Something or nothing?

[Muggins in Sussex]

I have a birth certificate and am puzzling over what appears on the very right hand side of the certificate - It looks like the word "One" and then a "D" which has been crossed out.

Does it mean anything?

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o112/djangocrystal/EricEllwood-1-1.jpg

Thanks

[Muggins in Sussex]

I have tried to enlarge it - twice- LOL!

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o112/djangocrystal/EricEllwood-1-1-1.jpg


http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o112/djangocrystal/EricEllwood-1-1-1-1.jpg

[kiterunner]

It means an error was corrected and those are the initials of the registrar who corrected it (underlined rather than crossed out). The error should have a figure 1 written under or next to it and the "One" refers to that. Presumably the correction is in one of the first 3 columns as I can't see it on the part you have posted up. It would be a slip of the pen that was corrected there and then.

[Muggins in Sussex]

Thanks Kite:) I can't really see an error. It looks a bit as if the year has been added as an afterhought :confused: But I think that maybe something is wrong with the DoB as the baby's death cert shows him dying at 8 days old on 5th March 1919 - and if he had been born on 25th Feb he would have been 11 days old. Maybe the year on the birth cert had just been left out (?) and the informant made an error with the baby's age when registering the death - does that make sense?- I am finding this very confusing-LOL!

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o112/djangocrystal/EricEllwood-1-2-1.jpg

This is the death cert
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o112/djangocrystal/Ericellwoodd-1-1-1.jpg

[kiterunner]

Yes, it looks as though the year 1919 was added in afterwards and there is a 1 written just above it corresponding to the "One" in the margin. I make the age at death 8 days if he was born 25 Feb 1919 and died 5 Mar 1919, not sure where you get 11 from?

[Muggins in Sussex]

Thanks Kite - I was thinking there were 31 days in February :o:o:o:o

Now I feel decidedly silly! LOL :d

[flare]

Hi, does onelways mean that there is a correction? Or just in some cases? Thanks.

[kiterunner]

The number isn't always One, Flare. Each successive correction has a new number and they started again at 1 - I don't know if that was at the start of each day or each week or what. But yes, if you see a number and some initials in the margin, it always means there is a correction of an error.

[Muggins in Sussex]

Hello Michael :) and welcome to GF :)

It doesn't look as though there is always a number :confused:

This is my late mother's birth cert
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o112/djangocrystal/OJW-1-1.jpg

[Nell]

Joan

Is ANYTHING in your family straightforward?

[Muggins in Sussex]

Hello Michael :) and welcome to GF :)

It doesn't look as though there is always a number :confused:

This is my late mother's birth cert
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o112/djangocrystal/OJW-1-1.jpg

Looking at it again, I can't see what the correction is:confused: - can anyone else, please?

Joan

Is ANYTHING in your family straightforward? - Eeerm -no :d

[Mary from Italy]

It's a bit hard to read, but I think it says "clerical error in column 2, corrected on the 5th June 1924 by me" etc....

I see what you mean, though, it isn't obvious.

Perhaps it said "fifth" August and the "twenty-" was added later.

[kiterunner]

Joan, as I said before, the number with initials is used if it is a slip of the pen which is corrected there and then. Your mother's birth cert was corrected at a later date which is why it has that wording in the margin.

[kiterunner]

The clerical error in column 2 looks to be that he wrote "Dowsett" as part of her name which would make her full name Olive Joyce Dowsett Dowsett, and so he crossed the "Dowsett" out, but it's hard to be sure if it's crossed out in the image you've posted up as it's quite small. Does it look crossed out to you?

[MargaretMarch]

The clerical error in column 2 looks to be that he wrote "Dowsett" as part of her name which would make her full name Olive Joyce Dowsett Dowsett, and so he crossed the "Dowsett" out, but it's hard to be sure if it's crossed out in the image you've posted up as it's quite small. Does it look crossed out to you?

I agree the margin note refers to column 2 which is where the name is written and the fact that a surname is entered there where normally only the first names are written. Not sure why anyone would go back and have that altered though as it seems pretty straightforward as to what the names are.

Margaret

[Olde Crone]

Margaret

Some people get very worried about things not "being right" on official documents.

My late father was a terrible fusspot and would have gone to the ends of the earth to change something like that which he would have seen as a mighty error.

OC