Catholic registrations of birth

[stanmapstone]

Some care must also be taken when comparing data on births in the early decades of registration and those from the period after about 1880, because of evidence of early under-registration. This means that a comparison over time between published birth rates in the mid to late nineteenth century would give an erroneous picture of trends. D. V. Glass estimated that in the first decade of registration one has to multiply the number of registered births by approximately 1.080 to obtain the number of actual births. Teitelbaum used an inflation factor of 1.060 for the same period. By the end of the 1870s both agreed that birth registration was probably complete, especially after the passage of the 1874 Births and Deaths Registration Act (37 & 38 Vict., c.88), which introduced fines on parents for non-registration (Glass; Teitelbaum). Both marriage and death registration appear to have been have been virtually complete from the inception of registration.
General comparability of Registrar-General's reports
Edward Higgs
http://www.rootschat.com/links/0351/
Stan

[jimmymac]

Thanks everyone for your very interesting replies. I find this a fascinating subject (sad?). One of the people concerned is my great great grandfather John McCarthy. There is a possible baptism at the church of the Holy Family  in Saffron Hill on 18 February 1855, which gives a birth date of 17 February 1855.  Census returns give Holborn as the place of birth, or, in the case of 1871, St Andrews. I will gather the various examples together and post them on the London board.

James