From: "Merv Thomas" <[email protected]> > Hello the list, > > My grandfather's birth certificate shows under Column 1 - the when and where > born column - the date and place of his birth and then under all that there's > "R.S.D". > > I'm wondering if anyone knows what the "R.S.D." might mean? > > > kind regards, > > > Merv> R.S.D. was the abbreviation for Rural Sanitary District, an official body responsible for looking after the sanitation and genral cleanliness of an area. You will find either R.S.D. or U.S.D. (Urban Sanitary District) on a great many birth certificates from that era. From Wikipedia..... "Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1875 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures: Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies Rural sanitary districts in the remaining rural areas of poor law unions. Each district was governed by a sanitary authority and was responsible for various public health matters such as providing clean drinking water, sewers, street cleaning, and clearing slum housing. "In England and Wales, both rural and urban sanitary districts were replaced in 1894 by the Local Government Act 1894 by the more general rural districts and urban districts. A similar reform was carried out in Ireland in 1899 by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898.". -- Roy Stockdill Genealogical researcher, writer & lecturer Famous family trees blog: http://blog.findmypast.co.uk/tag/roy-stockdill/ "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." OSCAR WILDE