Two birth registrations for same child ..

[Elaine ..Spain]

I have a birth in 1916 which has been registered twice:
once in the mother's married surname, with her maiden name given as MMN (her husband was not the father of the child)
and a second registration under the real father's surname (her partner at the time), with the mothers maiden name again given as MMN.

They both have the same registration details and are typed entries, i.e. not added at the end of the page.
Parents never married.

What were the rules for this, if any? If parents were unmarried was it necessary to register in both parents' names?

[MyAinFolk]

If I understand correctly it's not that the birth was registered twice but that there are two entries in the index relating to a single registration (i.e. both have the same volume and page nos.) This seems to happen when a person was known by more than one name for various reasons and is found sometimes in the marriage and death indexes as well.

I'm more familiar with Scotland, and in the case of an illegitimate child (where the father is named) it is usual to find the birth indexed under both surnames. In the case of an illegitimate child born to a married woman you would find the birth indexed under all three surnames - mother's maiden name, mother's married name and father's surname. This may be because it is not clear what surname the child will take or because someone searching for the birth may search under any one of those names.

Perhaps something similar was done in England?

Kirsty

[Elaine ..Spain]

If I understand correctly it's not that the birth was registered twice but that there are two entries in the index relating to a single registration

.. yes of course, that's what I really meant! :o

I suppose I really wondered if this was the norm or was it compulsory if the father wanted his name on the birth certificate.

[margaretmarch]

I had a look at the GRO site and this is what they say

"If they aren’t married, to ensure both parents’ details are included on the birth certificate, there are several options:
*both parents can go and sign the birth register together
*if one parent cannot go to the register office, they will need to complete the statutory declaration form - the parent registering the birth should give the completed form to the registrar
*where there is a parental responsibility agreement in force or either parent has an appropriate court order, this can be presented at the time of registration

If they didn't know what to do and she went alone she would haven registered the birth and been told they have to re-register to get his details on the birth cert.

I guess what they have done in this case is lump the two processes together maybe because the man couldn't go with her but went later and no other births were registered in between so it was still on the same page.
Margaret

[Darksecretz]

that to me says that the father of the child was present at the registration, and as they were not married then, the child gets reg'd under both names.

as I understand it, if the then parents decided to marry, then, they could re register their children so they became legitimate.

[MyAinFolk]

It's an interesting question! I checked my copy of 'People Count: A history of the General Register Office' but can't find an answer. The only info regarding registering illegitimate births is that from 1874 the father's name of an illegitimate child was only inserted when the father attended before the registrar with the mother and gave information jointly with her.

Kirsty

[Elaine ..Spain]

that to me says that the father of the child was present at the registration, and as they were not married then, the child gets reg'd under both names.

That sounds logical to me!

[Olde Crone Holden]

In 1916, I don't think there was a column foir the child's surname. surname was inferred from the father's surname, but where the parents were nt married to each other, then the child might wish to use either (or neither!) surname. nowadays, you are usually asked "Whch surname will the child be known by?".

So - one certificate but two entries in the index, because it wasn't asked at the time which surname the child would use. Remember, an index is merely a finding aid and may have several cross references all leading to the same certificate.

OC

[Elaine ..Spain]

Thanks OC.
As it happens, four years later he was known by another surname when his mother remarried to someone else, possibly bigamously!
One of those families that has been interesting to research, although not always easy!!