What does it mean to not register a birth (circa 1845 Essex)

[BePauline]

We've been trying to find the father of some children born around 1845  to one woman in Essex. The parish records do not give the fathers name, they just give the mothers name (her married name -but we think her husband had died) and do not say the children were 'bastards'.

And the mother didn't register the births!!!

Does anyone know what this could imply (she had money, so wasn't poor) ?

Does anyone know how she could get away with not registering the births?

Any clues as to what this could mean, or how to look further would be greatly welcomed.

[ScouseBoy]

At that date,  maybe it was  the responsibility  of the registrar    to locate  the mother and the births.

[..claire..]

Even though civil registration was introduced in 1837, it wasn't until 1874 that registration of a birth became compulsory. It was said that the act was not fully understood and people genuinely thought that to have a child baptised was to register that child. The 1874 Act made registration compulsory within a 6 week period and imposed a fine if a child was not registered.

claire

[BePauline]

Good to know about the date registration became compulsory. As she did register one child (with her husband, when we assume he was alive) I reckon she just didn't bother to register the subsequent children to avoid answering difficult questions.

If anyone has any tips on how we can search further, it would be good to know.

[groom]

As Claire said a lot of people thought baptism was the same as registration and it wasn't until 1874 when fines were introduced that almost all births were registered. I'm afraid that as the father's name isn't on the baptism that is going to make it much harder to find out who it was. Do the children's names give any clues, often the father's surname was used as a middle name?

[jonwarrn]

Sophia in Takeley? Did you eliminate the Walters birth registrations in Dunmow?
William, March 1843
James, March 1845
Thomas, Sep 1848
Also death of a Robert Walters in Dec 1840.

[barryd]

It is possible she was too weary to go to the Registry Office. By herself with a baby!
Not that this applies to her but I would imagine that there were some Irish people in England who did not register their children as it did not exist in Ireland until later. Same with Scottish people before 1855 living in England  I suppose.

[BePauline]

Yes jonw65, it is indeed Sophia Valters. Being a relatively wealthy woman with many siblings around, I doubt that tiredness was the reason she didn't register these births.

Her husband, (whose death we can't find) was, we think, the servant to a wealthy family from Northmaptonshire who spent the summer season in London (with servants following them). We were wondering if her husband died and she became the lover of rich person who could bend birth registration rules. But as such registration wasn't compulsory, then no rules were bent.

Hadn't thought of looking for Roberts death record (although she didn't register his birth).  Perhaps she couldn't get away with not registering that, but would it have the fathers name on?

[groom]

Deaths had to be registered before burial, so if he died there would be a certificate, but probably wouldn't have his father's name on it.

Don't read too much into the fact the births weren't registered, lots of us have similar cases around that time.