Genealogy Chat

Hi Kerry, glad the certs on its way, hope its got all you need will be watching for ur update Ann

The re-registered birth certificate has been produced and is being sent to me. Thanks OC for your suggestion to write to the GRO and ask about it. And yes there are definately 2 indexs for the one birth. I will update when the certificate arrives in case anyone is interested in whether there is any reference to the original birth index on the updated certificate.

Original Birth registrations can not be changed, although they can have a note added if there has been a genuine mistake. As far as Deed Polls are concerned, contrary to popular belief, there is no central register of name changes in the United Kingdom. Deed Polls are not registered anywhere unless they are 'enrolled' i.e. lodged for safe keeping, in the Close Rolls of the Chancery (from 1851 to 1902) and from 1903, in the Enrolment Books of the Supreme Court of Judicature, which is located within the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand, London.

Sorry for butting in... great thread by the way. I'm also under the believe that no-one can be registered twice as your only born once. However, if there is a changed to be made the original is 'amended' not but not re registered. Cheers Gerry

Actually Ann you were correct and the original birth registration index still exists (as this how I found the birth) but it has a hand written notation added with the date of the re-registration. Other than that it was not altered.

Thanks for that Kerry, I once worked in local RO for a short time and was led to believe index wasn;t changed, obviously this was wrong, thanks for pointing it out. Sorry if i mislead you. Good luck in your search. Ann

Ann there actually is a 2nd index for the re-registered birth in this case in 1948 (the original birth was recorded in 1946) and I have that information from the GRO themselves. I am still corresponding with the GRO and will update the outcome of this in a few days.

I don't think this will help you but it is useful info to bear in mind. My Mother was born in 1943. Both of my Grandparents were married to other people and on registration, my Mother was registered in Nans husbands name. Upon the death of Grandads wife my Nan divorced her husband and married Grandad. They then both had to adopt my Mother.(with Nans ex husbands permission)

registrations of B M D cannot be altered only reregistered and in this case the new registration certificates should be issued, but in either case the index entry will not change nor a second entry added to the index for the re-registration Birth registrations are not re-registered when a person changes their name by deed poll, nor a record of the new name linked to the birth registration. Hope this makes sense. Ann

Chris I don't think birth records could be changed easily before DNA testing. I am currently trying to track down a Deed Poll change of name for my father. Seems I come from a family that is very good at disapearing. I have what I would 'wager my house on' is my father's birth cert but have nothing much to link me to it. Other than identical birth dates and several old photos.

If an individual, who was registered under the name of his mother's legal husband, but later changed his name through Deed Poll to that of his natural father, where would this corrected information be found? Is there a link to the original birth registration? I'm thinking there must be many 'lost' children otherwise. Chris

I have not yet had a reply from the GRO, but for some reason I had a brain wave today to search for births under the surname that was the same as the unusual 3rd forename of the son. Well there was the birth re-registration with the correct MMN and the correct district in the correct quarter of 1948. Absolutely still no sign of a re-marriage under that name either or any other children born all the way through up to and including 1957. The name appears to me to be perhaps Italian, so I am wondering if perhaps my aunt may have moved overseas. Also no death for the first husband including on the Metropolitan Police Site for WW2 deaths. The possible death was listed on the War Graves and the Middle name was definately wrong as was the age.

Chris Yes, that will be the one I was thinking of - I should have said that I didnt think it was relevant in this particular case, sorry! OC

OC I have had a dig around and found a 'new' act in 1976. http://www.dca.gov.uk/civil/procrules_fin/contents/schedule2/ccrorder46.htm I can't see anything for the time between 1926 and 1976. Chris

I have sent the email and the GRO website says it will take 5 days for a reply. I will let you know the outcome. Just got an automated acknowledgement that says 5 working days for a reply....so we shall know if five woring days!!

I have replied to Kerry's pm, but just in case anyone else is interested, I think that Kerry has been sent the 'wrong' certificate, in that she should have been sent a copy of the re-registration cert. There isnt much point in having a Legitimacy Act which provided a new 'respectable' birth cert, and then sending out copies of the old one! As a matter of information, although Chris is correct of course about both parents having had to be free to marry at the child's birth, I think there has been more recent legislation which removes this qualification, so a child can be legitimized even if either or both parents were married at the time of the birth. I don't think it is retrospective though. Let us know how you get on Kerry, as I am interested to know if the birth is indexed twice - it shouldn't be, in my opinion! OC

Chris I had good look at that link about the Act. So from reading that info the husband either had to dead or divorced from her, because if she was still married at the time of the birth the child could not be legitimised by the future marriage of it's parents... Olde Crone have sent you PM

Just a point.... A child could not be 're registered' under the Legitimacy Act if at the time of the birth either of the true parents were already married. Even if the true parents went on to marry the child could not be 're registered'. Having said that.....The registrar only had to be satisfied with the facts, no formal documentation needed. I certainly have one where the son 're registered' his birth and managed to keep the name he had been known by (his mother's surname) by swapping his mother and father's surnames for the cert! http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb(.)com/~framland/acts/1926legitAct.htm Chris

As I am not sure which cert you have in your possession, you need to ask the GRO to send you 'the other one'. There will have been two certificates, the original one and then the one issued at re-registration. Although thinking about it, the first registration would show her husband as the father of her child unless she was scrupulously honest and offered the Registrar the information that he was not - by law, a husband is always the father of his wife's children, born during the marriage. But you say there is no father named on the cert, which suggests you have the original, not a copy of the re-registration. The whole point of re-registering under the Legitimacy Act was to show the name of the father of the child. So, I would ask the GRO for a copy of the re-registration cert. OC

I have searched the deaths looking for the first husband and found a listing for the March Qtr 1942 in the right district but the age is two years older and the middle intial is wrong! Otherwise nothing.