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Birth Certificate Query - 2 Registrations
- Thread starter smtr
- Start date
Shera
true brummie
i wonder whether the child was born just before the mother married the new husband, so she had to register the child in her previous husbands name then was able to re register with the new surname after she married again. have you looked if there was a marriage in between the two certs?
leslam
Brummie by marriage
What year is the birth registration? The rules about adding the father only if he was in attendance came in sometime after civil registration I think.
I have a couple of examples where the widow 'Bloggs' gave the father as the dead husband, even though he had been dead for several years, so the child was called Fred Bloggs. When it came to the baptism of the child, the child was called Fred Jones after the biological father. Very difficult to sort out sometimes. The level of literacy often meant that the information on the certs was completed simply from the questions/replies between the registrar and informant and weren't checked
[By the way it isn't a Heptinstall/Allen certifivcate is it?]
I have a couple of examples where the widow 'Bloggs' gave the father as the dead husband, even though he had been dead for several years, so the child was called Fred Bloggs. When it came to the baptism of the child, the child was called Fred Jones after the biological father. Very difficult to sort out sometimes. The level of literacy often meant that the information on the certs was completed simply from the questions/replies between the registrar and informant and weren't checked
[By the way it isn't a Heptinstall/Allen certifivcate is it?]
Shera
true brummie
thats really strange suzanne. i think it would be the law to give the child the first husbands name, because after all, that was the mothers official surname whether her husband was alive or not. i presume then that if the real father came forward and agreed to have his name on the birth certificate it could be done immediately after the first certificate had been completed. i hope someone knows for definite.
leslam
Brummie by marriage
I agree with Shera; the mother's official name was still Mrs A when she had the child - irrespective of whether her husband was alive or not. You don't revert to your maiden name when your husband dies.
Registering the child in her maiden name would have emphasised that the baby was born out of wedlock - something that would have been frowned on in the 1950s/60s. If she hadn't married the father later, at least the child would have had the protection of the married name when she went to school.
Registering the child in her maiden name would have emphasised that the baby was born out of wedlock - something that would have been frowned on in the 1950s/60s. If she hadn't married the father later, at least the child would have had the protection of the married name when she went to school.
Mike Fisher
Billesley Boy
If she was a widow and not married to the father and the father was not present then it would have her married name and she could not use the father's surname. If the widow then marries the father a new birth certificate can then be issued changing the childs surname. Was it in Birmingham ? if so contact then genealogist at Bitmingham Register Office for clarification
leslam
Brummie by marriage
Hi Suzanne
I'm no legal expert, but unless the father was present and willing to have his name added to the certificate, I think that the father would have to be left blank.
You say that the registrations are on the same page? It would be interesting to know if they are next to one another on the page (if it is a B'ham cert, then if you ring John Yates at the reg office, he may be able to tell you). My guess would be not - they could be up to 6 weeks apart (which is I think the time you have to register the birth). Also, when you get the second cert, check that the birth dates are the same as the second one might have been 'late' and had to have the date adjusted to stay legal.
Thinking laterally for a minute - what is the reg date on the cert that just has the mum on? Is it soon after the birth date? Could it be that she was desperate to register the baby because it was poorly. If the father was out of town he couldn't have been added in. Or maybe they had had a tiff and wouldn't acknowledge the baby and she simply went to register the baby wihtout him.
You may never know the reason.......
I'm no legal expert, but unless the father was present and willing to have his name added to the certificate, I think that the father would have to be left blank.
You say that the registrations are on the same page? It would be interesting to know if they are next to one another on the page (if it is a B'ham cert, then if you ring John Yates at the reg office, he may be able to tell you). My guess would be not - they could be up to 6 weeks apart (which is I think the time you have to register the birth). Also, when you get the second cert, check that the birth dates are the same as the second one might have been 'late' and had to have the date adjusted to stay legal.
Thinking laterally for a minute - what is the reg date on the cert that just has the mum on? Is it soon after the birth date? Could it be that she was desperate to register the baby because it was poorly. If the father was out of town he couldn't have been added in. Or maybe they had had a tiff and wouldn't acknowledge the baby and she simply went to register the baby wihtout him.
You may never know the reason.......
It was and still is illegal to put a fathers name if he is not present unless you are married and then the law presumes the husband is the father,not so in your mothers case as she was a widow.
You are registering the child with your surname which happens to be your late husbands and therefore have to put your maiden name also,you would leave the fathers name blank.
Incidently you mention in your earlier post about the certificate having 2 on it,the birth certificate perhaps denoting twins, twins do not have 1 and 2 they have the birthtime on each one to denote who was the elder.
I note that your birth was registered in the same qtr of 1958 and both of them have the same registration reference so must have been registered at the same time.
Your brother registered Solihull 1956 has 2 entries each with the same reference.
A mystery.
You are registering the child with your surname which happens to be your late husbands and therefore have to put your maiden name also,you would leave the fathers name blank.
Incidently you mention in your earlier post about the certificate having 2 on it,the birth certificate perhaps denoting twins, twins do not have 1 and 2 they have the birthtime on each one to denote who was the elder.
I note that your birth was registered in the same qtr of 1958 and both of them have the same registration reference so must have been registered at the same time.
Your brother registered Solihull 1956 has 2 entries each with the same reference.
A mystery.
Last edited:
lynne webb
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
I thought all children of unwed parents, when the father is present at the registration, have two entries,one in each surname with the same registration number.
Lynne.
Lynne.
