Regrettably they are very slow and cannot be hurried! Adrian -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John Wynne Sent: 17 November 2013 04:32 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [SOUTH-AFRICA] Mother's maiden/surname on South African birth certificates Thanks. I'll order a Vault copy. I suppose that means I'll have to wait another 6 months. Is there a quicker way? Cheers, John On Sun, Nov 17, 2013 at 1:27 PM, Milly & Adrian Rowe <[email protected]>wrote: > Hi John > > To the best of my knowledge there are 3 types of Birth certificate > available in SA, a Vault copy, an Unabridged and an Abridged. As a > genealogist always order a Vault copy as this contains the most > information which can include father's occupation. > > I have in front of me a copy of my original "Birth Certificate" > (B.M.D. 5) (in 1945) issued shortly after I was born, which is typed > and shows Union of South Africa on the top and was "issued in terms of > Section 40 of Act No. > 17 > of 1923". It does not contain the same amount of information which > appears on my copy of my hand written Vault Copy. On the Vault Copy > it requires info on the "Father of the Child" and "Mother of the > Child" and in both cases requires "Birthplace" and "Age". The age is > carried forward onto the Unabridged Birth Certificate in the place where it states "Date of Birth". > In more recent years Identity numbers and actual date of birth were > required under the parents details. When computers were introduced > the information had to be captured from the original hand written > Register book (B.M.D.1) and this relied on the diligence of the person > doing the capturing. There is no way of knowing whether the father > and mother were married. > > It may still be worth your while to order the Vault Copy of the Birth > Certificate (at the same price) to see what extra info you can glean. > > Adrian > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John Wynne > Sent: 17 November 2013 02:20 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [SOUTH-AFRICA] Mother's maiden/surname on South African birth > certificates > > Can someone please help me understand the format of South African > birth certificates? > > I have a 2013 copy of an Unabridged Birth Certificate recording a 1924 > birth, which states " PARTICULARS FROM THE POPULATION REGISTER > I.R.O.", and the entries are all typewritten. > > This is the first SA birth certificate I have seen, so can't compare > it to others. > > It lists both the father's name and the mother's name. In the space > labelled MAIDEN/SURNAME the mother's maiden name is listed only. Does > this have any significance as to whether the mother was actually > married to the father at the time? > > Interestingly both parents' dates of birth are blank, their place of > birth listed as "NOT STATED", and their country of birth listed as > "UNKNOWN". Is this unusual? There's no information on who provided the information. > > I'd appreciate any insights you can offer. > > Thanks. > > John