Registering a birth cost nothing if it was within  42 days. Late registration after 42 days could cost seven shillings and sixpence. From the Act; "That after the Expiration of Forty-two Days following the Day of the Birth of any Child it shall not be lawful for any Registrar to register such Birth, save as herein-after is next mentioned............the Superintendent Registrar shall be entitled to have a Fee of Two Shillings and Sixpence from the Person requiring the same to be registered; and the Registrar, over and above the Fee herein-after enacted in respect of every birth registered by him, shall be entitled, unless the Delay shall have been occasioned by his Default, to have a Fee of Five Shillings from the person requiring the same to be registered;" There was a penalty for non-registration. not late registration in the 1874 Act. The Act of 1836 omitted to impose any penalty for failure by the parent to register a birth, an omission which was rectified only by the Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1874 which made such failure punishable by a fine of £2.00. Stan Mapstone -----Original Message----- From: Geoff Watson <geoffwatsone@hotmail.com> To: allandrobson@btinternet.com; eng-durham@rootsweb.com Sent: Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:41 Subject: Re: [ENG-DURHAM] John Robson Mystery Allan and that a Birth Registration cost money - perhaps the family couldn't afford to register John....... Good luck Geoff in sunny Sevilla ________________________________________________________________________ AOL Email goes Mobile! You can now read your AOL Emails whilst on the move. Sign up for a free AOL Email account with unlimited storage today.