Genealogy Chat

Wow, thank you all for some very informative advice. The uncle in question has got his birth certificate so I will ask him to check for a time. With regard to accessing the Stillborn register, I note that you say only the parents or sibling of the stillborn can have access to this information, said uncle lives in New Zealand and therefore it is going to be difficult for him to phone because of time zone although I suppose he could write to them, I will send him all the details. Many thanks again for your advice. Caroline

Sorry if this offends anyone It is possible to have a twin Preganancy and lose a baby very early on-and then carry the other to term There would probably be no record of this- but obviously very sad for all involved-and would be remembered and possibly spoken about.. The only other way might be if you can track the Mother of the babies medical notes? The birth cert of the surviving 'twin' would give the hospital where the baby(ies) were born? I have mangaed to get medical notes from 1920-but not sure how recent you can get them from.

I have ben in touch with the GRO in the past about time on a birth cert-They said 'It does not necessarily indicate the baby is part of a multiple birth- It is true that most multiple births have the time on-but also some doctors/registrars like to include the time as a matter of course whether a singleton or not.' Hope this helps!! The only way you will know for sure is to have someone check for a Stillborn baby-Very sad. Good luck and I hope you can find something to settle everyones minds one way or the other .

To answer your questions..........all births had/have to be recorded. If a child takes even one independent breath, it is a live birth, and is recorded in the normal way. Stillbirths are in a separate register, to which access is limited, as stated above. I was aware that you were referring to a relative's possible twin. If you wish to check, you will need the relative's birth cert; if it includes a time of birth, there was another child........... Reg

Apologies if this causes distress to anyone: A stillborn child is one that has either already died in the womb, or dies during the course of delivery. If the child survives the delivery to take its first breath and then dies, it's not considered to have been stillborn. Until 1927, still births were not recorded at all. Since then, they've been recorded in a special register that is quite separate from the ones for births, deaths, and marriages. As long as the parents are still alive, only they can access the register; after they have died, only a sibling of the stillborn child can. If the child did survive long enough to take that first breath, but then died, both its birth and its death will be registered in the usual manner. Possibly in the nineteenth century this was not always adhered to, but certainly a hospital birth in the twentieth century should have seen the proper procedure happening. The birth of a twin is usually indicated on its certificate by having the time indicated. This is done because in English law the twin who is born first is considered to be the older of the two; this can become important in later life as it can affect inheritances. However, I would guess that if one child was born but the other was stillborn, no time would be indicated because it would be 'unnecessary'. Note that what I've written here is only certain for England and Wales, and may not apply to either Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Sorry, I don't think I made myself clear...it's my hubby's uncle who thinks he may have had a twin and he was born in 1928. I've looked through the register and found no other names with his mother's maiden name and area and want to know if stillborns or those babies which only lived a few hours/days HAD to be registered back in 1928. Thanks Caroline

I believe a sibling may investigate and apply for a certificate for a stillbirth if the parents are deceased. More info here http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/stillbirths/obtainingstillbirthcertificates/index.asp Gwyn

Hi Caroline Is there a time of day on the birth cert of your hubby? (time of birth only reported on birth cert of a twin) England only i believe. Gerri x

Stillbirths are kept in a separate register. There is a very strict limit on who is allowed to access the information..........I believe siblings are among the ones permitted, but don't quote me on that, as I don't have personal experience. Reg

Can someone please tell me if a birth of any sort ie. live or stillborn HAD to be registered in 1928??? I understand from my husband's uncle that he has heard down the family grapevine that he was a twin and says that all his life he's felt as though something was missing but when I checked the GRO index there was only him registered. No other baby registered in that quarter for his mother. Any ideas?? TIA Caroline