Genealogy Chat

Top tip - using the Genes Reunited community

Welcome to the Genes Reunited community boards!

  • The Genes Reunited community is made up of millions of people with similar interests. Discover your family history and make life long friends along the way.
  • You will find a close knit but welcoming group of keen genealogists all prepared to offer advice and help to new members.
  • And it's not all serious business. The boards are often a place to relax and be entertained by all kinds of subjects.
  • The Genes community will go out of their way to help you, so don’t be shy about asking for help.

Boards

Quick Search

Single word search

Tools

Findmypast DNA Banner

Icons

  • New posts
  • No new posts
  • Thread closed
  • Stickied, new posts
  • Stickied, no new posts

Two References/Identical Certificates - GRO Error?

Login to Add Reply Watch This
ProfilePosted byOptionsPost Date

Penny Eves

Penny Eves Report 26 Jan 2010 20:59

Hi ...

Should very much appreciate it if anyone can give me some guidance with the following.

I'm trying to find the birth record of my great-grandfather, John HILL, and ordered two possible birth certificates. The references (found on FreeBMD) were as follows:

Jun 1842 - Marylebone - 1 - 136 (also on the index as 186)
Sep 1842 - Marylebone - 1 - [2_] _ [3_]

The page number for the second entry was unclear, so I ordered by telephone rather than online.

In each case I used his father's name as a checking reference.

I now find myself in possession of two IDENTICAL certificates, for a John HILL born on 31 MAR 1842 (same location, parents, registrar, even handwriting - actually identical!). I can believe that this is the correct certificate for the June Quarter entry, but don't understand why it has also been sent for a September Quarter reference.

Am I missing something, or has the GRO made an error (in which case I shall be contacting them!)?

Many thanks for any help.

Penny

Penny Eves

Penny Eves Report 26 Jan 2010 21:10

Both certificates were ordered in the name of "John HILL".

InspectorGreenPen

InspectorGreenPen Report 26 Jan 2010 21:27

I agree with SG. The Registration Date on the certificate will tell you which quarter the certs you have were registered.

Also, there is only one entry on the index for June. However, it has been transcribed as 136 by the first Free BMD transcriber and as 186 by the second. So, the correction for this needs to be made with Free BMD

Penny Eves

Penny Eves Report 26 Jan 2010 21:30

Thanks for your reply.

I could have (just about) believed that a couple might register the birth of their child twice (in two consecutive quarters), but then the resulting copies of the birth entries on the certificates would look different (different handwriting etc.).

These two copies of the entry are absolutely identical (you could lay one on top of the other and they would match exactly!).

Looks like a phone call to the GRO tomorrow ... !

Penny

mgnv

mgnv Report 26 Jan 2010 22:01

I'm wondering if John Hill was the illegitimate son of Sarah Hill (all names made up now), and she alone rego'ed the birth in the June quarter, but after her banging on about it for 5 months, eventually the dad, Quentin Finney, agreed to go down and add his name to the b.cert, so the Sept quarter is a rerego, with two entries in the index (Hill & Finney), but the Hill page # is so faint one can't be sure if there's another John on that page.