Stillborn Register?

kernowmaid

kernowmaid

Our very own Cornish Maid
Is there such a thing as a "Stillborn Register"?

My cousin (she who knows all) has a letter from our grandad Scott's papers that is undated, and - as far as I can see - unsigned. Nor is there any punctuation :(

She has read it to mean that our great grandad (Robert Elliot Scott) had a twin called Gilbert who died. Now I've searched & searched - his is the only birth (to Scott & Vickers, in Northallerton, May 1865) on GRO.

And I don't see why a letter ABOUT the family would have been in the family's possession ...
But cousin is convinced - tells me that Stillborns were entered on a different Register.

Any ideas anyone?

Jane
(I'll try to upload the relevant page of the letter - fingers crossed!)
 

Attachments

The Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1926 made stillbirths registerable from 1st July 1927. Until then, the only regulation that existed was the 1874 requirement for a declaration of stillbirth to be obtained, so that a child who had been born alive but died a short time afterwards could not be buried as a stillborn delivery.

Having said that, there is an excellent article that Guy Etchells has written and is compiling an historic record. Take a peek here:
Code: 
http://anguline.co.uk/stillbirths.html
 
I think the time of birth is recorded for twin births, so is there a time as well as a date on g.grandad's b/c?
 
As DB has said, stillbirth registrations only became mandatory in 1927. The Stillbirths Register is held by GRO at Southport but it is closed to all bar immediate relatives. It would thus appear the only way to determine if your cousin's interpretation is correct will involve browsing the relevant church burial records in the hope the twin is mentioned. My tree has about 6 stillbirth burial entries but none of the entries name the child. The norm is "a stillborn child of . . . ." so I don't even know if the child was a boy or girl.
 
Family Search has a number of Scott records where birth and death fall 1864-1866 but nothing for Northallerton. A search on Northallerton births has the registration for Robert Elliot, plus an Elizabeth in the following quarter, who presumably is a cousin. A search on deaths draws a blank.
 
I have twins and Molly May is right, time of birth is on both certificates. Also my Mum lost a baby at 5 months, it was not known in the 30s that she was having twins, 4 months later my brother was born so Bay Horse is right, he was registered as a single birth. I have read that stillborns were not counted and were put into a coffin of someone else who had died. So not recognised as being born.
 
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