Did you know the General Register Office England issues certified copies of entries of birth for dates prior to 1837 and for births in Scotland? Unusually the information given includes the date and place of baptism, but not the mother's maiden name.
Here's an example for a birth in 1835 in Edinburgh.
There's a story behind this certificate, which relates to a footnote in Canadian history, I'll be recounting at the Alberta Genealogical Society conference, 22-23 April 2017 in Edmonton,
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Well, in my parish of interest, Kiltearn, in Ross-shire, all births for decades from the late 1700s into the 19th century seemed to be the opposite of virgin; only the father's name is given in baptismal records.
The majority of baptisms were surname Munro, and the commonest forename with which males were baptized was 'Donald', after the clan founder (as their fathers had been for generations). With no female name with which to cross-index, tracing a family line back more than a generation or two depends on a non-conformist male naming pattern.
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