What is the twin brothers actual DOB?

Question

I have twin brothers recorded as born 6th of April 1901 in Cork City, Robert at 11.30 p.m. and Donald twenty minutes later. But on the 1901 Irish Census (taken on 31st March 1901) they are included and said to be one day old and are Robert and Joseph. The birth record is signed by the registrar on 30 September 1901 and then by the Superintendent Registrar on 16th Oct 1901.

Answer 1

The date of registration of the births was 5 July. There were additional permissions and fines required to register a birth after more than 3 months, so, as commonly happened with late registrations, it seems the birth date has been adjusted to avoid the fines.

The census question was who resided here on the night of 31 March, and I think there is every reason to trust that return. The form may have been filled out in advance, and then the birth occurred and they had to be added after the servants.

I'd say they were born on 29 or 30 March.

As they were Catholic you may well find a baptism recorded within a day or two of birth which would help confirm this.

Comments

You are right about the fines for late registration of births. There is a thread here about such from a couple of days ago. Another thing from the 1901 Census 'Joseph', one of the twins. He was registered as Donald Ivor Saunders and on the 1911 Census he is also Donald Ivor. The poor mother must have been back home one or two days after the twins were born, or maybe even gave birth at home.

Answer 2

Hello Patrick, I have three points:

1. On the profiles no birth day is mentioned.
2. The date of the census is printed. Is it sure, that it was taken on 31 Mar 1901?
3. For me it's strange that the twins are below the servants. Maybe they were added later.