Hello Francis, ----- Original Message ----- From: "Francis Payne" <francisp@xtra.co.nz> > Very interesting post, John. Do you know which offices do the same as GRO, > so you do get to see the actual signatures ? > > Francis> Auckland, NZ Sadly, not, tho' other listers might: but I thinkl it is very few. Of course, if it is a church wedding and the registers have been microfilmed by the LDS or by the local records/archives officve [if the church registers have been transferred there], the print form the miocroform *will" be a facsimile of the actual entry, with signatures. Regards John > >> >> Just a reminder that all General Register Office certificates,whether >> handwritten, typewritten or >> incorporating a facsimile of the entry in the quarterly return are >> certified copies of the certified >> copy which is the quarterly return. >> If they are the facsimile type, the historic looking handwriting is that >> of the Registrar or church >> cleric or clerk who made the quarterly copies to send to the Registrar >> General at the end of the >> quarter in which the event took place.. >> The only exceptions are sometimes found in a GRO marriage certificates, >> where the clergyman, at the >> time of the wedding, got the couple and the witnesses [contrary to the >> official Advice to Clergy] to >> sign the quarterly copies as well as the register entries. >> >> Certificates from a local Register Office (and from churches) , on the >> other hand, are certified >> copies of the actual entries in the register, which means that if the >> office is one of the very few >> that issue certificates by a similar facsimile process to the GRO, then >> one *does* see the actual >> signatures on the actual register entry. >> Just as mistakes can be made in producing a transcription type certificate >> from a local Register >> Office, so did mistakes occasionally occur in producing the quarterly >> copies sent to the G.R.O., >> and in producing the GRO Indexes. >> >> Which is why genealogists and family historians were keen that any new >> index produced by the GRO >> should be made from the original register entries held locally, and not >> the quarterly copies held by >> the GRO. >> The plea was not heard, and the current digitization process, which has >> now ground to a halt, was of >> the GRO returns. >> >> Cheers >> >> John Henley >> researching (and not finding much time for - but always very glad to hear >> of any) >> HENLEY, PARKER, RAPER, [London/Middlesex] >> DURDEN, PRENTICE [Essex/London/ Woolwich] , >> SECKER, [Suffolk, London/Middlesex] >> ROLFE, (O)RAFFERTY, EVANS, PARSONS, SYMONDS [ Berks/Hants/Wilts] >> HILL [IN Staffs/Cambs/Berks] >> >> >> >> >> >> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >> Any problems, please contact the List Admin: Essex-UK-admin@rootsweb.com >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> ESSEX-UK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the >> quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Any problems, please contact the List Admin: Essex-UK-admin@rootsweb.com > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ESSEX-UK-request@rootsweb.com with the word > 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >