History

REGISTERING THE PEOPLE
BACKDROP GRO SEAL
150 YEARS OF CIVIL REGISTRATION

FOREWORD

This year, 1995, we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the introduction of a civil registration system to Ireland. In 1845, legislation came into force which provided for the registration of civil marriages here and for the regulation of all non-Catholic marriages. The Act also created the Office of the Registrar-General who remains to this day responsible for the collation and custody of all birth, death and marriage records. Further legislation which became operative in 1864 provided for the inclusion of Catholic marriages, together with all births and deaths, at which stage a comprehensive registration system was in place.

There are few people who do not need to use the registration service at some time. Increasingly, documentary evidence, particularly of age and marital status, is needed for official and other purposes and it is therefore important that complete and accurate records of births, marriages and deaths are kept. These records also form a basic, continuous source of vital information about the population. They are used along with other data sources, for example, the census of population, for many purposes including planning of schools, hospitals and housing and for medical research into the causes and prevention of disease.

Today, the Registrars General in Northern Ireland and in Ireland hold some 28 million records relating to births, deaths and marriages. Whilst the basics of registration have altered little over time, developments and changes in the fields of medical science, family law and new technology present a constant challenge which the registration system and those working in it must meet. We aim to do this efficiently and effectively while maintaining a high standard of service to the public. The process of modernising and improving the registration system which is presently underway is the major current challenge to the system. The aim is to provide a high quality service in keeping with the needs of the twenty-first century.

I wish to acknowledge the help and support of all those involved in the production of this document. Special thanks are due to Dr. Joseph A. Robins for allowing us to use material from his publication on the background to the first Irish Registration Acts, to our colleagues in the Registrar General's office, Belfast and to John Ribbins for his helpful advice in planning and editing this publication. I would also like to thank others who gave valuable assistance to us, including the National Library, National Archives, Trinity College and other repositories of archival material.

This pamphlet is published both in commemoration of the anniversary and in recognition of the efforts of all those who have been involved in administering and delivering our registration services over the last 150 years.

THE BEGINNINGS OF REGISTRATION

From the earliest times, knowing about the number and condition of the population has been accepted as important. To assist in this, systems of registering births, deaths and marriages have been a feature of developed states for hundreds of years. However, registration came relatively late to Great Britain and Ireland. It was not until 1538 that Thomas Cromwell, Henry Vlll's Chancellor, introduced a system whereby the clergy of the Established Church were required to keep registers of all baptisms, weddings and funerals at which they officiated. But despite the imposition of penalties for neglect, the system never attained the high standards sought.

There followed a number of attempts over the years to make registration comprehensive and compulsory but it was not until 1836, following a Parliamentary report, that legislation was introduced creating a civil registration system in England and Wales. During the passage of this legislation, the government made clear its intention to extend the principle of registration to Ireland. Nevertheless, some eight years were to elapse before this was to occur.

The provisions introduced in England and Wales empowered the Established Church to register the marriages but marriages in other churches were to be registered by a civil registrar. In Ireland the Roman Catholic Church was concerned that this latter requirement might detract from the religious nature of the marriage ceremony. Consequently, provisions were introduced by the government in 1845 to enable the registration of non Catholic marriages and for the appointment of registrars who were also given the power to solemnise marriages by civil contract. In addition, the post of Registrar General of Marriages was created and given responsibility for the central collection and custody of marriage records.

Over time, demand grew for a general registration system of births, deaths and marriages. The lack of a comprehensive system in Ireland was having repercussions in Britain where many Irish emigrants had gone or were going.

The growing number of laws regulating factory employment, public health conditions and the rights of inheritance were creating circumstances in which it was necessary for the ordinary citizen to prove such things as his age and legitimacy. This was causing various problems. For instance, in 1854, the Inspector of Factories for Scotland reported great difficulty in the operation of the Factory Acts because of the large number of young Irish emigrants presenting themselves for employment with fictitious "birth certificates". The inspector for the Eastern and Metropolitan areas of England reported similar difficulties. By hiring young Irish labourers, factory owners were getting around the legal ban on employing young persons under 18 years on the task of looking after machinery required to be kept in motion during the night.

