BDM query - any ideas

[Wattsy]

I just wondered if anyone out there had ever ordered a certifcate which only gives the name of the person on the index as "female" and then the surname.

What does it say on the certificate, as surely a christian name must be listed.  Any help would be appreciated.


Wattsy

[Josephine]

Wattsy,

My first thought would be to look for a death in the same quarter and the next.  It sounds as if the baby might have died before she was named.

I could be totally wrong, since I've never encountered this before. 

I look forward to hearing what others have to say.

Regards,
Josephine

[Wattsy]

Hi Josephine

Great minds think alike - I have already checked the deaths for that quarter and the rest of the year, but no candidates.

So I am still hoping that someone else might have some other ideas but thanks for your suggestion.

Wattsy

[silvery]

Births have to be registered within six weeks.  But you can give or amend a name up to twelve months after the birth. So maybe this is the reason why.

[Little Nell]

As silvery says, the name does not have to be given on the initial registration. 

I have a certificate which just says "male" in the forename column and then the child's surname.  The GRO index does not have his name and no correction seems to hav been made at a later date.  The child definitely survived to adulthood - in fact he was nearly 80 when he died - if he had not, then I would not be here!

Nell

[Josephine]

This is all very interesting!

silvery, does this mean the birth record might have been amended to include the name?  Or would Wattsy have to look for a second registration of the birth which would feature the baby's name?

Nell, how did you know for certain that that was your ancestor's birth record?  Did you already have his date of birth and parents' names when you ordered it?  Or was the record passed down to you?

Wattsy, are you able to search for the person's baptism?

Regards,
Josephine

[Wattsy]

Thanks very much for all your help.

A question for Little Nell - how did you prove that the certificate was the correct one for your ancestor without knowing beforehand the name of the parents?

Wattsy

[Wattsy]

I believe from the information gained from the census and other records  I am looking for the birth of a Stephanie/Septimus/Sephima/Stephina/Stephanah Luck born in Goudhurst Kent in 1844.

Checked on bdm and only possible entry was for June qtr 1844 entry for a "female" Luck in Cranbrook (area includes Goudhurst).  Hence my question.
As you can see from the above Stephanie et al was keen on changing her name.

Wattsy

[Little Nell]

He had a very unusual surname.  I had his army record which gave me his place of birth and his stated age on enlistment.  There was only one male birth in the right registration district at that time and without a given name.  The only others were the wrong names and proved to be his second cousins and were either female or died soon after birth (so both a birth and death registration)

Also I had a baptism record from a year after his birth, when he and his siblings were all "done" together.

In other words, I had some luck!  

Nell