Good morning, Thank you Dale. I haven't had a chance to look up some of those marvelous questions. Many of which I have wondered about also. Somewhere in my travels I was told that only deaths were required to be recorded and there was a fine if anyone failed to notify the authorities. My thinking would be for the "cause" of death such as Smallpox or Typhoid Fever which you do see in the VR's. Anyone know if this is fact or fiction?? Also, I have heard that at one time there was a fee for recording the births of children?? If so, when did that go into effect?? It would make sense that it would subsidize the town clerk's salary which probably raises many more questions. If it is planting time or a blizzard I doubt if our ancestors were going to trudge miles to record the birth of a child, especially if it is not the first child. More likely there would be a baptismal record later. I have always taken for granted and assumed (we know that is a mistake) that mariner meant the man was at sea. It was a given that men fished and farmed for survival even if they are recorded as a blacksmith etc. A woman wasn't listed as cook or seamstress unless she cooked or sewed for monetary gain. I have seen men listed as "farmer" or "fisherman" which would seem to indicate that was their profession. Am I correct?? Interesting! We get so involved with dates and events that we forget to look at daily routine and often pass over taking time to find out the answers to these questions. Any thoughts? Relatively yours, Muriel -------------- Original message -------------- From: "Dale H. Cook" <radiotest@cox.net> > At 01:47 PM 2/28/2008, Bill Van Hemert wrote: > > >What is the requirement for a resident to register his/her > >households births, deaths, and marriages ? > > That will take some digging. I may have a chance to look this weekend. > > >Are marriage being recorded in both church and civil registry systems ? > > They should have been, but were not always, recorded in both. > > >What is the penalty for failing to register these vital stats and > >are fines ever imposed ? > > I cannot recall seeing anyone cited for that. > > Dale H. Cook, Member, NEHGS and MA Society of Mayflower Descendants; > Plymouth Co. MA Coordinator for the USGenWeb Project > http://members.cox.net/plymouthcolony/index.shtml > > Frequently-asked questions may often be answered by visiting the FAQ page for > this list at: http://www.craigrich.net/mayfaq.htm > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > MAYFLOWER-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in > the subject and the body of the message