South Lodge Kirknewton

[MonicaL]

Something of a co-incidence? Just noticed that the births of Elizabeth's sons, William Wick Anderson and Kenneth Wick Anderson were both double registrations, as your grandmother was.

These are the Edinburgh - St George - regs:

KENNETH WICK ANDERSON - 1929 Ref 685/5 737
WILLIAM WICK ANDERSON - 1929 Ref 685/5 736

Like the Kirknewton registrations, they are consecutive entries so as we are thinking, likely twins.

Monica

[Clareuhi]

Monica, is there a significance to them all being double registrations? Sorry if this is a silly question, I am a beginner at this!

[MonicaL]

It simply means that both Elizabeth's boys and your Margaret were born in Edinburgh City but mothers Agnes and Elizabeth actually lived in Kirknewton. A note of the registration of the births would have been passed to the registrar covering Kirknewton and the births were also registered there as this was the mother's usual residence.

Margaret's birth was a hospital birth wasn't it? Probably Elizabeth's births also were? Can't see the image of the boys' birth regs unfortunately.

No more meaninful than that really. We can't really say either that there were birth complications etc. We don't know why the babies were born in Edinburgh really.

Monica

[Forfarian]

No significance.

The birth of a baby had to be registered in the registration district (RD) where the birth occurred. If, however, the parents', or in these cases the mothers', usual residence was in a different district, the registrar in the birth RD had to send the details to the RD of the usual residence, who then had to include the birth in his register too.

As for why the babies were registered in George Square, that's the RD where the old Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and all its satellite hospitals were, including the maternity hospital.

Not sure why Elizabeth and Agnes would have gone into hospital for the births. Out of curiosity I checked my own database, and of 24 births in Midlothian between 1928 and 1932, only 3 were in hospital. So it is possible that there was some medical history that led to them both giving birth in hospital at a time when the norm was still a home birth.

Edit: apologies, this reply crossed with Monica's.

[MonicaL]

You can see what we mean on Margaret's birth reg. The initial registration by the Edinburgh Registrar. This is then reported on and a few days later transcribed by the East Calder Registrar.

[Forfarian]

I wonder why Margaret's birth, which occurred on 1 June, was not registered until 25 June?

Especially when the law required a birth to be registered within 21 days, and people could be fined if the registration was delayed.

[Clareuhi]

Thank you both so much. Very interesting indeed, why they had hospital births. I wonder if this was age related (especially in Agnes if she was young as we suspect from the birth cert).
I did note that baby Kenneth Wick Anderson died on June 12th, so perhaps the delay in registering was due to this happening in the same home?

[MonicaL]

You have kindly added a clip from the Edinburgh birth reg for Margaret. Could you add the same for the Kirknewton registration please? Just in case there is anything to be gleaned from that!

Hard search here 

This period post the births becomes harder as there are fewer and fewer records online.

Monica

[Rosinish]

This may/may not be relevant or connected...

It has been suggested Margaret may have been an orphan which would imply her mother died young while Margaret was still a child?

I wondered if this death may be the mother...

ANDERSON AGNES 28
1943 - 685/5 1430 George Square

This would of course make her a teenage mum but not impossible and Margaret would have been a teenager 

Annie

Add...I've just done a check & the above Agnes is recorded with surname Cockburn too i.e. probably not the mother of Margaret but...