ARC TBC - David HENRY b1862

[AndrewA]

I am trying to find any record, including birth certificate details of David HENRY b1862 prior to 1878 when he joined The Royal Navy.
I have in my posesssion his service record and certifcate sheet, a superb document.

States his birth was 17th March 1862
Parish - Aberdeen
County- Aberdeenshire
Usual place of residence - Dundee.
Religious denomination - Roman Catholic.

Married in 1888 to Ann Alice (WINGATE) b1862.
Marriage certificate states David's fathers name is also David Henry deceased occupation Confectioner.

Let the search commence!
Thanks!

[rogerneilson]

If born in Scotland then statutory registration is from 1855 so you should be able to find him there.

Maybe someone who visits the centre will have a look for you.

Roger

[Jimmy]

Could this be a Baptism for him.

From Ancestry.
Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950 about David Henry.
Name: David Henry.
Gender: Male.
Birth Date: 14 Jun 1861.
Birth Place: Old Machar,Aberdeen,Scotland.
Father: David Henry.
Mother: Jane Anderson Or Smith.
FHL Film Number: 6035516.

[AndrewA]

Could be, but that is a year out.

Could be he got his age wrong, but if he left school to join Navy, then he should have his correct age from school. If it was year out the other way then I would understand that to be lying about age to join, but its not.

[AndrewA]

OK here are a few more details and it is rather confusing.

The date of Birth, 17 March 1862 was obtained from his certificate of service.

1881 census - HMS Northampton
His service certificate shows that he was on HMS Northampton for the 1881 Census. The census records have only one David Henry on the aforementioned ship, where his age upon previous birthday is listed as 20, this would indeed give his birth as 1861.

Other Census entries.
Subsequent census entries give his age as, 29,39,49 etc, which would tie in with the March 62 birth.

Marriage certificate.
I have his original marriage certificate as well, which lists his marriage as 27th Nov 1888, with his age as being 27, which places him his birth well and truely in 1861.

His father is listed as deceased and occupation a confectioner.

The Entry for 14 Jun 1861
After re-evaluating this information I tracked down the entry on Scotland's People and paid 5 credits to view it. this is the only entry for a david henry born in Aberdeenshire with father David, for 1861 and 1862.

David HENRY, Born 14 June 1861, 7.15am, 103 Skene Street Aberdeen.

Parents Details
David Henry Confectioner Journeyman
Jane Henry formerly Smith
M S Anderson
married 1856 May 2nd Aberdeen.

Conclusion:
HELP! I have a headache, but this appeals to my logical thinking.

Obviously we can say 100% for certain that the Certificate of Service is for David Henry, this is the original document handed down through the family, along with other documents.

A serious issue we now have is the date of birth on this document, 17th Mar 1862. A huge question mark hangs over this, surely his service document carried through his life would not have such an error in date of birth? surely it would have been corrected at some point?

This now conflicts with the census entry for HMS Northampton in 1881 along with strong evidence in form of the marriage certificate, stating that Henry was 27 in November 1888. Further the entry on the marriage certificate along with the entry for the David HENRY 1861 record, both show father as confectioner, is this too much to be a co-incidence?

Subsequent census entries lists him as 29,39 etc. If he was born in March 1862, these ages would be correct, however they are also correct if he was born in June 1861.... not much help there.



Nothing is simple.. however this is another example I have that I can use to show people that family research is not as simple as the adverts make out.

[AndrewA]

I think I have a very plausable theory about the date of birth discrepancy. He lied about his age... Normally one lies about age to be older, but this lie is to be younger. Here is the document,



Notice the ink blot, now faded, which has obscured the inches. when I split channels the contrast is enough to show what was written underneath.



He was only 5 foot tall, so what you say, well here is an extract from a recruiting booklet for the Royal Navy printed in 1900.



now what if the height restrictions had changed prior to Henry joining? I am trying to locate something a bit nearer, but even from the 1900 booklet, you can see he is only just scraping in the height restrictions, being 8 months younger makes a lot of difference to the height limits.

[AndrewA]

I think this can be archived now, or merged at start of the other thread.
Thanks

[rogerneilson]

Will archive in a while, but I think its worth leaving on display to show how deviously you sometimes have to think!

Roger

[BC Wench]

Is this still a Brickwall, or have you solved it?

Unless otherwise advised this will be moved to the Brickwalls Archived section
within 24 hours