Researching
Margaret Porter nee Bennett born ab 1842 NSW (no record at BDM)
Married Charles Porter 1863 Tamworth NSW (have certificate) per BDM
after Charles died ten years later she started using Bennett again (have his death certificate) per BDM
Margaret hung herself 15 March 1884 at Inverell NSW (Inquest performed) have documents
BDM NSW have no record of birth or death also cant find any burial details
I would like to know her parents were where born and buried, with all the certificates I have all they say is she was born NSW parents not known one of her parents were Aboriginal because the inquest records her as being "half-caste" this may be the reason her records werent kept.
Welcome to Rootschat.
Your Margaret's parentage details are not on the civil registration of her marriage certificate because there was a long running dispute between the government and the churches over the amount of detail the government wanted, nothing to do with her Aboriginality ... the disputed went on from 1840s, peaked in 1860s and 1870s, and not sorted until 1890s. BUT .... the clergy did ask and did record the names of the parents of the bride and groom and did ask for the age and 'where born ' for bride and groom themselves. Often the town was written there. There was no where on the Church registers for any mention of race or ethnicity.
Re inquests.... well, there was no provision to include race on a death registration, and the likely reason for a lack of civil registration at NSW BDM in that era again has nothing to do with race. The process was meant to be
1. A sudden death needed to be investigated by the police
2. Police were to inform coroner of anything suspicious
3. Coroner could issue an authority for the burial, public health concerns/No chill room morgue facilities.
4. After medical examination the burial order would be provided to the funeral director
5.. Coroner could conduct inquest after burial, especially in rural districts with long distances to travel...
6. So no one person was responsible to go to court house (often right next to police station) and find the person who could write up the official wth registration in their lical bdm register and then every three months send a summary to Sydney to the Registrar General.
So few regional inquests means even the officials were not used to knowing the paperwork system.
Do you want help finding where the Church register for the marriage may be archived?
ADD registration of births, deaths, marriages did not start in NSW until 1856, so Margaret, marrying in 1863 would likely have been born before birth registrations started in NSW.
Further ADD You mention 1842 for possible birth .... NSW bdm has SOME but not all of the Early Churches Records, - early as in the years from penal settlement to establishment of Registrar General of births, deaths, marriages in 1856. And if baby was not baptised, then there would not ever be a "birth" to be included at that particular index at NSWBDM...
JM
