The Quarry Maternity Home - Lincoln

[cjw8362]

My objective is to find records of exactly where I was born and whether I had a twin sister or not!

This is what I have been told (I don’t know if this is true, which is my issue)

I was born in the Quarry Maternity Home in Lincoln UK on 08.03.1962 to Brenda Fairweather (unmarried mother). Delivered by Nurse Barrett.
I was a twin – my sister was called Marie Ann
I was kept by my mother and her mother - Florence Fairweather who arranged for the adoption (said to be a private adoption)
It is said Marie Ann was taken 20 minutes after birth and given to an army couple from Yeovil
I have a copy of  my original birth certificate and my re-registration in 1963 when my parents married – neither of which shows me as a twin.
Can you help or advise me where to start?

[KGarrad]

All births have to be registered.
FreeBMD is only showing 1 birth for Fairweather in Lincoln, in the June qtr 1962.

Possibly, if a twin existed she was stillborn?
There is a separate (non-public) register for Stillbirths.

[cjw8362]

Thank you for your reply.
The one you have found is me.
My birth was re-registered the following year as Holmes when my parents married.
My mum is adamant she had two girls, but cannot find any evidence. she is said to have died later in life as a child in Yeovil.

Thanks again for your support - Carol

[chempat]

If she was born on 8th March 1962, and died as a child, possibly in Yeovil, then you need to look for any deaths before 1978 in Yeovil (and surrounding area?) with that birth date, and it only works exactly from 1969, 2nd quarter.

[cjw8362]

Hi KGarrad

Non-public register - presume that means unable to see it?

Carole

[KGarrad]

Hi KGarrad

Non-public register - presume that means unable to see it?

Carole

Correct.
You have to contact the GRO at Southport (phone or letter).
Then they send you a form to complete.
You send that back, with a covering letter, and a cheque for £9.25.
Then, IF they think you have justifiable cause, they send you the Stillbirth Certificate.

I went through all this to get my mum's twin sister's certificate.

[dawnsh]

contact details

https://www.gov.uk/general-register-office

[cjw8362]

Fantastic, thank you so much. My mum is adamant she was taken away 20 minutes after birth and given up for adoption, but I am wondering if she was confused and she perhaps was a stillborn baby. Will follow this up and report back

[dawnsh]

Carol

By law, births are registered in the district where they happened.

It would be highly irregular for a nursing home to be involved in maintaining incorrect or fraudelent birth records or arranging sinister/underhand adoptions.

Have you had a look at the birth indexes?

www.freebmd.org.uk (but not complete or www.familysearch.org if you don't have an Ancestry or FindMyPast subscription)

If you search for Fairweather/Fairweather births in Lincolnshire after 1950 there's yours but also a boy born the year after. Your birth is in Lincoln district, so is the other.

There are a few earlier and later births but in Boston district.

So your birth combination of names is quite unusual although there are other Fairweather births but with different mothers maiden names.

If the stillbirth enquiry comes back negative, then it might be worthwhile considering the 1963 birth.

Anyone doing your family tree for legal reasons would be remiss not to buy the certificate even if it was for elimination purposes.