Birth date confusion.

[Dargie]

My great aunt died in childbirth on 16th December 1900. She gave birth to a son who lived.

However his birth registration FreeBMD 3a 357 is dated March qtr 1901.

Am I correct in thinking that there was, at that time, a six week time limit for registration of the child? The father could be forgiven for not quite getting around to the paperwork as he had three other young children and needed to find a baby nurse nearby.

Therefore this would explain the discrepancy but would also indicate that not all birth registrations are competely accurate if looking for a definite birth year.

Marj.

[Jan1954]

Hello Marj,

If the lad's birth was registered on or after 1st January, then it would appear in the March quarter of the following year.

I expect that, with the loss of his wife and the funeral and grieving, your great uncle would have had a lot of other things to do. Also, it was only 2 weeks from the birth to the 1st January, so not so very long.

My grandfather was born on 28th December 1896, but his birth was not registered until the March quarter of 1897.

[Dargie]

Absolutely, Jan I agree. Poor chap.

Made me do a bit of a double take however when I saw the mother's death one year and his birth the next! I was not sure of time limits on this but the "sticky" on birth certificates explained the 6 week time limit which I had not known previously.

[Pam Downes]

Hi Marj,
Your thoughts are correct.
There still is a 6-week time limit for birth registrations.
Death registrations usually have to take place within 5 days of death.

Therefore this would explain the discrepancy but would also indicate that not all birth registrations are competely accurate if looking for a definite birth year.

That is also true with regard to someone being born in a certain quarter of the year. If a birth is registered in September quarter they could have been born anytime on or after 21st April that year up to, and including 30th September.
I have to say that anyone I find with a birth registration in a March quarter I now assign a birth year of, say 1874/5 whereas if someone was registered June, September or December quarter 1875, they would be assigned a birth year of 1875.
Pam

[Dargie]

Thanks Pam!

Learnt my something new for today.

By the way found a letter from my great aunt in my Mum's things written in 1898. Quite touching to read it now that I now what happened. She was talking about a friend who had died and left three "poor little mites".
Then it was her turn.