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Registration of birth by declaration

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  • Registration of birth by declaration

    I am helping someone with their tree and have obtained her father's birth certificate which shows his mother registered the birth 'by declaration' - she was living in Paddington by then but the birth took place in Rugby, she was just about to run out of time. The certificate is indexed in the Rugby District.

    The declaration was noted as made the day before the registration took place and later that day she gave the boy up for informal adoption to her sister. This was 1913.

    I understand that the declaration is likely to have been because she was no longer in the district where the birth took place but would like to check and wonder if the declaration was a written document and if they were kept and if so where.

    Does anyone know please?

    Margaret

  • #2
    By declaration would have been a written document and it is the device whereby someone can register a birth by going to a registrar not in the district where the birth took place.

    I don't know if the declarations are kept but if they are I would doubt the public would have access to them because they are in effect "inter-departmental memos" between one registrar and another. There wouldn't be any useful (to you) information on it.

    I don't know of any other reason for registering a birth by declaration, other than the person making the declaration not being able to attend the correct Registrar's office. An unmarried father, a serving soldier perhaps, could make a declaration, saying he wished his name to be on the certificate but that is a different scenario I think, although the principle is the same. (He couldn't physically attend the registrar's office).

    OC

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    • #3
      Originally posted by Olde Crone Holden View Post
      By declaration would have been a written document and it is the device whereby someone can register a birth by going to a registrar not in the district where the birth took place.

      I don't know if the declarations are kept but if they are I would doubt the public would have access to them because they are in effect "inter-departmental memos" between one registrar and another. There wouldn't be any useful (to you) information on it.

      I don't know of any other reason for registering a birth by declaration, other than the person making the declaration not being able to attend the correct Registrar's office. An unmarried father, a serving soldier perhaps, could make a declaration, saying he wished his name to be on the certificate but that is a different scenario I think, although the principle is the same. (He couldn't physically attend the registrar's office).

      OC
      Thanks OC I thought you might know

      I was vainly hoping that the declaration might include some information about the circumstances of the birth.

      It seems that the mother said she was married and that the father of the child was deceased. I rather think it was actually an illegitimate birth as she came from Banbury, had the baby in Rugby and then went straight to Paddington, near to where her married sister lived. The family story is that she was neglecting the child and so had to give it up to her sister to avoid prosecution.

      Thanks for clarifying the declaration bit.

      Margaret

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      • #4
        No, the declaration is just a device to register a birth. The Registrar is not interested in any circumstances surrounding the birth nor what happens to the child afterwards, except in his official capacity - so would not be professionally interested in neglect etc.

        OC

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        • #5
          Thanks OC.
          The person I am helping was unaware her father was adopted until one day he visited and showed her a document which covered the adoption and reasons for it and luckily she remembered the birth name and the fact of the sister relationship because when he died her mother must have thrown the document away as of no further use so when they came to clear mother's things it was not amongst them.
          We have the birth cert now having used her recall to pinpoint it in the index so at least we can confirm one bit of the story.
          Margaret

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          • #6
            Margaret

            As legal adoption didn't start until 1927, I imagine the adoption "document" must have been a private arrangement, possibly aided and abetted by a welfare organisation such as Barnardoes or even the workhouse authorities but unless you knew which, it would be nigh on impossible to find, I would think.

            OC

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Olde Crone Holden View Post
              Margaret

              As legal adoption didn't start until 1927, I imagine the adoption "document" must have been a private arrangement, possibly aided and abetted by a welfare organisation such as Barnardoes or even the workhouse authorities but unless you knew which, it would be nigh on impossible to find, I would think.

              OC
              Thanks for your thoughts on this.

              The child was only 3 months old and the story is the mother was neglecting him and so the police? were going to prosecute her and to save this happening the married sister took him on and renamed him as hers. I think it's right that the document was an informal one but possibly drawn up by a notary or somesuch to make it legally binding. The recollection is that the document was handwritten but included the birth name, date and place and some of the details but the significance of it was not noted at the time and of course it was thought it would have been retained with other family papers.

              The address from which the birth was registered was a boarding house so I can't think a Workhouse would be involved unless she was about to be sent there. Maybe Barnardos were involved but I guess they would not keep a record in any event.

              I think I will close the door on this one and concentrate on finding some facts!

              I already have a London Electoral Roll which shows the two sisters living at the same address in 1924 when the boy was 11 years old so he must have known his mother but thought she was his aunt.

              Margaret

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              • #8
                I think you may find Banardo's do have information if they happened to be involved even back to the date ( pre legal adoption). I helped someone a few years back with an 'adopted' ancestor at the turn of the century 1902 and Banardo's were very helpful, sent copies of letters they had, date and information about condition on 'entry' and 'exit' and the 'story' as they knew it.
                Foxyloxy

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by foxyloxy View Post
                  I think you may find Banardo's do have information if they happened to be involved even back to the date ( pre legal adoption). I helped someone a few years back with an 'adopted' ancestor at the turn of the century 1902 and Banardo's were very helpful, sent copies of letters they had, date and information about condition on 'entry' and 'exit' and the 'story' as they knew it.
                  Thanks. My only doubt is that the child was not ever admitted to Barnados, he was always with his mother and passed straight to the sister when she couldn't cope. But it might be worth an enquiry to them to rule it out.

                  Margaret

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                  • #10
                    Yes, police were very possibly involved as they were usually the authority to which concerned neighbours turned first. They would in turn have involved a welfare organisation, such as the workhouse authorities or one of the children's charities.

                    I think the police were much more proactive in those days as they frequently picked up "out of parental control" boys on the street and gave them the alternatives of prosecution or going into the Army etc.

                    OC

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Olde Crone Holden View Post
                      Yes, police were very possibly involved as they were usually the authority to which concerned neighbours turned first. They would in turn have involved a welfare organisation, such as the workhouse authorities or one of the children's charities.

                      I think the police were much more proactive in those days as they frequently picked up "out of parental control" boys on the street and gave them the alternatives of prosecution or going into the Army etc.

                      OC
                      Thanks. Given the fact that the police are sidelined by social services these days I wasn't sure how involved they might have been in those days but I agree that they would have been perhaps the first place for people to go to for reporting this sort of thing - the other was NSPCC but I didn't know when they might have come into being.

                      Margaret

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                      • #12
                        http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/communityandl...ingabirth.aspx Yes this explains it.....Edna

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by clematised View Post
                          Thanks Edna. Funnily enough I had found that - it came up on a google search ahead of directgov which has everything about registrations on it!

                          Margaret

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