Birth certificate details

[kiterunner]

Originally Posted by Phoenix

In the 1980s, "Riverside Cottage, Xham" would reach my great-aunt. Admittedly, when I accepted a lift from a stranger ( - different times!) and mentioned her, he said, "Oh yes, I know Mrs Y"


Granny's birth certificate in the 1890s only names the village.


Interestingly, someone has posted the digital image of a birth in a Norfolk village in the 1860s, and the heading there only says when born, though in this case the hamlet is named.

Even in the 1980's there were some rural people whose address was just their name and the village where they lived, plus of course the postcode.

[Merry]

Originally Posted by Phoenix

And yes, it was because the place of birth - and the choice was the village, or a workhouse 15 miles away - wasn't given that I noticed it did not seem to be a requirement.

I was just going to ask if they would be both in the same sub-district, being that far apart, but of course that's something you don't get with a digital download!!

[Phoenix]

The Poor Law Unions were the basis of the registration districts. The distance was only an issue for the paupers, who would have to walk to the workhouse, and then back to their own villages. None of the baptisms of the children give any hint as to where they were actually born. I'm tempted to acquire a few more certificates.... though the poor mother had fifteen children, and eleven after the start of civil registration.

[JBee]

Wondering if you could find a baptism which might give you place of birth.

[Phoenix]

Very few of the children were baptised in the parish, Julie. It might be the case that a chapel was attached to the workhouse.Only the correspondence records survive for the workhouse, so the children might have been baptised there, and the records don't survive.

[Olde Crone]

Quite a few of mine were baptised in the workhouse, it was a given (certainly pre 1837) that if you were born in the workhouse you were baptised there, for settlement reasons if nothing else. For my family, these are always recorded in the parish church register as they occur.

OC

[Merry]

Originally Posted by Phoenix

And yes, it was because the place of birth - and the choice was the village, or a workhouse 15 miles away - wasn't given that I noticed it did not seem to be a requirement.

I'm still wondering of the village and the workhouse were in the same sub-district. If you know they were not (the 1841 census would tell you), then maybe if you spoke nicely to the local RO they might investigate to confirm the sub-district?!!

[kiterunner]

Originally Posted by Merry

I'm still wondering of the village and the workhouse were in the same sub-district. If you know they were not (the 1841 census would tell you), then maybe if you spoke nicely to the local RO they might investigate to confirm the sub-district?!!

Wouldn't the full GRO birth cert give the sub-district anyway? I know it would mean paying a bit more.

[kiterunner]

But also we might be able to figure it out from the other names with the same page number?

[Merry]

Originally Posted by kiterunner

Wouldn't the full GRO birth cert give the sub-district anyway? I know it would mean paying a bit more.

Exactly, I was just trying to think of a cheaper way!

If it had been in Lancs then LancsBMD gives you the sub-district, as do quite a few other local BMD sites, but I don't think there is one for Norfolk.