In Ireland a variety of interests also pressed for the registration of births and deaths. Members of the Presbyterian community complained that the absence of this facility made it very difficult to establish rights of inheritance and noted that those of its members seeking commissions in the Indian service could not show proof of their age or origins. The Irish Poor Law Commissioners were finding it very difficult to impose compulsory vaccination against smallpox because of the absence of information about births and deaths and both the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland also argued persistently in favour of a registration system. Eventually, in 1861, two private Members Bills were put before the House of Commons. One proposed the establishment of a registration system based on the Royal Irish Constabulary and the other proposed the use of dispensary doctors as registrars. Both proposals were referred to a Select Committee of Parliament which concluded that the dispensary doctors were the most appropriate persons to act as local registrars. For Catholic marriages, it also recommended an arrangement whereby Catholic clergymen would forward to the Registrar General details of all marriages solemnised in their churches.

KINGS INN'S

EARLY ORGANISATION 

In the early days, the organisation of the service was based on the "unions" of parishes set up under the Poor Law (Ireland) Act 1838. Initially, these unions formed the registrars' districts (for Protestant and civil marriages) and later the superintendent registrars' districts (for births, deaths and Roman Catholic marriages). The Clerk of the Union was usually the superintendent registrar and also often registrar of Protestant and civil marriages. The medical officer of the dispensary district was usually also the registrar of births, deaths and Roman Catholic marriages.

Throughout Ireland there were 163 union based registration districts each headed by a superintendent registrar and there were also around 798 dispensary based registration districts, each headed by a registrar of births, deaths and Roman Catholic marriages who reported to the relevant superintendent registrar. In addition, there were 130 registrars of Protestant and civil marriages who reported directly to the Registrar General. 

From the start, those who worked in the service were remunerated on a fee-paid basis, the amount depended on the volume of business conducted. The superintendent registrars received from the Register General a fee of two pence for each entry made in their areas and the district registrars were paid out of the local rates, levied by the Poor Law Union, a fee of one shilling for each entry made by them.

1845 was the first year in which marriages (other than Roman Catholic Marriages) were registered and 6,114 marriages were recorded in the last nine months of the year. The majority of these (4118 were according to the rites of the Established Church, 1586 were in Presbyterian Meeting Houses and 348 marriages were before Registrars of Marriages. In 1864 the first year for the registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (including Catholic Marriages) - there were 136,643 births, 94,095 deaths and 27, 373 marriages recorded.

High Street Belfast 1850 showing the premises (1st right) of William McComb, first registrar of marriages for the district of Belfast. He was also a well known publisher and stationer, who produced a guide to Belfast in 1861.

In 1845 Dublin City was served by two Registrars of Marriages. The Registrar for Dublin (City) North was Robert Hartford andhis office was located at 9, Middle MountJoy Street, Dublin. Mr. Hartford is also described in the records as "Secretary to teh Bills Society". Mr Thomas W. Reily, a barrister by profession, was the Registrar for Dublin (City) South and his offices were located at 48 Dame Street, Dublin 2 (arrowed).

Advertisement for Registration Ink from Henderson's, Belfast Directory 1846/47. Permanent high quality ink was to be used for registration purposes.

The original Registration Acts placed a requirement on the Registrar General to supply a sufficient number of strong iron boxes to hold the register books. Every such box was to "be furnished with a lock and 2 keys and no more and one of the keys shall be kept by the registrar and the other by the superintendent registrar".

A waterproof bag was part of the registrar's stock in trade, as was also the special registration ink required by statute to be used for entries in the registers. The use of the iron box and the registration ink were strictly regulated. For example, the former was required to be kept "in some dry and secure part of his dwelling-house or office" and for the latter, the jar containing the ink "ought not to be left uncorked" and the ink "must not be diluted". Further, if the registrar found the ink to be "not of a good colour" he should report the matter to the Registrar General. These and various other provisions were, of course, designed to prevent any illegal tampering with the records.

