Genealogy Chat

Siobhan....

Yes it is an England /Wales Birth cert., she was born in Westminster in 1839, the surname is quite unusual... CRITCHETT, there are no other births or deaths registered under that name at that time, so if she was a twin I don`t think i`m going to find the evidence to prove it.


Nicky

1839 was not long after civil registration began, so it could possibly be that the other twin never survived and so they didnt register the birth.

Siobhan....

thanks for your input........another job to add to my list for when I visit the Westminster Archives.


Nicky

Thinking about what Siobhan says, I've got a birth certificate from 1852 that appears to say the baby was born at 4.45 am but no twin comes up on the same index page, and I think I have an 1843 certificate with a time of birth on (although I am pretty sure this child wasn't a twin, either).

I wonder if these "odd" ones were down to the registrars not really having got to grips with the system at that point in time, and thinking that they had to record a time even when it wasn't twins? Or just an over-zealous, detail-obsessed one - perhaps there were registrars who wanted to add those details and the parents just assumed that it was necessary because an "official" asked for it?

Kate..... must admit I tend to agree ,maybe not completely sure of the system, or just one that recorded every detail they were given....what makes me think that she wasn`t a twin, is that twins tend to run in families, I know they sometimes skip a generation, but this is on my matenal side and there is not one set of twins in the family since 1839, also my gr gr grandmother had 11 children of her own ,and have not found a twin amongst them. so will bare everyones input in mind, and have a dig around when i get to see Parish records at the Westminster Archives.

Nicky