Hi Chris Firstly, what was his mothers name? And was there mention of an address? Date of birth was not often recorded on baptisms , the only John or William HOGG I could see in the period was born March 31st 1853 The date of birth is not indexed in the birth registrations although is recorded as given by the informant What I would suggest is to order a birth certificate from the GRO *without any index reference* stating William OR John OR William John with a mothers name XXXX in the first quarter of 1853 If the search is successful they will supply a certificate, if there is no matching registration they will not charge you (either forename may have been added after registration) They could not search on just forenames I take it your man is the one on a ship in the 1871 census ? (ship unknown) Nivard Ovington in Cornwall (UK) > I have been searching for my great grandfather (William John > Hogg) for around 15 years and might, at long last, have found a lead. I have found a William John > Hogg in the TNA > navy site, who stated on his enlistment papers that he was born 5 Jan 1853 in > Shoreditch, Middlesex. His mother was with him and signed her agreement. It all > matched up – but I couldn’t find a William John Hogg born in that quarter in > the records (Ancestry or Free BMD). If the date of birth is correct, and I think it may be, is > there a > way I can discover who was born on that day in the UK, so that I can see whether he was born under > another name? > > Any suggestions/help/observations would be greatly appreciated. > Many thanks. > Chris

Hi Chris Just to be clear, I mean order a birth cert for a William OR John OR William John *HOGG* with a mothers name XXXX in the first quarter of 1853 Nivard Ovington in Cornwall (UK) > What I would suggest is to order a birth certificate from the GRO *without any index reference* > stating William OR John OR William John with a mothers name XXXX in the first quarter of 1853 > > If the search is successful they will supply a certificate, if there is no matching registration > they will not charge you > (either forename may have been added after registration) > > They could not search on just forenames