Genealogy Chat

I found a marriage on Ancestry, the registrar's copy for Alfred Sidney Stratton to Dorothy Violet Cockman, you can read it quite clearly but thought I would purchase from the GRO, as it's for a friends tree. The GRO cert has arrived, the date has been erased and re-entered, his profession has been erased and re entered and his address has been erased and re entered? is the normal?
Kim

That seems very strange, Kim.

Has it been altered so that the information is now as on the original entry on Ancestry?
That seems quite clear to read, as you say.

Gwyn, No it's been altered so you can hardly read it, but can't understand why? The date looks like it's been changed from 26th April 1928, the profession has been changed to Attendent and the address has been changed from 47 ? road to 26 Hearne Rd which is on the registrar's record?

Gwyn if you want to pm your email I will scan and send you a copy

Kim

As the GRO index is for March 1928 the date could not have been 26th April 1928. It looks like the one displayed on Ancestry was the original but information was found to be wrong and then corrected on the GRO master. I presume you have a PDF of the details rather than a certificate which being a legal document should not have alterations.

Kim
You can send a send by PM if you like.

Ancestry clearly shows the marriage date as 16th February and the following entry for that place is early April, before the date you quote, so I can't see where the date of 26 April would come from.

The thing is that the original displayed on Ancestry is what would have been completed at the time by the person conducting the ceremony, the bride and groom and the witnesses.

At some point at least one handwritten copy would be made for the GRO which is where the discrepancies may have occurred. If they read Feb 16 as Apr 26 then the error would have been noticed (as its the wrong quarter) and corrections made after checking the rest of the copying.

Your friend would be better off having a copy of the Ancestry version as that seems to have been signed by the actual participants.

I looked for the entry on freebmd and checked the image on the GRO index there.

There is nothing to indicate that the entry had or needed amendment..


As Kense states, when entries are copied sometimes errors occur.

I have seen Maud changed to Maria, where someone gave their interpretation of the handwriting.

The only thing I did wonder about is that Dorothy was under 21 at marriage, but as banns had been called previously, there shouldn't be a problem there that would mean the certificate had to be changed.

PDFs are only available for births and deaths so far.

Annie