Thread: Grandad found on 1901 census

Hi folks just wondering if anybody had some thoughts on this..



I just looked up the 1901 census and found my grandad he was listed as adopted son but with his correct name of William Weaver. Does anyone think that the word adopted meant anything in the legal way? or was it just a way of describing the situation? Apparantly all his life he was known as Billy Hill which was the surname of the people he lived with. I am told that he only started using the surname of Weaver when he joined up for the 1st World War. I do know that his mum was a single girl in service locally who didn't keep him. His birthplace was Liverpool which is quite a way away from where he was on the census. Edielee

Hi Edielee,



Although adoption and fostering have taken place informally for centuries, it was only in 1927 that adoption became legally recognised in Britain. It was more than likely that this was an informal adoption at least until then.

Hi Starlight. Haven't been on recently so I would like to thank you today for your reply to my post a couple of weeks back. It makes sense of the info that I had been given by family Edielee

Hi Edielee,



Glad to be of help. It is always possible that they went ahead and adopted him officially after 1927, but they might not have thought it worth bothering about after that time. It's possible that he had already married by then anyway.

Hi Starlight thanks for that. It appears that he was in the Army in the first world war and used his birth name to join up. In 1927 he married with the surname Weaver so I am sure you are right. Regards Edielee