My grandmother was born in Nova Scotia in 1893, and she has a delayed birth certificate. I am not looking at my notes so am not sure of dates, but no birth or death certificates were required between the late 1880s and the 1920s. When, in later years, when proof of age was needed, such as naturalization as an American like my grandmother, people sought a delayed birth cert.
They are fascinating. They have child's birth name date and place, father's name occupation and current residence, mother's name and current residence, doctor or midwife present at the birth and current residence (many of these were dead). The person filing provided their name and address.
Then the proofs were listed. My grandmother's is filed by her mother, and says, "I am her mother and know the above to be correct." My great-uncle's is filed by his brother and says, "I am his brother and I am 10 years older and was present in the house at the time of his birth."
Some give family Bibles as proof, some give school records - "He was enrolled in the first grade in 1911 at age six and therefore was born in 1905." Sometimes the government had to look in the census, which of course was a government secret, and it says "He was listed as age 3 on the 1901 census and therefore was born in 1898."
The funniest one was a relative who had so many children she couldn't keep their birth years straight and swore on 2 different documents, several years apart, that 2 different children were born the same year!
New Brunswick was the perfect place for Mary Martha to give birth because no official record of the birth was required!
@anne, your comment is SO insightful - thanks for sharing your firsthand knowledge of BCs at this time. And I agree, Mary Martha may well have known exactly what would and would not be recorded around Aimee’s birth.
Just imagine how different Aimee’s life (and this story) would have been if those kinds of details had been included in a delayed BC, which was exactly Aimee’s goal later on, right? And likely why Mary Martha was so afraid of what the lawyers and investigators - plus newspapermen - might find.
I also look forward to the continuance of Aimee's story. The amount of time, money, frustration, and exhaustion that went into trying to bury this secret, this morsel of information, is astonishing. And it was all for nought since it came out anyway, as things like this often do.
My grandmother was born in Nova Scotia in 1893, and she has a delayed birth certificate. I am not looking at my notes so am not sure of dates, but no birth or death certificates were required between the late 1880s and the 1920s. When, in later years, when proof of age was needed, such as naturalization as an American like my grandmother, people sought a delayed birth cert.
They are fascinating. They have child's birth name date and place, father's name occupation and current residence, mother's name and current residence, doctor or midwife present at the birth and current residence (many of these were dead). The person filing provided their name and address.
Then the proofs were listed. My grandmother's is filed by her mother, and says, "I am her mother and know the above to be correct." My great-uncle's is filed by his brother and says, "I am his brother and I am 10 years older and was present in the house at the time of his birth."
Some give family Bibles as proof, some give school records - "He was enrolled in the first grade in 1911 at age six and therefore was born in 1905." Sometimes the government had to look in the census, which of course was a government secret, and it says "He was listed as age 3 on the 1901 census and therefore was born in 1898."
The funniest one was a relative who had so many children she couldn't keep their birth years straight and swore on 2 different documents, several years apart, that 2 different children were born the same year!
New Brunswick was the perfect place for Mary Martha to give birth because no official record of the birth was required!
@anne, your comment is SO insightful - thanks for sharing your firsthand knowledge of BCs at this time. And I agree, Mary Martha may well have known exactly what would and would not be recorded around Aimee’s birth.
Just imagine how different Aimee’s life (and this story) would have been if those kinds of details had been included in a delayed BC, which was exactly Aimee’s goal later on, right? And likely why Mary Martha was so afraid of what the lawyers and investigators - plus newspapermen - might find.
Eek!
I also look forward to the continuance of Aimee's story. The amount of time, money, frustration, and exhaustion that went into trying to bury this secret, this morsel of information, is astonishing. And it was all for nought since it came out anyway, as things like this often do.
Interesting how her attorney threatens to cut off her allowance and bites off his own nose to spite his face. What an interesting case.
The reading of your excerpts every Tuesday go by too fast.
You’re too kind! But thanks so much ❤️