DEVELOPMENTS TO 1921

Throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century additional legislation was introduced which had implications for the registration system. For example, the Marriage Law (Ireland) Amendment Act 1863 dispensed with the need for registrars to attend marriages in Protestant Dissenting Churches and other Christian denominations and provided for the registration of such marriages by the celebrant. It also introduced the present notice procedure for marriage in the office of the registrar. The Matrimonial Causes and Marriage Law (Ireland) Amendment Act removed the restrictions on the conduct of marriage between Protestants and Catholics and introduced the necessary changes to marriage preliminaries.

Thomas Wrigley Grimshaw Registrar-General 1 September 1879 - 1900

The law relating to births and deaths also underwent a number of changes. For example, an Act in 1879 provided for the registration of births and deaths outside the United Kingdom in respect of Irish born officers and soldiers of the Crown on foreign service and their dependants. The pre 1921 records are held by the General Register Office, Dublin to this day whilst in Northern Ireland the records are still maintained by the General Register Office, Belfast.

There was a continuing need to design a procedure to capture all births and deaths accurately and in a timely manner. Some people remained unregistered due to the failure of their parents to register them at birth and others who nominally complied with the law made incorrect entries. Much of the work necessary to ensure more complete coverage was completed during the period 1879-1900 when Thomas Grimshaw was Registrar General. The Births and Deaths Registration Act (Ireland) 1880 set out the procedures to be followed and the persons who were required to give information to the registrars in respect of births and deaths. It laid down time limits for persons to comply with the regulations and provided a system for the correction of errors. Provision was also made for the appointment of assistants to registrars and superintendent registrars and penalties designed to protect the integrity of the records form fraud were introduced.

In addition, regulations governing the duties of registrars of births and deaths were published in 1880. These wee followed by regulations for Superintendent Registrars in 1881 and regulations for registrars of marriages in 1892. This codification of registration practice still underpins the present system.

The development of the system was continued by Grimshaw's successor, Sir Robert E. Matheson (Registrar-General 1900-1909), who published 'An analysis of Surnames and Forenames in Ireland for the guidance of registration officers' (1901) and the 'Analytical Index to the Irish Marriage Acts' (1904), in addition to a number of other works. In recognition of his public services Matheson received a Knighthood in 1907.

Registration after 1922

The main outcome of the establishment of Saor Stát Éireann in 1922 was the restructuring of the registration system to provide separate and independent registration system for each of the two new states of Ireland . The establishment of the office of the Registrar-General, Belfast provided separate administration for Northern Ireland under the newly created post of Registrar General for Northern Ireland. At same time the Adaptation of Enactment's Act, 1922 ensured the continuance of the legislative base for registration for the rest of the country. The responsibility hitherto exercised by the Lord Lieutenant was transferred to the Minister for Local Government and Public Health by the Ministers and Secretarys Act 1924 and later to the Minister for Health, when the Department of Health was established as a separate entity in 1946.

The registration procedures in Ireland have remained largely unchanged although some changes have been introduced. The Legitimacy Act of 1931 made provision for the re-registration of children born prior to the marriage of their parents. The naming of the father in birth entries where the parents were not married to each other continued to be a problem until the passing of the Status of Children Act 1987. The Register of Adopted Children was introduced in 1951. The Short Birth Certificate Regulations of 1953 provided for a common extract from the Register of Births and the Adopted Children Register which were to be used for many civil purposes. 

The Births, Deaths and Marriages Act 1972 made changes in the structure of the registration system by assigning to the new eight regional health boards, created by the Health Act 1970, the office of Superintendent Registrar and the responsibility for making appointments of Registrars of Births, Deaths and (Roman Catholic) Marriages. Some minor changes were also made to the Marriages Acts. In 1956 the format of entries in the marriage registers were amended to omit the "rank or profession of the father" of the bride and groom, and record mother's maiden name. The Marriage Act 1972, raised the minimum age for marriage to 16 years (the approval of the High Court has to be obtained in order to marry at a lower age). That Act also made provision for the registration of marriages which had occurred in Lourdes, France prior to its enactment. This was to resolve the difficulty of a significant group of Irish citizens who had married in Lourdes over the years, according to the rites and ceremonies of the Catholic Church but who subsequently found that, because the local civil procedures had not been observed, these marriages were not registerable in France.

