Hi Daryl Freebmd is a transcription of the GRO index which in itself is a transcription of the returns from local registrars which is yet another transcription from their registers Plenty of room for error as you can imagine And that is assuming he was registered in the first place, in the early days of civil registration the onus was on the registrar to find and register the events rather than the responsibility of the parents, hence there were many events missed If all other siblings were registered I would enquire with whoever holds the original registers to see if the event is recorded, it may never have made it to the GRO index or may be in a way you may never find (Ambrose MONEY for example) If you found a baptism (particularly if in the home parish) it is most unlikely he was adopted as the Vicar would not have recorded him as their son, he is far more likely to know than a registrar If the local registrar cannot find an entry and all searches do not reveal one you may have to resign yourself to the fact it was not recorded, you are far from being alone in this situation Nivard Ovington in Cornwall (UK) >I had hoped to find a birth certificate for my ancestor Ambrose Honey > believed to have been born in Lambourn, Berkshire in or about January > 1844. > He is found in the IGI and in the related microfilmed Lambourn parish > records as Christened April 14th 1844. He appears in the 1851 and 1861 > Lambourn census. By November 1863 he is found in the United States. The > 1900 U.S. Census indicates he was born in January 1844 and his 1912 death > certificate indicates he was born January 6, 1844. > > According to the charts on FreeBMD the 1843 and 1844 birth indexes are > 100% > transcribed and his birth is not found. I have tried searches using the > last name, first name and variations on the names but found nothing. I > have > examined the scans from the original indexes on FreeBMD and failed to find > him. Every one of his siblings born after July 1, 1837 appear in the > FreeBMD index. > > I am looking for ideas of why his birth record is the only missing family > record. Could the index used by FreeBMD be incorrect and there be an > available birth certificate? Is this a clue that possibly he was adopted? > Did they simply miss recording an occasional birth? Any thoughts or > suggestions will be greatly appreciated. > > Daryl