Gawthorpe, Yorkshire.
My great Grandmother Rebecca Gawthorpe married John Ellison in 1866. They had two children prior to marriage, Alice in 1861 and Joe Thomas in 1863. Both of them have the surname of Gawthorpe on their birth certificates. However, on their Baptism’s papers that were done within a month of each of their births, both the father’s name John Ellison and the mother’s name Rebecca Gawthorpe are listed under parents. Can anyone tell me if it was common practice in those days to give the children mother’s surname even though the father’s identity was known?