can't find a birth certificate

[jaks]

I'm looking for the birth certificate reference for William Hague born abt 1855 in Ulley/Treeton (Rotherham/Yorkshire). His marriage cert states his father is George Hague. They both appear on the 1861 census with Wm's grandparents, Joseph and Amelia Hague but I can't get the correct birth cert. I've asked for about 5 birth certs from GRO and had reference checks of father George Hague but none appear to match. On 1871 census Wm is listed as son of Mary and William Morgan. Mary is Mary Hague daughter of Joseph/Amelia Hague and sister to George (who doesn't appear on 1871 census). I did wonder if George had died and Mary took on Wm as her own; or she had Wm out of wedlock and he took his uncle's first name for the marriage cert. I had a similar problem with another relative who'd taken the first name of her grandfather as her own father's to look 'proper' on her marriage cert. Before I go completely grey/bald (!) can anyone suggest where to go from here??? Thanks in anticipation.

[Galium]

Hello Jaks, welcome to Rootschat.

From the information you have given it looks possible that William was born to Mary Hague out of wedlock.   If that is the case, there may well be no father's name on the birth certificate.

George Hague is listed as unmarried in 1861, so it would be unlikely that William is his son.

William was aged six on census night (7th April), so the birth should have been registered between June Q 1854 and Jun Q 1855.   There seem to be only two possible births registered in Rotherham district:

Willie Hague Jun Q 1854  vol 9c p 425

William Hague Sep Q 1854 vol 9c p 358

The first is on FreeBMD, but the second only shows up if you look at the full GRO index.  You can also find it on the Rotherham website:
http://www3.rotherham.gov.uk/RecordsSearch/

One other way of checking William's parentage would be to look at the baptism register of the local church.

[jaks]

Thanks, I think what you say makes sense. I'll go back and look at these records again. I'd decided that I need to go to the church, but am unsure how and who I should approach about this. Any suggestions? Thanks again.

[Dave Francis]

Hi Jaks - and welcome!

I would also check the marriage certificate of Mary Hague to William Morgan. Is she described as a spinster or widow? If she is described as a spinster then young William was quite clearly illegitimate.

As regards his birth certificate, William was born at a time when the registration of births was largely a voluntary matter. It's quite possible that his birth was never registered at all, particulary if he was illegitimate.

Conversely, it is possible that his birth was registered (and therefore indexed) under his real father's surname. I have an example of this in my own family tree. This does of course leave you in a Catch-22 situation. Without knowing the father's surname, how can you track down the birth certificate to find out the father's name?

Dave

[jaks]

Thanks Dave, I will get Mary and William Morgan's marriage cert as this may very well help'; its great to get all this advice about things I would never have thought of before. I hadn't realised that births were voluntary at one time; when did they become necessary? Clearly I still have a long way to understanding this whole ancestry thing.

[Dave Francis]

Hi again - glad to be of some help! I can't remember the exact year, but I think that birth registrations didn't become properly compulsory until the 1870s. Before that it was responsibility of the local registrar to find out about recent births in his area, rather than the duty of parents to inform him.

[Galium]

Parish registers for Treeton St Helen are held at Sheffield Archives:

http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/in-your-area/libraries/archives-and-local-studies/what-collections-do-we-have/parish-registers

The website advises booking a microfiche reader in advance of your visit.

According to the same website, registers for Ulley Holy Trinity are held at the church.

[stanmapstone]

Hi again - glad to be of some help! I can't remember the exact year, but I think that birth registrations didn't become properly compulsory until the 1870s. Before that it was responsibility of the local registrar to find out about recent births in his area, rather than the duty of parents to inform him.

To be correct there was no penalty for non-registration (within 42 days). The Act of 1836 omitted to impose any penalty for failure by the parent to register a birth, an omission which was rectified only by the Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1874 which made such failure punishable by a fine of £2.00. Registration was compulsory in the case of the Registrar. The onus was on him to collect births and deaths and he could be fined for failure to register them. In carrying out his duties the parents were compelled, under the Act to supply the information when asked.

Stan

[Dave Francis]

Hi again - glad to be of some help! I can't remember the exact year, but I think that birth registrations didn't become properly compulsory until the 1870s. Before that it was responsibility of the local registrar to find out about recent births in his area, rather than the duty of parents to inform him.

To be correct there was no penalty for non-registration (within 42 days). The Act of 1836 omitted to impose any penalty for failure by the parent to register a birth, an omission which was rectified only by the Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1874 which made such failure punishable by a fine of £2.00. Registration was compulsory in the case of the Registrar. The onus was on him to collect births and deaths and he could be fined for failure to register them. In carrying out his duties the parents were compelled, under the Act to supply the information when asked.

Stan

Thanks Stan!