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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: Zaphod99 on Wednesday 17 September 25 12:55 BST (UK)

Title: Part of my GRO birth record is missing
Post by: Zaphod99 on Wednesday 17 September 25 12:55 BST (UK)
I recently paid three pounds for an image of the birth record of an ancestor. It gives me half the previous record and cuts off the bottom couple of lines on my record. I've contacted the GRO and expect them to rectify the situation, but I just wondered how often this happens.

Zaph
Title: Re: Part of my GRO birth record is missing
Post by: rosie99 on Wednesday 17 September 25 13:18 BST (UK)
I don’t think it is unusual.  The one I reported they refunded the money in a few days and it is no longer available to order as a digital image
Title: Re: Part of my GRO birth record is missing
Post by: Zaphod99 on Wednesday 17 September 25 15:06 BST (UK)
Is there a way to work out what the subsequent record is?  If they give me a refund I'd happily spend it on buying the next record.

Zaph
Title: Re: Part of my GRO birth record is missing
Post by: close1 on Wednesday 17 September 25 15:27 BST (UK)
I had a similar issue, i rang up the GRO and they gave a me a E-mail address

grofirstpointofcontact@gro.gov.uk

and it was resolved in a couple of weeks
Title: Re: Part of my GRO birth record is missing
Post by: rosie99 on Wednesday 17 September 25 15:39 BST (UK)
I had a similar issue, i rang up the GRO and they gave a me a E-mail address

grofirstpointofcontact@gro.gov.uk

and it was resolved in a couple of weeks

I used the link on the GRO website
https://www.certificate-enquiries.homeoffice.gov.uk/about?hof-cookie-check
Title: Re: Part of my GRO birth record is missing
Post by: softly softly on Wednesday 17 September 25 19:46 BST (UK)
Could you attach the copy you have received. Also what details you do know for certain.Believe there is a way to work out next image.

SS
Title: Re: Part of my GRO birth record is missing
Post by: Zaphod99 on Wednesday 17 September 25 21:58 BST (UK)
Yes. Tomorrow. 

Zaph
Title: Re: Part of my GRO birth record is missing
Post by: Zaphod99 on Thursday 18 September 25 10:25 BST (UK)
Softly, I had this detail

WHITWORTH, ELIZA  ELLEN  AIKMAN  GRO Reference: 1889  S Quarter in SOUTH SHIELDS  Volume 10A  Page 789

Eliza is the grandmother of a friend.  He believes that she was illegitimate, the father was possibly not known even to the mother.  In 1891 she is listed as being one of the children of the household.  We believe that she was actually born to the eldest child of the household.  That eldest child (late teens) had the middle name AIKMAN (see above).  She seems a likely mother.  I ordered the certificate in the hope that the father might be named, but the name shown, William, is the father of the household.  While it is possible that he and his daughter were the parents, we think that is unlikely.

I have added the certificate.  I cannot guess at the mother's maiden name.  Surely it was Whitworth, not just 'formerly'?

Column 7 refers to Ellen Aikman Whitworth, the older child of the household, born September quarter, 1871.  That came from FreeBMD.

Zaph
Title: Re: Part of my GRO birth record is missing
Post by: rosie99 on Thursday 18 September 25 10:36 BST (UK)
Presumably the entry above is Isabel Smart who shares the same GRO reference
Title: Re: Part of my GRO birth record is missing
Post by: maddys52 on Thursday 18 September 25 10:48 BST (UK)
I'm  not sure why you think the child was illegitimate? The GRO index clearly says the mmn was AIKMAN. It was common for multiple childen to be given the mother's maiden name as a middle name.
Title: Re: Part of my GRO birth record is missing
Post by: Zaphod99 on Thursday 18 September 25 11:01 BST (UK)
 I didn't understand the relevance of that.

Zaph
Title: Re: Part of my GRO birth record is missing
Post by: maddys52 on Thursday 18 September 25 11:08 BST (UK)
Sorry, I was looking at the GRO reference you gave (though it is 10a/799, not 10a/789) and it has mother's maiden name as AIKMAN. Usually if a child is illegitimate it will not have a mmn given on the index.

