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England & Wales, Birth Index, 1837-2005



Source Information

  • Title England & Wales, Birth Index, 1837-2005 
    Publisher MyHeritage 
    Source ID S500065 
    Text Civil registration — the government recording of births, marriages, and deaths — began in England and Wales on 1 July 1837. Local registration districts had jurisdiction for recording civil events, but were required to send copies of their records each quarter to the General Register Office (GRO) in London. The GRO created indexes to these records which are organized by event, year, and quarter, and thereunder alphabetically by surname.Information included in the index changed over the years. From inception up to June 1911, the birth index lists: name of child, registration district, and reference information (volume and page numbers). Since September 1911 the index also includes the mother’s maiden surname.Information provided in the index can be used to order a copy of the person’s birth certificate for a fee from the GRO through their Certificate Ordering Service. Depending on the year, full birth certificates may provide: name of child, birth date, birthplace, sex, father’s name and occupation, mother’s maiden name, informant’s name, residence, and relationship to the child, and date of registration.Note: For years where images of the index are available, be sure to consult the image to verify the information presented to you. Sometimes errors happen during the transcription process. For example, a "5" may have inadvertently been transcribed as a "3". Since there is a fee for ordering certificate copies from the GRO, it is especially important to make sure all reference numbers are correct before placing an order.Search tip: Compliance with registration laws have always been very good. It is estimated that initially about 90-95% of births were reported, but that by 1875 registration was 99%. Since nearly all births were reported, if you are having trouble finding someone in the index, try searching using various given names or initials. In later years, searching on the combination of child’s surname and mother’s maiden name (if known), may also help locate difficult-to-find individuals. If an individual can still not be found, especially in earlier years, try searching local parish records for the child’s baptismal record. 
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