I have come across intriguing birth and death entries for a child who died after only five hours. The date of birth on the birth entry is 12 December 1882 8h 0m PM and was registered on 27 December 1882 by her father. The death entry gives the date of death as 27 December 1882 1h 0m AM and again registered by her father on the 27 December 1882. The cause of death is premature birth 5 hours. I have access to the burial records for the cemetery in which h she is interred and the date of internment is the 27th. Clearly impossible but why? Did the registrar mishear the father? Did the registrar write down the wrong date? Who knows.
Eric
Intriguing birth and death entries
Moderators: Global Moderators, Pandabean
-
carlineric
- Posts: 135
- Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2009 9:29 pm
- Location: West Lothian, Scotland
-
paddyscar
- Site Admin
- Posts: 2418
- Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2005 7:56 pm
- Location: Ontario, Canada
Re: Intriguing birth and death entries
Hi Eric:
It may be the child was born on Dec. 12 and died 5 hours later as described, but the date of death may have been recorded in error coming out of confusion of a bereaved father.
Can you determine if there was a funeral/record of death with a church? Catholic records are online at ScotlandsPeople.
Frances
It may be the child was born on Dec. 12 and died 5 hours later as described, but the date of death may have been recorded in error coming out of confusion of a bereaved father.
Can you determine if there was a funeral/record of death with a church? Catholic records are online at ScotlandsPeople.
Frances
John Kelly (b 22 Sep 1897) eldest child of John Kelly & Christina Lipsett Kelly of Glasgow
-
trish1
- Posts: 1320
- Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2005 3:38 am
- Location: australia
Re: Intriguing birth and death entries
It could be the child was born at 8pm on 26th and died at 1am on 27th - buried later the same day - and registered later the same day.
I'm trying to think of a scene wherein the 26th could be misinterpreted as the 12th by the registrar - without much luck - but this one error would fit the situation.
Trish
I'm trying to think of a scene wherein the 26th could be misinterpreted as the 12th by the registrar - without much luck - but this one error would fit the situation.
Trish
-
carlineric
- Posts: 135
- Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2009 9:29 pm
- Location: West Lothian, Scotland
Re: Intriguing birth and death entries
Hi
Trish I think you are correct about the 26th and I have a possible scenario involving a helpful registrar who broke the rules which could explain the mix up of dates. Frances I think the only record of the burial would be in the burial records of which I have a transcription done by the local family history society. I might get in touch with the council in question and check the details are correct (never trust transcriptions) although the date of internment agrees with date of death and there is a note that she was 1 day old. Unfortunately the date of death is not shown in the register at this time, only the date of internment.
One thing I did notice about the page on which the birth entry was entered that the next entry also had a date of birth of the twelfth also and was registered on the twenty eighth. This leads me to a possible scenario. Knowing the geography of the village in question it is likely that the father would have had to pass the registrar's on his way to the cemetery. Can you imagine the father walking into the registrar's with the coffin and asking to register the birth and death of his daughter. The helpful registrar fills in the death entry fully to allow the father to arrange the burial and just asks the father to sign the birth register and (against the rules but understandable) he would fill in the details later. The registrar either accompanied the father to the cemetery (maybe they were friends) or was distracted and did not complete the entry until after he had entered the entry the next day and simply entered the same date in error.
Thanks Eric
Trish I think you are correct about the 26th and I have a possible scenario involving a helpful registrar who broke the rules which could explain the mix up of dates. Frances I think the only record of the burial would be in the burial records of which I have a transcription done by the local family history society. I might get in touch with the council in question and check the details are correct (never trust transcriptions) although the date of internment agrees with date of death and there is a note that she was 1 day old. Unfortunately the date of death is not shown in the register at this time, only the date of internment.
One thing I did notice about the page on which the birth entry was entered that the next entry also had a date of birth of the twelfth also and was registered on the twenty eighth. This leads me to a possible scenario. Knowing the geography of the village in question it is likely that the father would have had to pass the registrar's on his way to the cemetery. Can you imagine the father walking into the registrar's with the coffin and asking to register the birth and death of his daughter. The helpful registrar fills in the death entry fully to allow the father to arrange the burial and just asks the father to sign the birth register and (against the rules but understandable) he would fill in the details later. The registrar either accompanied the father to the cemetery (maybe they were friends) or was distracted and did not complete the entry until after he had entered the entry the next day and simply entered the same date in error.
Thanks Eric
Eric