Proof of birth place.

[Maggie1895]

Like many of us, I have a tree on GR, which is closed to most.   I found my younger son came up as a hotmatch, but with a wrong place of birth.    Looking at the tree name's owner, it was a bit unusual and I guessed it was his Uncle in law (my son's wife's uncle)

Saw him - the tree owner -  a few months ago at one of the family bunfights and asked if it was his?   It was.    Would he like my son's correct place of birth?   Thanks, yes, he'd just always assumed we'd lived in the same place so had just filled it in.

I suppose the moral of that, for me, is that if in the 21st centure with so much information on line, not to mention seeing my son every so often so he could ask him, the place of birth just went in on an assumption and was totally wrong; - how much more likely that the employer of a 13 year old apprentice in 1851 is going to do the same?

[Finley 1]

Thanks for that Maggie.. we gotta luv em

I think there was some covering up done, or little white ones here and there... but the great thing is that he is found.  It Just must be him,   
xin

[chewboy]

In 1910, the chief clerk of the GRO claimed that the birthplace tables were probably the most inaccurate of any of the census tables..... a great many people did not know in which county they were born. There was also a tendency to record the place of residence, or the earliest one which could be remembered, as the place of birth.
Stan

I find that very surprising as I always thought the ages produced the most fairy tales!!

Well done Xin... brill    xx

Mark

[Finley 1]

yes results finally coming through.  Thanks Mark.


this is great  cos my sister started to search this family quite a few years back, and now she is no longer here I have taken it over, so it was a little difficult to find her previous bits and pieces..

so much great info .. thak you all
xin

[LizzieW]

Thanks, yes, he'd just always assumed we'd lived in the same place so had just filled it in.

That's interesting as our eldest son has a tree on GR too, and I keep getting Hot Matches with him, not surprisingly really, but I noticed he had put my birth place down as the same as my two brothers.   I'm sure he knew where I was born, but for some reason just put down the wrong place.

[coombs]

It was common for many people to put the place they grew up as their place of birth even if they had been born nearby or even further away. My 2xgreat grandmother was born in Sussex but grew up in London, she spent much of her childhood in Bow. In the 1881, 1891, 1901 and 1911 census she says she was born in London. That is incorrect as her parents moved there when she was a baby. She was christened in London.

[Sloe Gin]

In fact pre-1837 we can rarely know for sure where someone was actually born, only where they were baptised - which is not necessarily the same.  It's mainly assumptions.  Same with place of death.

[Guy Etchells]

In fact pre-1837 we can rarely know for sure where someone was actually born, only where they were baptised - which is not necessarily the same.  It's mainly assumptions.  Same with place of death.

That depends on the parish register many registers give dates of birth and dates of death at various periods of history.

Bury in Lancashire for example show birth and death dates during periods of the 17th century.
Bottesford in Leicestershire show Births and deaths during periods of the 18th and 19th centuries.

It is a matter of luck whether the clerk included such details but it cannot be ruled out.
Cheers
Guy

[Sloe Gin]

Dates, yes, Guy.  You will have seen many more parish registers and other documents than I. 

But I was thinking, for instance, it was quite common for a woman to have her first child at the home of her mother or another female relative - which might not be in the same parish as the baptism and family home.