Genealogy Forum UK

Was it possible for people to register a birth twice in an attempt to cover up the fact that a child was illegitimate as the parents weren't married, then get two birth certificates, one with the real 'legal' name (unmarried mothers surname) and one with the fathers surname? Robert Wright and Esther Ann Wilby nee Walton had 5 children between 1921 and 1928. They could not marry as Esther Ann was still married to a William Wilby whom she had left. I have found records for all 5 births, the first two were registered as Wright - Wilby...but...the last three appear in the registers as follows, as seperate entries, but with the same GRO reference numbers, the same mothers maiden name, and on the same page !!!

James Robert Wilby, Bramley, Sep 1923, 9b 376 mmn Walton
James Robert Wright, Bramley, Sep 1923, 9b 376 mmn Walton

Ivy Wilby, Bramley, Dec 1926, 9b 359, mmn Walton
Ivy Wright, Bramley, Dec 1926, 9b 359, mmn Walton

Albert Wilby, Bramley, Sep 1928, 9b 380, mmn Walton
Albert Wright, Bramley, Sep 1928, 9b 380, mmn Walton

I have double checked these on ancestry and free bmd and am now stumped, do i order 6 certificates or do you think as i do that these 6 entries refer to only 3 people. The last one, my great uncle Albert, is still alive and well and can confirm the names of his siblings, but i don't think he's aware at all that his birth may also have been registerd as Albert Wilby...help please, cant go any further until this is sorted.

I agree that they must be 3 babies who were entered twice. The BMD indexes are just a way to find the certificate so I suppose if the certifcates were ambiguous about which surname the baby was registered under then they may have been entered twice to make sure that the certificate could be found again.
Why don't you email the reg office (I think it is Leeds now) and ask them just to be sure?


The Register Office, Leeds Town Hall, The Headrow, Leeds, LS1 3AD.
Tel: 0113 224 3622.
E-mail: register.office@leeds.gov.uk

Thanks for that, i will email the regsitry office now and check with them, i don't really want to order 6 certs from the GRO if i can avoid it

How odd, will be interesting to see the outcome.
Jo

In 1926 the Legitimacy Act came into effect.

This allowed you to have certificates re-issued with the "missing" father or a change in surname if you wished.

These are easy to spot on the index as there is usually a hand written note to point to the re-issued certificate.

Also, if you order the re-issued certificate the birth year and quarter will be whenever it was re-issued and it will have a "Re-registered under the Legitimacy Act 1926" written on it.

In this case it looks like they simply registered the children twice.

I have seen that quite a bit in Australia but they put an R next to the index number.

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

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