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Birth Certificate (or death or marriage)
Quote from Ann Gilchrest on February 15, 2019, 7:53 pmI did notice that you used/cited the Southport Register Office and not the Wolverhampton office. My question would be does the Southport office contain transcriptions, copies or the original registers from Wolverhampton?
I ordered the certificate from the General Register Office. On their website - https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/ - they state "The General Register Office is part of Her Majesty's Passport Office and oversees civil registration in England and Wales. We maintain the national archive of all births, marriages and deaths dating back to 1837 and further information on our services can be found using the links shown below."
So whilst the birth was originally registered in Wolverhampton, which at that time was in the County of Staffordshire but is now in the County of West Midlands, it appears that everything is managed by the GRO. I don't know if the GRO maintaining the archives means they are all located at the Southport office OR whether they are still in each county.
When I was in England back in 2007 the original registers were in the local registration office and each quarter a duplicate copy was/is forwarded to the GRO. You may be able to contact your local office to find out if the procedure is still the same. I would be interested in knowing.
Megan, I don't know if the registrars in England still use an actual register for BMD's or if there is a single certificate like what is now issued in the US. Part of our evaluation of a document is to understand how it was created. I do know that the ones I have, were originally entered into a register style book in the local office then those books were duplicated quarterly and sent to the GRO with the original book remaining in the local office.
I did post a question on the Yorkshire Facebook page asking if this is still the practice.
Quote from Ann Gilchrest on February 16, 2019, 2:04 amWhen I was in England back in 2007 the original registers were in the local registration office and each quarter a duplicate copy was/is forwarded to the GRO. You may be able to contact your local office to find out if the procedure is still the same. I would be interested in knowing.
I would have to email and find out. I was born in England but we moved to Australia when I was a toddler as mum wanted to return home. I could contact my cousins and ask them if they know.
Megan, is the "certificate" you received a copy of the register page or a transcription?
Quote from Ann Gilchrest on February 16, 2019, 2:43 amMegan, is the "certificate" you received a copy of the register page or a transcription?
It's like your second example.
Given the date, yours has been transcribed from the original register entry. I am trying to find my links for Wolverhampton as I have had some research done there. On one of the UK websites is the following:
1. Events recorded in England and Wales
| Record held | Explanation | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Birth and death records | A record of all births and deaths recorded | July 1837 to 6 months prior to the present date |
This is implying to me that the originals are still held in the local offices and are forwarded every 6 months.
Megan, I found one of the links https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/civreg/
On the page is the following:
"You can also get copies of certificates from the local District Register Office now covering the registration district in which the event was originally recorded. The charge may vary from office to office but should be broadly the same as from the GRO (above), check with the local Register Office concerned. The disadvantage is that the local offices maintain their own indexes and so the GRO index reference is no good to them. Addresses of local Register Offices can be found on English and Welsh Register Offices, or in the appropriate telephone directory under Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths. Details are also available of Registration Districts In England And Wales (1837-1930)"
If you ordered the certificate directly from the Wolverhampton office you MAY get a copy of the actual register entry. Even though the GRO index is not strictly followed by the local offices it will give you enough information to point the local office to the correct register.
Given that the "certificate" came from the GRO my citation would be:
Wolverhampton, England, birth register, vol. 6b, p. 655, [entry no. if you have it], transcribed entry, Dorcus Stokes, born 19 November 1898; General Records Office, Southport. England, UK.
Ann, thank you so much for the valuable input. I definitely have a lot of food for though. Some of the ones from GRO I am getting under the PDF Pilot and they look like your first example. So maybe they have photocopies of the original register they are using OR maybe they contact the local office to photocopy the original register.
