Genealogy Chat

My great uncle has told me that his grandfather Frederick James Chipperton was born 29 feb 1857. His sister thinks that there is no birth certificate and tells that when he applied for an old age pension they just assumed that his age was correct. I did not believe this but cannot now find a record of it myself on 1837 site. Does anyone have any ideas? Was it common for births not to be registered? Any help gratefully received. Thanks Alison

Are you sure about the date? 1857 was not a Leap Year so there would not have been a 29th February that year. Pat, Frome, Somerset

Alison, Have you found him in the 1881 and 1901 census. What age is he there? Crista

Was Frederick a man of the sea? If so there is a Frederick J Chipperton aged 26 (born 1865) in the Royal Navy but not on board ship in the 1891 census. In the 1881 census he was also in the Royal Navy aged 17 as a "Boy 2nd Class" on HMS St Vincent. Could this be him? Gary

Thanks for all your help folks. This website is certainly very good and i will check out the source of the DOB to try and see where he got it from. I think that he was a man of the sea ecause at some point he joined the BUFFs so maybe this is him. Thanks again, Alison

Alison Although he was born in February, his birth may not have been registered for a number of weeks, in which case he will be shown in the April quarter of that year. Just a thought, since I have made that mistake myself.

Thanks folks, I have tried all possible routes and suggestions that i can think of but to no avail - perhaps his birth was just never recorded. Funniloy enough i am now having trouble tracking his death and burial in Melbourne too. He sure is a tricky customer! Alison

Actually the sailor was Frederick Thomas Chipperton (birth registered 1864 Oct-Dec) -- Ancestry have mistranscribed the T as a J. Looks like he's got a son Frederick in 1901, who looks like the Frederick James J who shows up on FreeBMD 1891 Sep If your guy isn't the sailor, then his birth cert isn't the only thing missing, he's nowhere to be found in 1881 or 1901 either. So it's like there are 2 Fred Chippertons (a name that's as rare as hen's teeth), and one of them pops up everywhere you look (even gets shown 3 times in the 1881!) and the other one is permanently invisible. This is getting a bit far-fetched. In the 1860s, if a child died, and many still did, it was still common practice to re-use the name for a later child. Is it possible there was a Frederick James who died and then a brother called Frederick Thomas who was actually your ancestor?

I think it is odd too Robin so i asked my great uncle again. This is what he said: My father was born on 20th February 1886 as the only child of Frederick Chipperton born on 29th February 1857 (I agree there is something wrong here!) My grandfather enlisted in the 45th Brigade (The Buffs) (with whom I have been in touch to no avail) on 5th October 1876 and was discharged from the lbn East Kent Regt. with rank of Coporal. According to his paybook which is stll extant, he had a brother Charles and a sister Jane - neither can be traced. on 3rd August 1884 he married Mary Ann Cooper and gave as his residence 12 Little Barlow Street Marylebone (bombed and redeveloped) My grandfather, his wife and my father (then about three years old ) emigrated to Melbourne (Australia) where he died on 3rd December 1894 said to be aged 42 on his death cert. but probaly only 37. My grandmother returned to the UK and settled in London. She died in at 59 Maple Road, Penge, Lewisham on 2 October 1897 All this sounds convincing so i really do not know where to go next! Any more suggestions anyone! Alison

Well that explains why he's invisible in 1881 (in the Buffs) 1891 (in Australia) and 1901 (in a better place). Wasn't expecting this to work, IGI coverage normally fades out before the 1850s, but I tried IGI as a last resort, and it's got the baptism. Birth 29 Feb 1852 not 1857 (better!) But still no matching entry in the GRO index, so it looks like they really didn't register the birth

Thanks everyone for following this story and offering suggestions. I wonder if there is an Aussie census online that i can access. Perhaps i had better launch a new message that asks our Australian friends. First i will Google! Alison

Bingo - found a record of their arrival in Australia on http://proarchives.imagineering.com.au/index_search_results.asp the Unassisted Shipping Index. Thank goodness - i was beginning to think that they were ghosts! Index of Inward Passenger Lists for British and Foreign Ports 1852-1899 Family Name First Name Age Month Year Ship Port Fiche Page: CHIPPERTON FRED 34 DEC 1886 ELLORA B 475 1 CHIPPERTON MARY 32 DEC 1886 ELLORA B 475 1 There is hope for us all!

Bad news i think. I found this on a website just now: 1854: 26 Apr census destroyed 1857: 29 Mar census destroyed 1861: 7 Apr census destroyed 1871: 2 Apr census destroyed 1881: 3 Apr census destroyed 1891: 5 Apr census destroyed 1901: 31 Mar census destroyed Apparently there was no call for them to be kept! What a tragedy! Alison :((

Thanks Amanda They sailed into Melbourne and Fred was buried there. I have asked one person in Australia to see what they can find out but no reply as yet. I'm keeping everything crossed! Alison x

Amanda you're a diamond! Any help that you can get would be very gratefully received. I've said it before and i'll say it again: GC people are the GREATEST! Alison x

Thanks again Amanda, I wait with baited breathe to see if anything can be found! Alison x

If Jane Austen is following this thread there will soon be a new Classic! I hope you find him. Please keep us updated, your story is fascinating. Jim

Let's hope this classic has a happy ending! Alison

I've had the same problem. Have record of marriage and traced the parents' marriage and the recorded birth of their elder child but not the one I am interested in. I plan to visit the parish soon to see if I can trace him that way.

Hi i'm back with another update! I have just found a record of Frederick's marriage on 1837 and sent off for the certificate. Hopefully that will give me a lead on his parents and therefore another generation back! Alison