Hi Robert,
It may be that his birth was not registered, although registration began in 1837 it was not mandatory until about the 1870,s.
To be correct there was no
penalty for non-registration (within 42 days). The Act of 1836 omitted to impose any penalty for failure by the parent to register a birth, an omission which was rectified only by the Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1874 which made such failure punishable by a fine of £2.00. Registration was compulsory in the case of the Registrar. The onus was on him to collect births and deaths and he could be fined for failure to register them. In carrying out his duties the parents were
compelled, under the Act to supply the information when asked.
The registrars also had an incentive to register as they were paid for the entries viz.
for the first Twenty Entries of Births and Deaths in every Year which he shall have registered, whether the same be of Births or of Deaths indiscriminately, Two Shillings and Sixpence each, and One Shilling for every subsequent Entry of Births or Deaths in each Year. In fact two registrars were jailed for fraudulent entries. In one case births and the other births and deaths.
There are a number of cases in the early years of registration where people were taken to court and fined for refusing to supply the information to the Registrar when asked.
Stan