The most recent change in registration law was to enable the introduction of a system for the registration of the births of stillborn children in a new register from 1 January 1995. 

The production of statistical reports based on the information recorded at the time of registration of birth, marriage and death events, which was a function of the Registrar General under the Registrations Acts, was transferred to the new Central Statistics Office by the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1953. That Act also changed the title of "Registrar-General" to "An tArd-Chláraitheoir" and also changed his Seal from the original elaborate seal which cited the Victorian Acts and bore a coat of arms depicting a crown surmounting a lion and a unicorn to a simpler device comprising of the Irish harp with the words "Oifig an Ard-Chláraitheora".(Office of the Registrar General).

Current Challenges and Future Developments

As we approach the end of the 20th century the registration service is facing challenges posed by the need to modernise the registration system . The changed circumstances of the contemporary world, changes in technology and changes in peoples expectations means that a radical overhaul of the registration system and the legislative framework, is required. Changes in society have already led to pressure to review particular aspects of the Registration Acts, for example, differences in the system for recording maternal and paternal details in the Register of Births. The Family Law Act 1995 introduces a new requirement for the service of three months notice in respect of all marriages without which marriages will be void. An interdepartmental committee under the aegis of the Department of Equality and Law Reform is currently engaged in reviewing further aspects of registration law

The possibilities offered by modern technology provide an impetus for change and the General Register Office is in the process of moving from the use of pen and ink to electronic systems. The Government decision of 1992 to move the General Register Office to Roscommon and to provide access to certified copies of the records of the Office direct through local registration offices requires the conversion of the records of the office to an electronic medium. Work on this special project has commenced and it will take at least three years to complete the project. 

In addition to the conversion of the archival records to an electronic medium a second project for the capture of all new registration records on an on-line computer system is underway . This will provide for a significant improvement in the timescale in which the record, and its associated index, is available in the General Register Office. The electronic capture of the archive material and the development of an on-line registration system requires significant changes in legislation to facilitate the introduction of the new systems. 

Any decision to allow divorce which may arise as a result of the referendum to be held on 24th November 1995 could effect the responsibilities currently discharged by the Registrar General (An t-Árd Chláraitheoir) and is likely to prompt an increase in the number of people marrying before civil Registrars of Marriage, a service which is currently under utilised by comparison with other administrations and therefore relatively underdeveloped outside the major cities.

The General Register Office's commitment to the provision of a quality service

The aim of the General Register Office is to provide a quality service and to improve standards of service throughout the registration system. While there are currently some obstacles to the achievement of this aim the introduction of modern technology will make a major contribution to the improvement of standards of service. The introduction of the changes required will impose demands on staff working throughout the registration system and will require the understanding of our customers before their full benefit can be achieved. We confident however that the long term benefits to the public will be substantial.

The General Register Office is located at:

Joyce House, 
8-11 Lombard St East, 
Dublin 2 
Telephone 6354000 

An t-Árd Chláraitheoir (the Registrar General) is: 
Mr M Kelly, Secretary of the Department of Health

The General Register Office is open Monday to Friday from 9.30 to 12.30 and 2.30 to 4.30

Other useful addresses:

For events registered in Northern Ireland since 1921

General Register Office (Belfast) 
Oxford House, 
49-455 Chichester Street, 
Belfast 
Telephone 0801232 252000 
Open Monday to Friday 9.30 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. 

