BMD Indexes on GRO site

[jonw65]

We've all done it!
And the most frequent result I get is "A valid gender must be selected"!

[matt94]

Ah, thanks everyone. That makes sense if they're re-indexing. However, I wonder why the surname is not listed? Maybe because he was illegitimate?

I received the birth certificate today, and this was the Mar qtr 1897 / 5a 88 birth. He was illegitimate and born at the Workhouse in Calne on 11 Mar 1897. Coincidentally (?), the boy's mother married exactly a year after his death in a village near Hungerford.

Thanks for the advice guys.

Matt

[LizzieW]

I've noticed some births on the GRO site, haven't got maiden names of mothers showing either, just a dash where the name should be.  I have no idea what that means as even an illegitimate child usually has mother's surname given as the same as the child's birth name.

[Jebber]

I've noticed some births on the GRO site, haven't got maiden names of mothers showing either, just a dash where the name should be.  I have no idea what that means as even an illegitimate child usually has mother's surname given as the same as the child's birth name.

Because the mother's maiden name is the name the child is registered with.

[jonw65]

Don't know if it's been noted here before, but it seems that if they couldn't read a name then they have used an ellipsis (I think that's what you call it!)
So, for example, if anyone is looking on the GRO site for the death of William Jessep, age 88, in Walsingham district, March qtr 1897 4b 200, he appears as
..., William

or
..., Sarah Susannah, age 51
Dec 1897 Rochford 4a 291

who must be Sarah Susannah Prentice on the original index
John

[AntonyMMM]

Different indexes use different rules to index the same information which can give different results leading to incorrect assumptions being made.

There are no surnames shown for the child on any birth registration before 1969 - how the entry is indexed is a matter of practice and convention and choices the indexers make.

However even that is done differently between the "old" indexes (i.e. the one you see on Ancestry, findmypast and FreeBMD etc) and the new GRO index in a number of ways

An example -  when the old indexes were compiled for post 1911 births, a decision was made to show the mother's surname as also her maiden name for an unmarried woman.

The new GRO index (correctly) shows no maiden name at all for a woman who has never married , so you get the  "-" instead.

Another tip is not to assume there is no father named on an entry if a "-" is shown in the maiden name. The "-" just indicates there is no maiden name transcribed for the mother, but that can be for a whole host of reasons, and a father could still be on the entry - likewise a maiden name can be shown indicating a mother who has married,  but she may not be married to the father  - in many cases the only way to know would be to get a certificate.

[jonw65]

But does that explain why poor little male Little (old index) has no surname listed on the new GRO death index?
Would he have no surname on his death certificate?
Column 2 "Name and surname"

[AntonyMMM]

It would be very unusual for a death to be registered with a first name but no surname, it is difficult to think of many scenarios where that might happen, but it is possible.

The most likely reason is no surname has been transcribed because the transcriber couldn't read it.

The only way to know would be to get a certificate ( or compare to the entry in other indexes - see if they have managed to read it).

[LizzieL]

Quite a  number with a first name and "Unknown" for surname. And a lot more with a dash for first name and unknown for surname - many sadly were less than a year old.

I have been trying to track down a death reg for a Charles (blank) who died in a lodging house and was buried on 23 jan 1853 at St George Hanover square. But there don't seem to be any blank (-) or unknown Charles's registered in that district in that quarter.
Several on line trees have him as Charles Livermore but only because he was in London and the right age I suspect.