That's a surprise!

[Merry]

I'd always thought it surprising that when my 2xg-grandparents produced twins, Frederick and Francis, in 1841, they registered the death of one twin when the babies were aged a few weeks but it seemed they had still managed to avoid registering either of them for birth. I just assumed the registrar hadn't properly understood his role in making families register their children!

So, how long ago did I look at this? Maybe 15 years? Probably more like 20 years, at the Family Records Centre at Myddleton Street in those old ledgers.

I just thought I'd look again at the birth registrations and there they are, after all - so easy when the computer can pick out the entries for the correct district - registered as Alpha and Omega Maynard!! Blimey! lol I'm tempted to buy the certs just to see who registered these children!!!

[Janet]

Love it. :D

[Olde Crone]

Merry

I often think how EASY research is now (it isn't, but I think it is!) with the aid of the internet. In a few minutes you can go through hundreds of records,comparing and discarding. In the old days it took a whole afternoon of lugging books down and finding the right place to check 20 or so records and it was very likely (in my case) that I would miss the crucial one.

All of the mistakes I made in my tree before the internet were the result of not being able to compare records easily and quite often I took the first marriage which seemed right, rather than going through all the years, quarters and districts.

You young ones don't know you're born!

OC

[Kit]

I love the names.

Did either twin survive and I wonder how they explained the name if so?

[Merry]

lol OC - you are making me worry about the other research I did back in the day! :eek::eek::eek:

Toni -these twins were born in March 1841 and registered before the end of the month as Alpha and Omega. By the time they were baptised on 12 April they were Frederick and Francis! Francis was buried two days before the 1841 census in June and his death and burial both say Francis. Frederick lived until he was about 50, and as far as I know was always just Frederick! He never married and died of delusional insanity in Tasmania. I suppose it's possible he never saw his birth cert - I now wonder which twin he was? Alpha or Omega? :rolleyes:

Looking at Frederick's photo he doesn't seem as short as most of the Maynard men, but I think I've just discovered which line I get my short arms from! lol

[Merry]

lol - I must have put down Frederick's occupation in 1881 from the CDs I had of the 1881 census which were transcripts only. I have often wondered what a "C.E.L. Assistant" is/was? Just looked at the census page and he's a civil engineer's assistant (C.E.'s Assistant) which makes sense as the head of household was his brother, a civil engineer!

*wonders how many more mistakes I'm going to find?*

[Shona]

What a brilliant surprise! Out of curiosity, I searched Ancestry to have a look and was surprised to see that Alpha and Omega crop up as names much more than I would have thought, including the one in this link - Alpha Omega Brickles born in 1955 in Manchester. http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=freebmdbirth&gss=angs-d&new=1&rank=1&gsfn=alpha&gsfn_x=1&MSAV=1&cpxt=1&cp=11&catbucket=rstp&uidh=fpy&pcat=34&fh=33&h=33852374&recoff=7&ml_rpos=34

[James18]

@Merry

I wonder if there's a link here... do you think my Gladys Maynard may have been registered as Delta or Zeta? ;)

[Merry]

1855!

He/she didn't live long (bur Jan 1857).

Just like today, I suppose many who began life with very unusual names had ordinary names later on. My Inkermann Wells (b 5 Nov 1854) was Henry for most of his life!

[Merry]

@Merry

I wonder if there's a link here... do you think my Gladys Maynard may have been registered as Delta or Zeta? ;)

lol James!! Maybe!

[Durham Lady]

I wonder if back then the time of birth for multiple births was recorded?

[kiterunner]

I wonder if back then the time of birth for multiple births was recorded?

Yes, it was.

[Olde Crone]

They like daft names in Lancashire.

(Fish Fish Fish, anyone?)

OC

[Kit]

He never married and died of delusional insanity in Tasmania. I suppose it's possible he never saw his birth cert - I now wonder which twin he was? Alpha or Omega?


Tasmania will do that to you. :rolleyes::d

I wonder if the brewery was around back then? I can't remember as it was very rudely shut when I was in the neighbourhood, so I missed the tour.

I wonder if Alpha/Omega was an actual name or something to use when you hadn't yet come up with a real name? Also what is wrong with beta, gamma etc lol

[Olde Crone]

Omega and Alpha He!
Let the organ thunder
While the choirs with peals of glee
Shall rent the air asunder
Shall rent the air asunder.

I reckon the little dears rent the air asunder!

OC

L

[Merry]

..... or, alternatively, "I am the alpha and the omega" (from the Book of Revelation), meaning "I (God/Jesus) am the beginning and the end" as alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet in which the New Testament was originally written.

OC That's one of my favourite carols, which I last remember singing in Christchurch Priory a few years ago - the church organ there has some massive pipes and the whole building shakes when it's played at full volume! Sadly I think the carol might have passed Mr and Mrs Maynard by though, as apparently the words were not translated into English until later in the 19thC.