For events registered in England and Wales 
(postal applications) 

The General Register Office 
P.O. Box 2
Southport Merseyside PR8 2HH 
Telephone: 0044 151 4714816

(personal applications and research) 

The General Register Office 
St. Catherine's House
10 Kingsway
London, WC2B 6JP
Southport Merseyside PR8 2HH 
Telephone: 0044 151 4714816

For events registered in Scotland 

The General Register Office 
New Register House
Edinburgh EH1 3JT
Scotland 
Telephone: 0044 131 3340380

REGISTRATION STATISTICS

The early years

1845 was the first year in which marriages (other than Roman Catholic marriages) w ere registered and a total of 6114 marriages were registered in the last nine months of that year. The majority of these (4118) were according to the rites of the Established Church, 1586 were in Presbyterian Meeting Houses and 348 marriages were before Registrars of Marriages.

1864 was the first year for the registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (including Roman Catholic Marriages) and the totals for that year were as follows, BIRTHS 136,643 DEATHS 94,095 MARRIAGES 27,373

The total number of Births represented a ratio, for the year 1864, of 1 in every 42.44, or 2.36 per cent of the population by the Census in 1861 (5,798,967); and the Deaths afford a ratio of 1 in every 61.64 or 1.62 per cent. The entire number of Marriages registered gives a ratio of 1 in every 212, or .47 per cent of the population in 1861, - the number of Roman Catholic marriages (26 and 27 Vic., cap. 90) affording a ratio of only one marriage to every 238 of Roman Catholics in 1861; - and the number of Protestant marriages (7 and 8 Vic., cap. 81), a ratio of one in every 152 of the Protestants in 1861.

1994 Statistics

BIRTHS 47,929 
DEATHS 30,744 
MARRIAGES 16,297

The number of births represents a rate of 13.4 per 1,000 of the population per annum (Estimated Population 1994, 3,570,700); and a fall of 0.5 for the year 1993. In 1994 the Total Period Fertility rate (which represents the projected number of children a woman could have if she experienced current age-specific fertility rates while progressing from age 15 to 49 years) was 1.85 and this is below the population replacement level of 2.1.

The number of deaths represents a death rate of 8.6 per 1,000 of population, 0.3 below the rate for 1993. Diseases of the Circulatory System accounted for 14,002 deaths and was by far the commonest cause of deaths in both men and women. The number of marriages represented an annual rate of 4.6 per 1,000 population an increase of 0.2 on the rate for 1993.


Death Entry
The details contained in the entry above relate to the death of Andrew Campbell of Ballintra on 1st January 1864 in the district of Laghy in County Donegal. The deceased was aged "about 64 years".

William Donnelly
Registrar-General 1844 - 1876.

William Donnelly, C.B., (Companion of the Order of the Bath - 13 June 1857). Born 14th April 1805 in Armagh, the fourth son of John Donnelly, esq., a gentleman/merchant of Blackwater Town, Co. Armagh, and Rebecca, sister of Sir William Young, barrister, Co. Cavan. Probably educated at Dungannon. Entered Trinity College in October 1820, aged 16. B.A. Trinity College, Dublin, Spring 1825; Admitted to the Gray's Inn, England during the Easter Term, 12 May 1830; M.A. November 1832; LL.B. and LL.D. Spring 1846. Admitted to the King's Inns, Dublin, during the Michaelmas Term, 25 May 1853. Married Louisa Frances, second daughter of Andrew Crawford, esq. in ........... and lived in Auburn House, Malahide, Co. Dublin. Appointed Registrar-General for Ireland on 4 November 1844, at a salary of £800 per annum, and held this post until his retirement in 1876. Was Chief Census Commissioner in Ireland in 1851 and 1861, and also a Commissioner of the Census in 1871. Was Superintendent of the Agricultural and Emigration Statistics from 1851 until 1876. Was a member of the Sackville Street Club, Dublin. Died at home on 25 October 1879, aged 74 years.

His son, William Young Donnelly, also worked in the General Register Office for a period and c. 1877 became the Secretary to the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland.

