If You Had a Time Machine

[BumbleB]

An example of a Dade Register baptism    Luckily I have more than a few of these from where my Archbell families lived = Tadcaster.

[pharmaT]

Also, really pushing the boat out and extending the census paperwork no doubt - I would like to have recorded the known parents of any adult in a household.  Not just Fathers as on marriage records.  I have a great x 2 Grandmother supposedly born around 1829.  I know name of her Father (i believe) but only suspect name of her Mother.  I think this ancestor may have been born earlier around 1826 but may have reduced age gap to fit that of my Great x 2 Grandfather.  She mostly just keeps to being a year older than him but I do think she may have been four years older from a baptism I have found.  So it would help if Mother's name was on census to support or refute my suspicions.

I think I've been spoilt with having such a high proportion of Scottish ancestors as both parents are named on not just birth but death and marriage certificates.

[coombs]

I would have the 1841 census make people not born in county of residence to state the county of birth.

I would also change it so that civil registration began in 1800 instead of 1837.

Luckily the Dade registers gave place of origin for my ancestor, proving my suspected Scottish links thanks to the Scottish surname.

[Kiltpin]

If I could, I would stop the fire at the PRO at the Four Courts in Dublin on the 30th June 1922. 

Regards 

Chas

[JenB]

It would be very helpful if all parish registers were in the Dade or Barrington style. 

Excuse my ignorance but what are those styles mentioned?

Ooh RTL    as a north-easterner you should know all about Barrington entries 

Shute Barrington was Bishop of Durham between 1791 and 1826.

For the genealogist, demographer and historian, however, the memorable gift of Bishop Shute Barrington was his introduction of a detailed format for parish registers, along the lines of the pioneer work of William Dade in the neighbouring diocese of York, but in a more manageable format.  From 1798 until the national introduction of printed register books in 1812, baptism registers in the diocese of Durham were required to include the child’s date of birth, the mother’s maiden name and the parishes in which both parents were born as well, as the number of the child in the family.  Details of fathers of illegitimate children were recorded with similar zeal. Imagine the genealogist’s joy to discover a ‘stray’ entry such as this from the Bishop’s Transcripts of St Nicholas, Durham City:

Sarah Parkin, born 28 March 1812, baptised 12 May, daughter of William Parkin, Private Soldier in the 1 Regt of Lancashire Militia & Sarah his wife late Weeks of Surrey
https://debrettancestryresearch.com/bishop-shute-barrington-and-the-english-parish-register/

Those of us with ancestors here in the north-east owe him a considerable debt. I have even seen some Barrington baptism entries where the parents of the parents were mentioned!

Whenever I go to Auckland Castle (and I hope it won't be that long before I can go again  ) I go to look at his portrait and give him my hearty thanks
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/shute-barrington-17341826-bishop-of-durham-17911826-43613

[LizzieL]

Excuse my ignorance but what are those styles mentioned?

The Revered William Dade back in the mid 1700s foresaw the need for a lot of information on the records but they gradually died out because it was too much work for the clergy. Scottish records are probably the closest still around.

Poor things! Looking at Victorian and a bit earlier records, many vicars only had one parish to look after and seemed to have a curate to help them too. Many small rural parishes had only a handful of baptisms, marriages and burials per months. And I've seen some where the curate has conducted most of those services. What was the vicar busy doing?
Some couldn't even be bothered to record the name of the mother of the child being baptised, probably recovering from the birth so not there or not important.

[coombs]

I guess we expect too much with genealogy at times, and wish we could change history, so as to smash down the brickwalls. But as Peter Jones said on Dragon's Den "I like a challenge". It got me thinking as well, if it was all handed to us on a silver platter, it would not be as fun. Nothing more rewarding than finding a document listing at least 2 generations.

[ThrelfallYorky]

Oh yes, please, can I get aboard the Time machine and organise a few changes. ... I'd have loved Irish ancestors to have had to state their EXACT birthplace in Ireland - and religion, possibly even place of baptism would have been a huge help, too! I suppose it'd have been far too optomistic to hope that they'd be persuaded to name their non-resident parents, too, but..... I can dream, can't I?
In the 1841 census I'd have liked relationships stated within the household ... okay, we know from later censuses they're not always accurate.
Brilliant idea, a time machine, PharmaT

[gaffy]

If I could, I would stop the fire at the PRO at the Four Courts in Dublin on the 30th June 1922. 

Regards 

Chas

Agreed,  I would also like to reverse the decision to destroy the 1861 and 1871 Ireland censuses and to pulp the 1881 and 1891 Ireland censuses during WW1 - what a waste.