I think we have to be careful about the term "registrations". I agree with what you say about baptisms often being misinterpreted as births, but a Civil registration of birth, is just that: A registration of that event. A baptism is annointment into the church and can happen at any age. The mother might wait for the father to return from the sea or the military service. And, although done often within 3 weeks of birth, there are, as you point out, many that were done later. A baptism, technically, is not the same as a christening. Although typically done at the same time, a christening is the naming of the child and the presentation to the congregation of this new member. I often find that I have to go over these points with novice researchers because they assume the date in a church register is a birth date. Those are sometimes recorded, but a baptism is a baptism, not a birth. Just as a burial is a burial, not a death. The church, historically, cared about you when you were baptised and buried. The other dates didn't matter to the church. Lou On 14 Nov 2006 at 1:01, Brian and Sue wrote: > Dear Listers > > I saw some comments about people marrying at young ages. It may have > been the case.But I must point out that many of the Registations > were Baptism or Christening Registrations and were not actually > Birth Registrations. >