no christian name

[margaretmccue]

Hi again I wonder if anyone can tell me what the following means,
my grandfather had a sister born late dec 1869, with no christian name
the certificate reads as follows. 1/1/1870 Anderson ,  statutory births 718/00 0001] mother Jane Anderson MS Gordon father William Anderson married 1855 july 21st child born Prestonpans, they had quite a few children. and this one was amongs them, would this be a still birth, and would,nt they have named the child, I find this odd, does anyone eles have something like this, thanks in advance,
Margaret

[LesleyB]

Hi Margaret
Have you checked for a death for the child?
Does a girl of the right age turn up in the 1871 census?

As far as I'm aware still births were not registered as births until well into the 20th century. I think it was 1939 when the registration of still births was required by the Registration of Still-Births (Scotland) Act.
Best wishes
Lesley

[emanday]

I found a similar birth registration and immediately searched for a death for around the same period.

Right enough, it was there, as the child had died at only a few hours old but, having drawn breath, both a birth and death had to be registered.

Must be heartbreaking doing both things at the same time.

[Anne H]

Hi Margaret,

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I got one of those for 1895 a few weeks and wondered if it meant "name blank Scotlands People...who knows!

Since this wasn't one of mine, I checked the 1901 census just to see what would come up and found the family with a "Martha" born about 1896. Since it isn't one of mine, I haven't checked any further, did you give the census records a try?

I just checked the 1871 census and William and Jane had a son James 2 months old at time of the census but no daughter. Other children, Ann, George, Mary and William...any of them ring a bell?

Regards,
Anne H

[AndrewP]

Hi Margaret,

&nbsp

I got one of those for 1895 a few weeks and wondered if it meant "name blank Scotlands People...who knows!

Hi Anne,

Sorry to disappoint you.   is HTML for non-breaking space. It is normally used where you want a series of spaces to appear within text on a webpage. HTML changes a series of normal spaces into one space. So using a series of   you achieve a series of spaces, seen as a long space.

All the best,

AndrewP

[Anne H]

Hi Andrew,

Just goes to show how much I don't know about website talk but my little "explanation of the letters" was all I could come up with


Anne H

[cadmium]

I know that as late as the 1950s/60s still-borns weren't permitted a name on the birth certificate, and parents also weren't allowed to bury them with family.

[eilthireach]

Actually, it doesn't imply anything more than the fact that the parents had not chosen a name for the child by the time of registration. Yes, in some cases, you may find that the child dies and there is a corresponding entry for the death. Ultimately, however, registration of the birth is what matters, not the fact that you have chosen a name for the child. The law is that you must register the birth. Full stop. The law does not require you to have chosen a name for the child within the time allowed for registration.
I have come across many such cases over the years, and, those of you who have looked at census returns may remember having come across families with an infant weeks old and still, apparently, not named!

[Rockford]

In the 1861 English Census, I've got my Scottish ggg grandad living with his family in Islington, with a four year old girl listed as 'Baby' Gregory. Two sons were born after her, both of whom have first names (including my gg grandad who was only months old), as do her older brothers and sisters.

I don't know if this just means that she was referred to as the Bairn (like the Broons!) or whether they couldn't decide!

Best wishes

Brian

[margaretmccue]

Hi again, thanks for your replies, found death cert for. anderson baby, she lived 12 days, still no name, however you did help with a name I didnt have, Mary aged 16, which meant she was their first born,
thanks again for your help bye for now Margaret.