Genealogy
with David W Weatherill

Registry Index Issues

I have received a number of requests for assistance in locating ancestors/family members in the births, deaths and marriages [BDM] indexes of the Victorian Registry where the person could not locate them and thought I would pick up a couple of the areas in this article. Just a reminder that the Victorian Registry of BDM has their indexes out on 6 CDs. The range is as follows:
• Pioneers Index [1836-1888] -B,D & M.
• Federation Index [1889-1901] – B,D & M.
• Edwardian Index [1902-1913] – B, D & M.
• Great War Index [1914-1920] – B, D & M.
• Marriage Index [1921-1943]
• Death Index [1921-1985]
What has to be kept in mind is that these are registration indexes, not event date indexes. That is, the data is listed by year that the event was indexed. What people using the indexes have noted is that "I know the event took place in 1902, but it is not listed in 1902. Did the birth really happen? Why can’t I locate it?"

I would like to pick up some of these issues with the following examples:

a). I was looking for the birth of Ian MacDonald, born 27th January, 1900. I looked at the Ian Mc/MacDonald’s born in 1900, but no listing. I looked in 1899 and 1901, but still no listing so I extended the search by not looking at year. I found my Ian MacDonald in the 1905 Indexes. It was for Ian Grant MacDonald, born 27th January, 1900, but his father only registered his birth in 1905, paying a late registration fee as prescribed by law. Also I was only after what I thought was an Ian MacDonald and it turned out from the certificate he was registered as Ian Grant MacDonald.. So it is important to check other years outside of the one you believe is correct. Also check both Mc and Mac starts to family names.

b). Keep in mind that if the event took place late in December of the year there is a good chance it was not registered until early the next year. It rested when the person came in to register the event and when the Deputy Register wrote up the event and forwarded the certificate to the Registry.

c). If you cannot find a birth for the family name you have, then run a check using the mother’s maiden name only. In some cases the birth was only registered with the mother’s name and no father’s name. This could be from issues like not suppling the father’s name, to not knowing it, or to the mother deciding to only use her name. Also the issue of no marriage comes into this.

d). The event is listed later in the indexes but it is noted as a replacement registration. This could come about due to an adoption, fostering, or perhaps the mother deciding to change the registration once a marriage took place (after the event) to the name of the family name of the husband. So you need to check by the mother’s name. It may also not be possible to get the certificate for the original birth, as the replacement one took its place. What the person wanted was a new certificate for the event to show the "new" name/s.

e). The first names you are after do not match what you have found in the index and you believe it is the correct person. Many people either change their first names in later life or were known by different ones. In a family history one family member was always known as "Meg" and the death certificate had her as this; but she was born and registered as Elizabeth Martha. Information on the certificates usually identify the parents and place of birth, so you can see it is the correct person after all. Also some add names in later years, ie born as Jane, but called herself Sarah Ann Jane in later life.

f). What names that are listed in the index does not match the names on the certificate when you get it. This could come about because the indexes are written up by someone after the certificates have been produced and sent to the Registry, and the writing on the certificate might be hard to read by the indexer, or the indexer just made a mistake. I had a certificate where the index stated the person’s name was Peter, but the certificate had him registered as Phillip. Indexes are secondary sources. The original certificate is the primary one.

These are just a few examples and there are more. To repeat again, the indexes are registration indexes and so only reflect the year of the registration. It is important to use other parts of the index with your search, such as names of parents, etc. The CD’s are great for this.; much better than the old microfiche copies of the indexes.

Good luck with your research. If you do have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch with me. Also if you have any topics or areas that you would like me to address in future columns, please let me know. You can contact me either by email at dww@tpg.com.au or phone or write to me care of The Genealogical Society of Victoria Inc, Level 6, 179 Queen Street, Melbourne 3000, phone (03)9670 7033.