At the moment anyone can purchase any certificate, but I believe it is due to change. Sandra ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2008 6:48 PM Subject: Re: [HRT] Heir Hunters > Hi Sandra, > > Yes that's what I meant to say - got my words a bit wrong I think. Yes, > it > is great to see the genealogists at work but how do they get a > certificate > from a registry office of someone who was born within the last 100 years? > One > registry office provided a copy within 10 minutes. Does that mean I can > go > and get anyone's particulars? I didn't think you could do that - fraud > etc?? > > Diana > > Re: Hi Diana, > Just to correct you on one point... > If one dies intestate, your money doesn't always go to the UK goverment. > The cases that are featured are ones where the deceased has died > intestate > AND there are no known heirs. The majority of the estates go to known > heirs - ie spouses and children - although there are strict rules on how > the > money is divided. > I've watched both series and think that all new genealogists should watch > it > to see how to construct a family tree, together with the necessary proof. > Sandra > > > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > _______________________________________ > No viruses found in this incoming message > Scanned by iolo AntiVirus 1.5.4.5 > http://www.iolo.com > _______________________________________ No viruses found in this outgoing message Scanned by iolo AntiVirus 1.5.4.5 http://www.iolo.com
From: "Sandra J Smith"<[email protected]> > At the moment anyone can purchase any certificate, but I believe it is > due to change. > > Yes that's what I meant to say - got my words a bit wrong I think. > > Yes, it is great to see the genealogists at work but how do they get > > a certificate from a registry office of someone who was born within > > the last 100 years? One registry office provided a copy within 10 > > minutes. Does that mean I can go and get anyone's particulars? I > > didn't think you could do that - fraud etc?? > > I sincerely hope it is NOT due to change !!! Any restrictions on the supply of birth, marriage and death certificates would seriously hinder, if not virtually kill off, family history as a hobby and must be opposed at all costs. Can we get something clear here? There is widespread paranoia about birth dates supposedly being confidential. Birth dates are NOT confidential information and never have been. Ever since civil registration was introduced into England & Wales in 1837 it has always been perfectly possible for someone to get anybody else's birth certificate they like, and rightly so. They are PUBLIC documents in the public domain, as are the BMD indexes. No-one owns exclusive access to their birth date - it is not a State secret! Nor are there are period restrictions. I as a professional who does celebrity ancestries for a magazine have in my files the birth certificates of a number of famous people, all obviously born within the last 100 years and some within the last 30 or 40 years, The GRO and local register offices have a statutory duty to provide them and cannot refuse. Please, folks, ignore this nonsense about there being some kind of 100- year rule, it simply isn't the case. That applies only to the censuses, not BMDs. Identity theft is a complete red herring. Since some time in the early 1990s, or possibly even earlier, every certificate of a birth, marriage and death has carried in large bold, capital letters the following slogan: "WARNING: A CERTIFICATE IS NOT EVIDENCE OF IDENTITY". That government depts like the passport office, banks and other financial institutions, etc, do accept a birth certificate as proof of identity is down to their own stupidity and not a flaw in the system. Banks are especially stupid in continuing to ask customers for their mother's maiden name as a security word when we all know that the GRO Birth Indexes give the maiden name of the mother on every birth since the Sep quarter of 1911. Anyone with a computer, Internet access and a subscription to one of the various ppv websites that carries them can find out the maiden name of anyone's mother in a few minutes. My advice to anyone asked for their mother's maiden name is this: MAKE ONE UP! All they want, after all, is a codeword that only you and they know. -- Roy Stockdill Professional genealogical researcher, writer & lecturer Newbies' Guide to Genealogy & Family History: www.genuki.org.uk/gs/Newbie.html "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." OSCAR WILDE
Further to my last email, SOG responded to the proposal, and you can see this at: http://www.sog.org.uk/files/crr-sogresponse.doc I think the restrictions were meant to come in at the same time as the DOVE project went live, but stand to be corrected if I'm wrong. Sandra ----- Original Message ----- From: "Roy Stockdill" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, July 19, 2008 12:41 PM Subject: Re: [HRT] Heir Hunters > From: "Sandra J Smith"<[email protected]> > >> At the moment anyone can purchase any certificate, but I believe it is >> due to change. > >> > Yes that's what I meant to say - got my words a bit wrong I think. >> > Yes, it is great to see the genealogists at work but how do they get >> > a certificate from a registry office of someone who was born within >> > the last 100 years? One registry office provided a copy within 10 >> > minutes. Does that mean I can go and get anyone's particulars? I >> > didn't think you could do that - fraud etc?? >> > > > I sincerely hope it is NOT due to change !!! Any restrictions on the > supply > of birth, marriage and death certificates would seriously hinder, if not > virtually kill off, family history as a hobby and must be opposed at all > costs. > > Can we get something clear here? There is widespread paranoia about > birth dates supposedly being confidential. Birth dates are NOT > confidential information and never have been. Ever since civil > registration > was introduced into England & Wales in 1837 it has always been > perfectly possible for someone to get anybody else's birth certificate > they > like, and rightly so. They are PUBLIC documents in the public domain, as > are the BMD indexes. No-one owns exclusive access to their birth date - > it is not a State secret! > > Nor are there are period restrictions. I as a professional who does > celebrity ancestries for a magazine have in my files the birth > certificates > of a number of famous people, all obviously born within the last 100 > years and some within the last 30 or 40 years, The GRO and local > register offices have a statutory duty to provide them and cannot refuse. > Please, folks, ignore this nonsense about there being some kind of 100- > year rule, it simply isn't the case. That applies only to the censuses, > not > BMDs. > > Identity theft is a complete red herring. Since some time in the early > 1990s, or possibly even earlier, every certificate of a birth, marriage > and > death has carried in large bold, capital letters the following slogan: > "WARNING: A CERTIFICATE IS NOT EVIDENCE OF IDENTITY". That > government depts like the passport office, banks and other financial > institutions, etc, do accept a birth certificate as proof of identity is > down to > their own stupidity and not a flaw in the system. Banks are especially > stupid in continuing to ask customers for their mother's maiden name as > a security word when we all know that the GRO Birth Indexes give the > maiden name of the mother on every birth since the Sep quarter of 1911. > Anyone with a computer, Internet access and a subscription to one of the > various ppv websites that carries them can find out the maiden name of > anyone's mother in a few minutes. > > My advice to anyone asked for their mother's maiden name is this: MAKE > ONE UP! All they want, after all, is a codeword that only you and they > know. > > > -- > Roy Stockdill > Professional genealogical researcher, writer & lecturer > Newbies' Guide to Genealogy & Family History: > www.genuki.org.uk/gs/Newbie.html > > "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, > and that is not being talked about." > OSCAR WILDE > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > _______________________________________ > No viruses found in this incoming message > Scanned by iolo AntiVirus 1.5.4.5 > http://www.iolo.com > _______________________________________ No viruses found in this outgoing message Scanned by iolo AntiVirus 1.5.4.5 http://www.iolo.com