Genealogy Chat

Found birth entry for my great-aunt on 1837, and there's an entry for a boy with the same surname and mother's maiden name on the page too. Both page and volume numbers are the same also. The surnames are quite common ones in that area, so I can't be 100% certain that they're twins. Does anyone know if there's a way of checking? Thanks, Pam

I don't know when it started but in modern times if someone is a twin in England and Wales the time of birth is put on the cert. However in Scotland as a matter of course they note note down the time. It depends on the registrar as on another thread it said that a registrar in one district put down the times on all births - that must have really confused everyone! Pippa

Well it certainly looks that way. The main thing is the mothers maiden name. The other is the page numbers, if they were close yes but they are the same you say, then I would take that as a twin. I've not had one in mine but I have read on here that they put the time of birth on the certificates if they are twins. Irene

Only by ordering both certificates Pam. They could be cousins - I have the same where two sisters from one family marry two brothers from another. They both had children in the same quarter of 1930 - lived in the same district so...... Lucinda

Thanks everyone. Suppose it is a possibility they're cousins, given the amount of relatives with the same surnames in the area at the time, so I'd better order birth certs. just to make sure. Pam

I have twins in my tree born 1856 and the time of birth is on the certificates, so it obviously started quite some time ago! Tina

Hi, I also have twins born 1857, the time of birth is in same column as the when and where born. Carole

You can get one of the certs and see if there is a time on it - or you could order them both, specifying the parents' full names as a checking point. nell

You can't assume that just because a b/c has a time of birth shown, then it was one of twins. Sure, twins always have the time of birth shown, but some single births also had the time entered, especially on the really early certs. Therefore, you'd need to order both certs to be sure in this case. Richard

My Mil was a twin born in March 1911 (her brother died shortly after birth) She had an unusual maiden name. I recently checked her birth entry on the March quarter but she wasn't there. However, there were twin brothers listed with the same unusual surname. My Mil's entry was listed on the next quarter. In 1911 they didn't show the mother's maiden name.