Genealogy Chat

I have now found my Grandfather's birth certificate and it appears he was born Feb 08 1908 but not registered until the end of Oct 1908. Was that normal back then? I know there is now a time limit for registering a birth..... Thanks Sue

Yes, this was quite normal back then, as long as they registered they didn't get told off ! Not sure when the 6 week rule came into force. Elaine:-)

Sue I've got this from the BMD tutorials site: "In the early days the parents had 3 weeks to register in and could not register at all after 3 months. After a while this was changed to 6 weeks to register in, a late registration could be made up to a year after the birth if the superintendent took the information and signed the register too, and registration could not take place after 1 year without reference to GRO. Once the delay was this long then proof of the event had to be provided by other parties who knew of this event eg midwife or doctor or siblings alive at the time and able to recall the event. Even now, if it is not possible to provide the proof and/or the people who can attest to the truth of the event it is not possible to register and there are people walking around today with no birth certificate. It means, therefore, that a birth registered very late could be in the indexes a whole year later or more than expected. It is also relevant in that there were penalties for late registrations that were quite severe in the beginning and rather than get into trouble parents would "adjust" the date of birth to fall within the specified time for registration. If you have a discrepancy between a date of birth on a certificate and one given on a baptismal certificate, have a look at the date of registration. If it is very close to the six weeks, it is quite likely that the parents didn't tell the truth at registration but did at baptism where there were no penalties. There were no checks on the dates of birth until well into this century." Could be worth checking the baptism, but it looks like a v. long gap to me!

I dont know if this is relevant but when my son was born 10 years ago his father and I wernt married. We registered him using his fathers name as we planned to marry soon. The registrar advised us that if we wanted once we were married we could re register him to show my married status (new birth cert) Apparently if he had been given my surname and then I married his father as declared on the original cert I could also change the surname if required to that of his natural father. I understand my son has 2 entries on the register now (although only the new cert) Is it possible you ancestor was also registered twice perhaps the first time in his mothers maiden name? Penny

Can someone let me know if it is 6 weeks these days to register a birth in England/Wales. I know that in Scotland it must be within 21 days. Thank you Christine

Christine in Edinburgh from the GRO site " A quick guide to registering births Births in England and Wales must be registered within 42 days of the birth. This can often be done at the hospital or if not at the local register office. If the parents are married to each other, either parent can register the birth. If the parents are not married to each other, they should read Who should register? within the Registering a birth section and follow the Parental responsibility link for information on the implications of who goes to the register office." Helen

Thanks for that Helen, you live and learn! We don't even have the option to register at the hospital up here. I had wondered at that on Coronation Street! Lol Christine

Thanks for the replies. Nothing surprises me with this part of my family - there is a family bible listing all major events except the ones that were not 'approved' of!! I did try looking at my great-grandmother's maiden name at the time of his birth, but there was nothing. I would be very surprised if he was christened...or were they all back then?! If I am looking for a Baptism, should it be with church records in the area where they lived? Im new to this, and don't know quite where to start on verifying that! I have 'word of mouth' back to great grandparents but obviously want to verify everything. Sue