). In England men had to support their illegitimate children and the bastardy bonds are that record. This is a good place to go to when you don't know who the father is.
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