At the very least, due diligence in family history research requires seeking sufficient evidence and comparing facts, and not just taking information at face value. A good example of why this is important is the first official record of my 2x great-aunt, Josephine Kells.

Josephine was the daughter and youngest child of my 3x great-grandmother, Ellen Kells, nee Barton. Born on 4 June 1879 in Tomerong, Shoalhaven, Josephine’s birth incorrectly recorded both the name and gender.

A search of the historic New South Wales registry records for any child with the surname Kells for the period 1870 to 1885, results in only ten children. There are only two sets of parents, one being James and Eliza Kells from Ryde in Sydney, the other being Robert and Ellen Kells from Shoalhaven. One of the children registered in Shoalhaven has no father listed, but Ellen Kells is the mother. That record isn’t for Josephine Kells, instead the name is Joseph F Kells.

The full birth record gives the child’s name as Joseph Feehan Kells, male, born illegitimately. Ellen, who is listed as mother, widow and informant, gave her birthplace as County Fermanagh, which aligns with other records about her. Ellen’s husband Robert Kells died seven years earlier in 1872, and she didn’t marry again until 1882. This is why the child was listed as illegitimate.

Ellen’s strong Irish accent probably accounts for the incorrect name being registered. When said with an Irish accent, the emphasis on the last syllable (Joh-suh-feen) does make it sound like two shorter names instead of a longer one. The person recording the birth probably heard what they thought was Joseph Feehan Kells, and just made an assumption about the gender.

So the birth registration says Ellen’s child was a boy named Joseph Feehan Kells, and is officially indexed that way. However, all other records are to the contrary. In fact, just two months later, a record of baptism gives the same date of birth, 4 June 1879, and has Josephine’s name correct, although her mother’s name is rather poorly recorded along with a question mark. Perhaps her Irish accent was again a barrier to accurate recordkeeping.

Then, when Josephine married Alfred Green at the Church of All Saints in Nowra on 17 October 1900, just six months after her mother’s death, her parents were recorded as “The late Robert Kells and Ellen Barton”. Whether or not she knew Robert Kells wasn’t her father, his name was probably used to avoid the stigma attached to being born illegitimately.

One of the witnesses to Josephine’s marriage is her half-brother Robert, my 2x great-grandfather who was almost 20-years-old when his sister was born. On the marriage registration his sister’s age is given as 21 and her birthplace as Tomerong, both of which match the information on the birth record for Joseph Feehan Kells.

In addition to a paper trail, I have also found DNA matches with direct descendants of Josephine Kells and Alfred Green, which provide additional evidence about her birth.

If I hadn’t sought evidence and checked the records carefully, or had made assumptions, then I would have Joseph instead of Josephine on my family tree, and would have the wrong father attached to her.

Take the time to find evidence and review it, and be accurate and confident in what you record for your own family history.

Selected references

Birth certificate of Joseph Feehan [Josephine] Kells, born 4 June 1879, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, New South Wales, 23200/1879.

Baptism of Josephine Kells, baptised 29 July 1879, All Saints Church Parish Register, Nowra, New South Wales, Australia, unpaginated, unnumbered, digitised, Ancestry.com.au, accessed 28 September 2024.

Marriage certificate of Josephine Kells and Alfred James Green, married 17 October 1900, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, New South Wales, 9340/1900.

Marriage of Josephine Kells and Alfred James Green, married 17 October 1900, Nowra All Saints, New South Wales, digitised, Ancestry.com.au, accessed 28 September 2024.

Board for Certification of Genealogists, Genealogical Standards, 2nd edition revised, Ancestry.com, Nashville, Tennessee, 2021.