Who do I believe?

[Bee]

I have the birth cert for my grandfather which shows his birth date as 2nd May 1862.

I've just been searching on Freereg and found the entry for his baptism but it also shows a birth date of 23rd April 1862, though he was 4 years old when baptised.

Could this just be a simple mistake or could it be a case of changing his birth date as the birth wasn't registered until 9th June?

Bee

[toni*]

if babies weren't registered within 42 days i.e. six weeks a financial penalty was imposed so they could have said a couple of weeks later to get away without paying a penalty who was to say otherwise?

[jinks]

Just to carry on with what Toni as already said, I know
people that are alive today that are registered under the
wrong date of birth, the reason was as Toni said, so it
is still happening.

Jinks

[toni*]

these days (7 yrs ago) the midwife / health visitor the checks (with you)  to see if you have regsitered the birth.

[PaulineJ]

Logically, if he was 4 years old in 1861 then he MAY be on the 1861 census.

What do the entries of the 1861 parents reveal?

perhaps the 4-y-old dies and the newborn was named for him?

Pauline

[Bee]

Thanks for your replies.
I made a mistake in the first post by not giving his baptism date which was 8th July 1866, which would make him 4 years old.
So I'm not sure if they just gave the wrong date of birth at the baptism or as suggested that they were late registering his birth so adjusted his birth date to avoid any penalties.

I know it's not much of a discrepancy

Bee

[Josephine]

Bee,

Do you know which date he celebrated as his birthday?  Would his date of birth be listed on his death record?

When there's a discrepancy like that, I go with the date the person considered the correct one, if I can find it.

Regards,
Josephine

[Bee]

Would his date of birth be listed on his death record?

Thanks for your interest, I know his death cert only gives his age, which doesn't help but I hadn't thought about the death record. I do know when he died and which cemetery he's buried in, so I'll give that a try.

thanks again
Bee

[Josephine]

Good luck, Bee!

Regards,
Josephine