It is amazing to follow the thread of posts about the fact that not all births were registered in NY City prior to 1900. Some parish priests did not file the required return of a marriage record to the civil authorities either. When I first started posting to this list the subject came up about every two or three years. Yes, it is true that some Catholics ignored the civil authorities in this matter. They thought it was a private event. In Ireland, Civil Registration was forced on them by the British authorities. It didn't feel good. Your best bet is the Church record. Good luck with that. I have one birth record for a child born in 1858 to my great grandparents, one out of 9 children born around that time. I believe the reason it was recorded is that a mid wife was in attendance. Sheila