Won't You Join Me On My Fool's Errand?

I was so caught up, I didn't think to check for "n" or "r" -- back in a flash.

 

@Bakersgma There are more examples, but they all look pretty much the same.

@Figtree3 Does that cover what you were wondering about?

 

Yup. It's 2nd.

 

So... here's my take. The above information was taken from the long awaited birth certificate of Child04. It clearly names Lottie02 as the mother of Child04.

And the number I was asking about (and now believe to be "2nd" -- thanks for the tip that I needed to look at additional clues in the document, doh!) is "Number of child of this mother."

So. Most likely answer is that Lottie02 is the mother of Child03 (my grandmother) and Child04 (this is her birth certificate). With Lottie01 being mother of Child01.

Which leaves the infamous "Mary Smith" as mother of Child02. @Bakersgma and I had talked about likely scenarios for that "Mary Smith," but I think we'll need a new scenario that possibly doesn't involve either Lottie.

Or a woman named "Mary Smith"... lol

 

Very interesting!

 

Sorry, I don't have anything to add, just wanted to say this is an interesting thread to read

 

Definitely. Historical family drama right out of a soap opera! Ever watch those ancestry shows? Who Do You Think You Are has franchises in three countries that I know of; I've caught some of the UK and Aussie episodes on Youtube. People have been doing crazy stuff of the "marital" variety since time immemorial.

 

@cxgirl thank you, I was thinking it wouldn't be interesting to anyone, but with every turn there's a new mystery!

@evelyb30 I've seen some of those on Youtube as well -- love it.

I've never been able to find the birth record of Child01. Now I'm wondering what sort of secret is kept on it!

 

It does make you wonder. Somewhere in the mess are some nice juicy scandals, or they would have been at the time.

 

that is what makes it so interesting, I can't wait to find out more

 

My family tree is very twisted. My mother had a difficult pregnancy with me so her sister drove out to Kansas from NH to watch my older brother. She and my father had an affair. A year later, my parents moved to NH and my father and aunt took up the affair again, my mother found out and divorced him and my aunt married him. That makes my father my uncle and my aunt my step-mother. Fortunately, he left.

 

...and both sisters were grateful he was gone? Life imitates soap opera... eek.

 

My goodness gracious, what our families get up to. My grandfather had a pregnant girlfriend at the time he married my grandmother. Ten years later my grandmother kicked him to the curb and ten years even later he married the original girlfriend.

As I've researched this mess, I've always felt sorry for the kid from that first relationship.

 

@Bakersgma et al

I'm calling it done.

There are (finally) enough people who have done the Ancestry.com DNA tests that I am now convinced that the woman I always believed to be my great-grandmother was, in fact, MY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER!!!

I have nine separate DNA matches stemming from my GGG-grandfather (her grandfather).

Sadly, "Mary Smith" (mother of child02) is still a big-honkin' mystery, but that may be a mystery I leave for some of his direct descendants.

Thank you to everyone who contributed and read!

 

Bev aka Hamlet.

 

Congratulations!

 

I missed this thread before today. Interesting stuff!

My father's cousin married my mother's sister in mid-life, after they both were divorced from their first spouses. So my uncle was my second cousin, which I had to keep explaining when I was his guardian for six years.

 

Then there was my dad's favorite uncle. I could never figure out where he fit into the family tree. I finally asked my dad. "Oh, he was my grandmother's upstairs neighbor." (LOL) The neighbor's mom and great-grandma were best buds and possibly related. Proceed to confusion.