Just looking further, I see that the other children in the family have mmn CROOKSTON, hence the confusion over Eliza Ellen's birth.
Title: Re: Part of my GRO birth record is missing
Post by: jonwarrn on Thursday 18 September 25 11:37 BST (UK)
Local indexes
Year 1889   
Name WHITWORTH, Eliza Ellen   
District SS/Jarrow.A   
Register 114   
Entry 2

Perhaps if you got a digital image of the birth entry (3) below from the GRO it would have the missing part on it? :-\

Year 1889
Name NICHOLSON, William Burton   
District SS/Jarrow.A   
Register 114   
Entry 3

Probably a crazy idea.
Title: Re: Part of my GRO birth record is missing
Post by: Zaphod99 on Thursday 18 September 25 12:24 BST (UK)
I assume she was illegitimate as the father's name is the father of the other children in the house, which I very much hope wasn't the case.  I can't find any connection to AIKMAN.  And why give the name to just one?  It's so odd.

Zaph

I'm  not sure why you think the child was illegitimate? The GRO index clearly says the mmn was AIKMAN. It was common for multiple childen to be given the mother's maiden name as a middle name.
Title: Re: Part of my GRO birth record is missing
Post by: Zaphod99 on Thursday 18 September 25 12:26 BST (UK)
I have wondered about getting the next record.  How did you get that data?  I'll wait and see what GRO suggest.  If they offer me a  refund, I'll probably do that.

Zaph


Local indexes
Year 1889   
Name WHITWORTH, Eliza Ellen   
District SS/Jarrow.A   
Register 114   
Entry 2

Perhaps if you got a digital image of the birth entry (3) below from the GRO it would have the missing part on it? :-\

Year 1889
Name NICHOLSON, William Burton   
District SS/Jarrow.A   
Register 114   
Entry 3

Probably a crazy idea.
Title: Re: Part of my GRO birth record is missing
Post by: Zaphod99 on Thursday 18 September 25 12:28 BST (UK)
Maddy, could you clarify the 789/799 change?  The GRO data says 789.

Zaph

Sorry, I was looking at the GRO reference you gave (though it is 10a/799, not 10a/789) and it has mother's maiden name as AIKMAN. Usually if a child is illegitimate it will not have a mmn given on the index.

Just looking further, I see that the other children in the family have mmn CROOKSTON, hence the confusion over Eliza Ellen's birth.
Title: Re: Part of my GRO birth record is missing
Post by: jonwarrn on Thursday 18 September 25 12:34 BST (UK)
That info came from the indexes on the South Tyneside website
https://www.southtyneside.gov.uk/article/3044/Search-historical-births-deaths-and-marriage-records

Where Isabel Smart is indeed entry 1 in register 114

Interestingly some of the others in Sep 1889 with the GRO ref 10a 799 are from the previous local register, i.e. Charlotte Louise Leuliette (lovely name) is from register 113, no. 500. Hers must be the last entry from that register. Fascinating!
Title: Re: Part of my GRO birth record is missing
Post by: Zaphod99 on Thursday 18 September 25 12:53 BST (UK)
Jonwarrn, I didn't know of that resource. 

Zaph
Title: Re: Part of my GRO birth record is missing
Post by: jonwarrn on Thursday 18 September 25 15:27 BST (UK)
Maddy, could you clarify the 789/799 change?  The GRO data says 789.

Not Maddy(!), but it is 799 in the original GRO birth index (see image)
And 789 in the new one ???

WHITWORTH, ELIZA  ELLEN     
Mother's Maiden Surname: AIKMAN 
GRO Reference: 1889  S Quarter in SOUTH SHIELDS  Volume 10A  Page 789

Same for all the other entries on 10a 799 in that quarter
All are given as page 789 in the new index.
So the new index has two lots of births indexed as page 789, those who actually are on 789 and those originally on page 799 as well!
Human error I guess, but I don't remember seeing that before.