Sally I think the problem was that it all depended on what questions were asked. Try and think yourself back to those days, an Ag Lab's wife or daughter. The only time they came into contact with anyone in any official capacity was when they had to deal with the local vicar, and chances were in a village he knew everything that was going on
Civil registration came in, weddings in church basically carried on as they always had, banns read etc. the vicar just filled in the certificate. Deaths, had to be registered, so a trip to the RO. Many people hadn't had a doctor attending them, just the village 'nurse' If their was no spouse or child to register the death then she had to do it as the person present at death. That's why you get causes of death such as 'natural decay'.
Births, if married then the husband could and often did register, perhaps combining a trip to the RO with a trip to market. Illegitimate births basically had to be the mother unless she was too ill to go. If the mother was asked the question ' Mrs Smith what was your name before you married Mr Smith' Then her upbringing would be to answer that question correctly 'It was Jones' without going into the details that she had been Jones nee Brown.
