How to interpret marital status of mother?

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Profile	Posted by	Options	Post Date
Member Since: April 2003 Posts: 0 Send Message	Claire	Report	29 May 2005 19:31
Member Since: April 2003 Posts: 0 Send Message	I've come across a birth certificate which records the mother as follows: Anne WHITE late PHILIPS formerly BURTON. The father is George WHITE. I know this woman was born a Burton, and I also know she was at one time married to PHILIPS. What I don't know is whether or not she was divorced from Philips at the time she gave birth to White's baby. Has anyone else ever seen this terminology on a birth cert and, if so, what did it mean? Thanks for any help on this.
Member Since: March 2004 Posts: 867 Send Message	TinaTheCheshirePussyCat	Report	29 May 2005 19:37
Member Since: March 2004 Posts: 867 Send Message	Yes, this crops up quite often, usually indicating that the woman was widowed and then remarried. Of course, if it is a more recent birth certificate then it might indicate that she was divorced rather than widowed. You would need to get the marriage certificate when she married Mr White to establish whether she was widowed or divorced at that time.