Name Change on birth certificate Martin or Mellis

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George_Harley
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Joined: Fri Dec 29, 2017 2:40 pm
Location: Amsterdam

Name Change on birth certificate Martin or Mellis

Post by George_Harley » Sat Dec 30, 2017 9:58 pm

Hello dear fellow Genealogists,
I have a bit of a mystery on my hands. In ‘94 me and my sisters were contacted because of a small inheritance due to the passing away of a certain Miss Mary Jane Martin or Mellis. Now years later I find myself researching my family tree and wanted to know more about this distant aunt of mine. Searching the online records of Scotlands People I found her birth certificate. I was surprised that while I searched for Mary Jane the name on the certificate was: Martha Henderson Martin or Mellis. In the side column there was however some scribbles and Mary Jane is mentioned too. I’m having quite some difficulty understanding this type of shorthand. I think this must have something to do with a) an adoption, or b) a name change. Especially the name Henderson seems so un-scottish so that makes me think it’s more than just a name change. I have attached the bit of text.
On the first line I think it says “Martin of child’s name”
Second line “..........cor(ected) ent(ry) 6 p187”
Third line: “22nd of March 1904”
And finally at the bottom of the rectangle: “Mary Jane Mellis”
I hope someone can shed a bit more light on this.
Kind regards and best wishes for the new year.

George_Harley
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AndrewP
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Re: Name Change on birth certificate Martin or Mellis

Post by AndrewP » Sun Dec 31, 2017 12:30 am

Hi George,

[TS_welcome]

I read the text as:
  • Alteration of child's name.
    In Reg of Cor Ent Vol6, p.187.
    22nd March 1904
    (a signature)
    Mary-Jane Mellis
When you view the certificate on ScotlandsPeople, there should be a link above the certificate for you to click on "View 1st correction" to let you see that page of the "RCE" - at no further cost. See the image below.

If there is no sign of that link, you should click on the link to contact ScotlandsPeople, and tell them that there is no link to take you to the RCE page. Normally, they will send a copy by e-mail to you; and advise you that the website will be updated, but that may take some time.

As 1st and 2nd January are both Scottish holidays, your reply from them may be delayed a little.

All the best,

AndrewP
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George_Harley
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Dec 29, 2017 2:40 pm
Location: Amsterdam

Re: Name Change on birth certificate Martin or Mellis

Post by George_Harley » Sun Dec 31, 2017 8:36 pm

Hello Andrew,

Thank you so much for your fast reply and useful information. I was lucky and the correction record was available.
I’m afraid that the reason for the name change might stay hidden in the mist of time. I am very happy that at least I now know for sure that Martha is Mary Jane!
Thanks again and a happy Hogmanay!
Best wishes for 2018!
Regards,
George

WilmaM
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Location: Falkirk area

Re: Name Change on birth certificate Martin or Mellis

Post by WilmaM » Sun Dec 31, 2017 11:16 pm

Have you found her on the 1911 census? That could help with more information depending on who she was living with then and what the relationship is described as.

Henderson is a fairly Scots surname in my experience, you may well find a granny of that name lurk ing around the records.
Wilma

speleobat2
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Re: Name Change on birth certificate Martin or Mellis

Post by speleobat2 » Mon Jan 01, 2018 1:29 am

Hi George,

You don't say where these people lived, but on the 1911 census there is a Mary Jane Mellis, niece, living with a George and Mary Mellis in St. Nicholas, Aberdeen. She is 7 years old on the census. Could this be your Mary Jane? Maybe adopted by an aunt and uncle.

Carol :D
Looking for: Clerihew, Longmuir/Longmore, Chalmers, Milne, Barclay in Newhills,
Munro, Cadenhead, Raitt, Ririe/Reary

AndrewP
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Re: Name Change on birth certificate Martin or Mellis

Post by AndrewP » Mon Jan 01, 2018 9:35 am

Hi George,

I had a look at the RCE on ScotlandsPeople, and it is a standard text periodically seen on birth certificates.
  • In the first column if Entry No. 1712 in the Register Book of Births for the year 1903 for "Martha-Henderson" substitute Mary-Jane-Mellis as the Child's Christian name.

