Careless registrars

[suttontrust]

Everybody can make mistakes.  But the Parkins and Champkins families seem to have been the victims of some very careless registrars.  When Silvey Parkins' birth was registered in 1841 her name may well have been a mistake for Sylvia - that was her name on subsequent censuses.  But worse, the registrar put her down as a boy!  In 1858 she married William Champkin.  William was illiterate and the registrar decided not to believe him, so the marriage certificate calls him William Champion.  It's  wonder we've been able to trace the family at all!

[w105uk aka Margi :-)]

careless registrars still existed in the 1950's

my husbands birth certificate states he was born Dec 1952, registered in Jan 1953...........

but the registrar has signed and dated it Jan 1952  , a year before he was born............

funnily enough this error has gone unnoticed for over 50 years and 1 marriage and 1 passport later........
it was only noticed recently when he need a CRB check  , and what ID did they accept the passport he got using said birth certificate !!!

[Garethboxing]

I have a marriage between Margaret Rowland and Morgan Thomas in 1839, in which the registrar (presumably only just getting the hang of things) managed to end up with Margaret Rowland marrying Margaret Thomas 

And that's 160-odd years before civil partnerships were invented 

Incidentally, the error meant his present-day successor at Merthyr Register Office was not allowed to give me a copy. But as she very helpfully read out all the details of witnesses, etc, I got all the info and saved £7

  Gareth

[Inchworm]

A few years ago I sent to a local registrars for a copy of a death cert. The informant was the persons daughter, under her married name of Thomas.
But no ......... that was a spelling mistake on the registrar making the copy. She should have been Lomas. Easily done, but it threw me off track for years trying to find who she had married.

[aghadowey]

Thirty years ago I went to clerk in town where all my grandmother's children (and I) were born to try and trace the birth of the 4th? child who had died under very tragic circumstances. Clerk was very close family friend and to narrow down the possible birthdate she looked up the birth certificate for the 5th child. I'm not sure who was more shocked, her or me, to discover that on the 5th child's birth certificate was written 'stillborn, strangled on umbilical cord.' Not only was the 5th child alive and well but he had gotten a passport with this birth certificate!
P.S. 5th child is still alive and well and I was never able to find a record of 4th child.

[mtp123]

As a Registrar just gone in to deep depression   Seriously mistakes were made but hopefully today we get it right!! Years ago  when a lot of informants were illiterate it was much more difficult.

[MrsLizzy]

Whilst I was still married, I had occasion to visit the FRC in Islington.  When I'd done my research, out of curiosity, and while trying to think if there was anything else I could usefully do, I picked up the ledger and looked up my own marriage.  I was astonished to find it was registered in the wrong name - one letter of my husband's surname was mistranscribed.  I hoisted the ledger over and showed it to them, gave them the reference etc, and said I was Mrs B and that they had it wrong.  They assured me it would be corrected but it never has.  They can't be bothered!  And I don't know if I care any more since I'm divorced now!

[MrsLizzy]

Thirty years ago I went to clerk in town where all my grandmother's children (and I) were born to try and trace the birth of the 4th? child who had died under very tragic circumstances. Clerk was very close family friend and to narrow down the possible birthdate she looked up the birth certificate for the 5th child. I'm not sure who was more shocked, her or me, to discover that on the 5th child's birth certificate was written 'stillborn, strangled on umbilical cord.' Not only was the 5th child alive and well but he had gotten a passport with this birth certificate!
P.S. 5th child is still alive and well and I was never able to find a record of 4th child.

That sounds very odd!    Presumably there is no chance that this could be a mistake and should have been applied to the missing 4th child?  There is no chance the 5th child had a twin that died at birth is there?

[aghadowey]

1st child strangled on umbilical cord at birth, 2nd & 3rd healthy, 4th child died due to faulty gas cooker. Pregnant mother & other children overcome by gas- odorless at that time- ambulance crew eventually pronounced 3rd child dead and tried to save my mother and 2nd child. My grandfather arrived home to be told news. Somehow 3rd child wasn't dead and all survived except baby (4th child).
P.S. the 3rd child is my father.