Genealogy Chat

Can anyone give me some advice/tips on how to resolve this weird problem. I have traced my ggg grandfather & family in Herefordshire back to the early 1800's. His elder sister b 1838 and younger brother b 1849, have birth records(England & Wales civil registration) and christening records. However, in spite of many long hours of scouring various genealogical websites, I can find absolutely no record whatsoever of my ggg grfather's birth, even though I have the names of his parents. If his siblings had no records, it wouldn't bother me so much, but why should a middle child NOT have any birth records whatsoever?

I know how you feel Angela, I can find no record of my husband's Grandfather's birth either in 1875/76. I know when all of his elder siblings were born and where. I have his original marriage cert and banns and his death cert. It seems his birth was not registered even though it became compulsory to register births in Scotland in 1855. I have found quite a few other people researching this family and they have no record of his birth either and yet he is on 1881 an 91 census. It is frustrating and I have come to the conclusion that perhaps his parents "unofficially" adopted him, as there is quite an age gap between him and the next youngest sibling. good luck Christine

Is his birth recorded in the Local Register Office? Not all records survive the quarterly transcription process which is intended to get the local records into the GRO lists. Herefordshire doesn't have an online site (yet), but that doesn't mean you couldn't get a cert from them if you applied. Can you get sight of the relevant Baptism Register somewhere? Perhaps, if you're lucky, the relevant church's registers will have been transcribed onto the IGI (on the familysearch.org site). If you can track a record for one of the children you know about, then perhaps you can use that film-ref to go back and see which other children, born to parents with the same name combination, were baptised in the same church. good hunting! Christine PS - it has been remarke that not all children were actually registered, although it would be odd to miss out a middle one!

Thanks Christine, It is very frustrating, you just feel that a birth cert would confirm it all and make everything complete. I find it really really strange. I don't think my family would have been able financially to 'adopt' another child, it seems as if they were poverty stricken agricultural labourers. It's odd that the older & younger siblings have a perfect set of records! Best wishes Angie

Another Christine! Many thanks, I didn't think of that! I will have to organise a day out in Herefordshire!! Angie

I can`t find my great grandmother`s birth cert either-have her marriage, birth of her children and her death-all Scotland. She was born about 1842-Mary Rattray. Rosalyn

NB I've found both of his siblings' records on IGI, nowt for him though! Also, there is no record of his marriage in 1875 or 1876, which makes us wonder whether he & his 'wife' ever did marry, but she took his surname. All very very mind boggling! Angie

I have several instances of middle children not appearing in civil registration, as if they weren't as important as their siblings, but have always found baptisms for them. There are quite large gaps in your family. Do they remain in the same village throughout the period. Is it the same minister christening the elder and younger sibling? Are the christenings close to the births? Are the patterns the same as for other children in the parish? Are there fewer baptisms about the date you think your ancestor was born? There may be an absentee minister who mops up baptisms from time to time and your ancestor just missed out. The baby might have been privately baptised and this was not recorded in the records. The mother may have had a difficult birth and wasn't up to recording the birth. The family may have flirted with nonconformity and the records may still be in the chapel. Also, are there likely to have been other children, miscarriages or still births? On average (and of course there is no such thing as an average family) children are born about 28 months apart. Are there any possible infant deaths in civil registration or unexplained infant burials? It is so frustrating when you can't find that final piece of the jigsaw. Hope the above at least gives you some new ideas. Brenda