Certificates of birth, marriage or death are considered a mainstay of genealogy, providing essential details to aid research. Obtaining these certificates is fairly straightfor-ward once the correct entry is found in indexes compiled by the General Office since July 1837. Sometimes, however, the entry you are seeking cannot be found – perhaps the surname has been incorrectly transcribed, or an entry is not found in the expected year, or the registra-tion district is different from the expected birthplace.

If you can’t find a birth in GRO indexes:
• Clues to the birth year/date may be gleaned from baptism, death/burial records, marriage certifi-cates, censuses etc.
• Try all variants – Worton could be indexed under Warton/ Wharton/Werton/ Wooton/ Morton etc. Remember that a person may have used a nickname but would be registered under his correct name.
• Births are indexed by registration date, not birth date (a birth on 22 March registered on 8 April will appear in April-June quarter). Late registrations were common, despite fines imposed. Search up to three years either side of the expected year.
• Perhaps the birth was never registered – many believed baptismal records were sufficient. Try baptismal registers for all likely areas.
• A child born before the parents’ marriage or where the father was absent may be registered under the mother’s maiden name.
• Children were registered as ‘male’ or ‘female’ when a name had not been selected before registration.
• Births abroad can be traced via www.thegenealogist.co.uk.
• Try local newspaper archives for birth announcements – while brief, they can provide vital information.
• Use family history forums eg www.thegenealogist.co.uk/forums/ – someone may have the information you seek, but always check the information is proven.
• School records often give a child’s age – try your local county record office.
• Try surrounding registration districts – check out