    The above alteration is made on the authority of a Certificate in the form of Schedule (D) under the hand of the Revd. Robert Forgan, Minister of Gilcomston United Free Church, Aberdeen.
Schedule (D) is defined in The Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages Act (Scotland) 1854, and its main use was for where the name given at baptism was not the same as that used when the birth was initially registered. It gave the parents an opportunity to make an official change to the child's name at this time.

See the TalkingScot post linked to below for the text to be found on "Schedule D". All the best,

AndrewP

George_Harley
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Joined: Fri Dec 29, 2017 2:40 pm
Location: Amsterdam

Re: Name Change on birth certificate Martin or Mellis

Post by George_Harley » Mon Jan 01, 2018 6:10 pm

Hello all,

@WilmaM:
Thanks, yes I have the 1911 census and Mary Jane's parents lived in Glasgow at the time, on Duke Street. In the 1901 Census they also live in Glasgow, but on London Road. That adds an other interesting twist when looking at the RCE. That record says that a minister, Robert Forgon, of Gilcomston United Free Church in Aberdeen (as AndrewP also pointed out in his update of earlier this morning) was involved in this name change. Mary Jane's father George was born on the east coast, in Edinburg, and this George Martin married my great grandmother Helen Mellis in Knockando, but that's still a fair bit out of the way from Aberdeen. But then again Perhaps the United Free Church didn't have a seat in Glasgow. I will read into that.
I didn't know that Henderson was a common Scotish name, I thought there was a scandinavian sound to it. But forgive me, I grew up in the Netherlands myself, so am less familiar with Scotish names. I now understand that it's simply a contraction of Henry's son :-)

@Speleobat2: Thanks, and you're right I didn't mention where they were living. After re-reading your information I actually think that you might be right. Mary Jane is NOT on the census list of her Father and Mother's address in 1911 in Glasgow. An interesting twist to this story. So perhaps finances were too tight in 1903/1904 and Mary Jane had to live with an aunt or uncle that would be a good explanation to the RCE record mentioning Aberdeen. I will look up this census record that you are referring to and try to find the missing link.
---EDIT----
I had a look at the census record and it seems very likely that Mary Jane was living with her mothers brother George Mellis and his wife Mary Mellis or Mc. Intosh in Aberdeen. They lived on 222 Union Street, just one block away from the United Free Church at aprox 264 Union Street. Very Nice =D> ! And she must have moved from Glasgow to Aberdeen in her first year. This explains the name change. George and Mary most likely wanted their niece to be like their own child. Mary Mc. Intosh's mother's name was Jane too.
---EDIT---

@AndrewP: thanks again, it's interesting to know that the Schedule D stands for a fairly normal name change due to a change of heart of the parents. I still think it quite a drastic change from Martha Henderson to Mary Jane. Perhaps they made merry the day before first registration: hahaha. I haven't found Martha and or Henderson anywhere else in the family tree yet. But that could still happen. Still plenty to discover on the Mellis side of the family. So far I just see that most Mellis'es are from the speyside region (Banff/ Keith/ Aberlour and Knockando etc..).

All this shows that I'll have to do a lot more fun research in 2018 and a lot more cross referencing :)
To all of you: Thanks again for your kind help and I wish you all a great 2018!

George_Harley

speleobat2
Posts: 1646
Joined: Tue Apr 03, 2007 3:14 pm
Location: USA--Alabama

Re: Name Change on birth certificate Martin or Mellis

Post by speleobat2 » Mon Jan 01, 2018 9:33 pm

I love a good mystery especially when we can solve it! According to the 1911 census George and Mary Mellis had been married 17 years with no children either living or dead so I think they probably wanted this child. A side note: It possible that they knew my grandparents who lived in that area of Aberdeen and had family members who were members of the United Free Church on Union St. Small world!

Happy New Year!

Carol :D
Looking for: Clerihew, Longmuir/Longmore, Chalmers, Milne, Barclay in Newhills,
Munro, Cadenhead, Raitt, Ririe/Reary

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