birth, marrige and death certs

[tezzer]

Did certificates for births marriages and deaths always get given to the people concerned during the 1800s and early 1900s or are the certs we receive for each of the events now, a relatively modern thing. If they did would they all have been a standard format? I just wondered if these old records would have been around in houses??, or if they where only records kept by the authorities? the church and the state??   

[fastfusion]

this is a topic for which many will reply ......  since 1837 the rules for certs changed considerably......
one example of this was found on an army file of one of my kin whereas he was discharged for not having his birth certificate or any school certificates. It was odd because nobody had bothered to ask him 20 years prior when he joined the army.....

then another example is that one could not get buried without a certificate, whereas in earlier times a person could swear out an avadivit and the soul would be buried in their woolens...

usually marriages required a cooling period ie the banns,so that some moderate checking could be done to see if both parties were able to get married in the first instance..... or the licence was issued by the diocesan bishop etc etc etc....

of the last few years  my family who have moved considerably unearthed a box of certificates dating back to the 1880s of various kin so yes they did keep them and some do end up in divorce or probate files of the courts or where evers.....  part of rootschat does have unwanted certificates that people have acquired for one reason or another, but generally after a person died personal papers to some extent were distroyed so stop or minimise fraud.......      there are a million tales in the naked city .... and i guess every person could tell you a little different as to heirlooms such as certificates...

[CaroleW]

Birth/marriage and death certificates were introduced on 1.7.1837 which is the date Civil Registration came into force.  However - failure to register a birth only became a fineable offence in 1874/5.

You may not always find a birth cert pre-1874. 

The format of death certs changed in 1969 to include date of birth/maiden name etc but birth and marriage certs are pretty much as they were years ago

[dawnsh]

I have a small collection of original birth and marriage certificates found during house clearances when relatives have died.

Some of the birth certs are what is now known as a short form cert as no parents are shown just the birth name, date of birth and registration district.

[Galium]

In the case of birth certificates, the short form would be given by the registrar at registration, but anyone who wanted a copy of the register entry with all the details would have to pay - so consequently not everybody had a full certificate in their possession.

[tezzer]

As always im surprised at the amount of information you guys have thanks for your reply's

[Plummiegirl]

I only ever had a short certificate, until a few years ago (I am 61).  Parents just could not afford the full certificate when I was born.

I also have my paternal grandmothers short certificate too, for same financial reasons.