Economical with the truth?

Time to review what I thought I knew about Robert Forscutt and his sister Elizabeth. The family wedding (from which I have a photo showing Robert) took place in the September quarter of 1902. My great aunt, from whom I obtained the photo, was not born until 1904, so she could not have been present at the wedding. On the other hand, she would have known many of the family members who were there. Eileen's mother did not die until 1953 and her sister was alive until 1973. Eileen could have been told about all the people in the photo from family members who were at the wedding. I didn't ask my aunt how she knew about the people in the photo, but I have no reason to doubt the information.

The service record for Robert Forscutt says he was 20 when he enlisted in 1869 and that he had been born in Brampton, Huntingdonshire. According to the free BMD index, there was only one Robert Forscutt registered in England between 1845 and 1855, and he was registered in Huntingdon. Robert Forscutt appears on the 1851 and 1861 census in Brampton - aged one in 1851 and eleven in 1861. In each case he is said to be the son of William Forscutt. His sister, Elizabeth, appears on both of these census records, as do other known family members. It seems clear that Robert was the son of William Forscutt and his wife Mary Ann.

Why then, when Robert Forscutt enlisted in 1869, did he say his father was Timothy, that his mother was Mary Ann and they were both living in Dublin? It's possible that his father's second marriage is relevant. In the June quarter of 1868, William married Rhoda Wright. But I can find no trace of a death for Mary Ann. Had she run of with someone called Timothy and was living in Dublin? Was Robert siding with his mother in a family separation? At the moment this is all speculation. But I am reasonably convinced that despite what he said on enlistment, Robert's father was indeed William and not Timothy.