Question about registration of births
I am located in the US. I have a US passport application for my great grandmother which states she was born in Shrewsbury on 9 Jul 1872 and her father's name was William McMillian. I have searched online venue including The Genealogist; Ancestry; Findmypast and FreeBDM. I have searched using 1870-1873 and I have searched spelling the last name Mcm* and Macm*. I think her mother's name was Elizabeth, but cannot confirm this as I cannot find any record of birth. Is it possible that her birth was never recorded anywhere? Was it mandatory to register a birth in UK during those years? Have also searched the census records for 1870 and 1881 for both her name and father's name(as I believe she left UK in 1886 and came to US). Am I looking for a record I may never find, or does anyone have any other suggestions. Thank you Donna
Sorry I can't help specifically, but I can confirm that quite a few births were not registered back then. I have a similar problem in neighbouring Staffordshire with a person born in 1860 but never registered. The best thing to do is look at baptisms in and around her birthplace, some churches also entered the actual date of birth in the register.