Wonder what you make of this.

[Durham Lady]

Sorry if this is a wee bit long winded but I'd appreciate your thoughts on this.

Yesterday one of my distant cousins and fairly recent contact sent me a copy of a birth certificate he purchased 3 years ago and said "you missed this child from your G grandparents family.
I've checked with other family connections and they are as puzzled as I am.

The certificate is for a child named Hannah Maria NORTHEY born 25th April 1848.

According to all census records my g grandparents never had a child born 1848 with that name.
I know that doesn't mean they didn't have the child.

They had a child named Mary Jane, we've never found her birth, but have her baptism which was 6th September 1848 at St Blazey, Cornwall and I have her on every census in this country and America from 1851, when she was age 2 years, to 1920 (apart from 1890 which was lost in a fire) I also have her marriage certificate.
On the 1900 census it states she was born April 1848.

The census references are as follows

1851 census Class: HO107; Piece: 1906; Folio: 252; Page: 24; GSU roll: 221058.

1861 census Class: RG9; Piece: 1459; Folio: 67; Page: 7; GSU roll: 542816.

1871 census Class: RG10; Piece: 5135; Folio: 19; Page: 32; GSU roll: 847401

1881 census Class: RG11; Piece: 4974; Folio: 62; Page: 49; Line: ; GSU roll: 1342196.

1900 census USA Census Place: Yonkers Ward 5, Westchester, New York; Roll T623_1178 Page: 20A; Enumeration District: 136.

1910 census USA Census Place: Bloomfield Ward 3, Essex, New Jersey; Roll T624_882; Page: 21A; Enumeration District: 155; Image: 502.

1920 census USA Census Place: Bloomfield Ward 3, Essex, New Jersey; Roll T625_1028; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 19; Image: 911.

The g grandparents did have 2 daughters that were named Hannah Maria, one born 2nd February 1850 and 1 born 12 July 1856.

The first one died in August 1851 age 1 year 6 months.
The second died in the USA.

I've searched for a death of the Hannah Maria of 1848 using various combinations/spellings and can't come up with anything that would match.

Now my question is, do you think the child was named Hannah Maria on her birth certificate but then named and baptised as Mary Jane later in the year or did they have 2 daughters and got a birth certificate for 1 and not the other?
Don't you just love it when you think you know everything on a family and find you don't

[kiterunner]

I don't think they would have had twins and baptised one and registered the other; it seems much more likely that they changed her name when they had her baptised (and then reused her original name for the next child).

Perhaps a close family member named Mary Jane died in between the baby's registration and her baptism and they decided to baptise her with that name!

Then as Kiterunner has said used the name Hannah Maria for the next child and obviously because the next one died used it again!

[Nell]

Yes it looks like a name change to me.

[Durham Lady]

Thanks for your thoughts. I was thinking on the same lines. It does seem an odd thing to do though doesn't it ancestors nerve cease to amaze and give us questions

Yeah I think its odd - I think its really odd.

But things were a lot different then I expect if they came back now they'd probably die of shock at what goes on now

[kiterunner]

Who registered the birth, Daphne?

[Durham Lady]

Originally Posted by kiterunner

Who registered the birth, Daphne?

kite, The mother, Mary Ann NORTHEY née JOHNS so is the correct family.

[kiterunner]

I was just wondering if the baby was registered by someone other than the parents and he/she got the name wrong! Guess that rules that out, then!

[Gert in Oz]

I have something similar Daphne, one of my late uncles was registed Edward Albert, but i have a copy of his baptism cert where Albert is crossed out and George is entered, blame it on the King his son was told.