William Malachy Burke
Registrar General 1876-1879

William Malachy Burke. Born 4 August 1819 in Ballyduggan, near Loughrea, Co. Galway, the third son of William Malachy Burke (1784-1853) a barrister, and Anna Maria, only daughter of John Blake of Neirfield. Belonged to one of the 'old' Galway families. He received his medical education at St. George's Hospital, London. In 1842, he "passed" at the London College of Surgeons (M.R.C.S.). On 19 June 1847, he became a Licenciate (L.K.Q.C.P.) in Ireland, and on 19 October 1863, a Fellow of the King's and Queen's College of Physicians in Ireland. He was subsequently elected a physician to Steevens Hospital, Dublin, and he was also Physician in Ordinary to His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland,1866-8 and 1874-6. He was a member of the Pathology Society and the Geological Society, Dublin, and of the British Medical Association. He was a Fellow of the British Meteoroligal Society. He was a Visiting Physician to Steevens Hospital, Dublin, and was a Consultant Physician at the National Eye and Ear Infirmery, St. Stephen's Green, Dublin. He was Medical Superintendent in the General Register Office, Dublin, 1864-76. Succeeded Mr. Donnelly as Registrar General for Ireland 1876-79, during which period he effected important improvements in the system of registration in Ireland. He married Harriet, only daughter of the Rev. Hugh Hamilton, of Benmore, Co. Fermanagh. 

He died childless on 13 August 1879, aged 70 years, from pleuro-pneumonia, at his residence at 88 St. Stephen's Green, South, and was interred in Mount Jerome Cemetery. Mr. Burke was considered to be "a very amiable man and was much liked in the large social circle in which he moved."



Thomas Wrigley Grimshaw
Registrar-General 1 September 1879 - 1900

Dr. Thomas W. Grimshaw C.B. Born at Whitehouse, Co. Antrim, (near Belfast) on 16 November, 1839.

His great-grandfather migrated from Lancashire to Co. Antrim, settled at Greencastle, and founded the calico-printing industry in Ireland. He was one of the (if not the) first cotton spinners by machinery in Ireland.

Dr. Grimshaw's father, Wrigley Grimshaw married his cousin Alicia Grimshaw. Wrigley Grimshaw was an eminent dentist and was Dental Surgeon to Steevans' and St. Mark's Hospital's, Dublin, and Pitt Street Institution for Diseases of Children, Dublin. He was a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and for many years resided at 13 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2. Thomas Wrigley Grimshaw was the only son of the marriage.

Dr. Grimshaw received his early training at Bryce's Academy, Newry, in Carrickfergus School, the Academic Institute, Harcourt Street, Dublin, and the School of Dr. M. Hare in St. Stephen's Green. He entered Trinity College, Dublin in 1858 aged 18 years and he graduated in Arts in Dublin 1860, proceeding to the M.B. and M. Chir, degrees in 1861, L.R.C.S.I. 1862; L.M. 1863; L.R.C.P.I. 1867; M.D. in 1867, and M.A. in 1874. He was a diplomate in State Medicine of Trinity College, Dublin and a Fellow of the College of Physicians (1869), of which in 1867, he became a Licentiate. In 1862 he obtained the diploma of the College of Surgeons. His technical education was conducted in the School of Physic, and in Steevan's and Sir Patrick Dun's Hospitals. He won a moderatorship in Experimental and Natural Science, and various honours in chemistry, botany, etc., in Trinity College, Dublin. Dr. Grimshaw was a Physician to Cork Street Lying - in Hospital and the Dublin Orthopaedic Hospital. He was for several years a Physician to Steevan's Hospital, and held in succession the Lectureships on Botany, Materia Medica, and Medicine in the school formerly attached to that hospital. 

He was a member of the Irish Prisons Dietary Commission, 1880 and also a member of the Royal Barracks (Dublin) Sanitation Committee, 1887. On retirement from practise he became Honorary Consulting Physician to both Steevan's and Cork Street Hospitals.

In 1879, the Duke of Marlborough appointed Dr. Grimshaw as Registrar General for Ireland. Dr. Grimshaw effected considerable improvements in the Reports issued from his Office.

The frequent epidemics in Dublin of enteric fever early engaged his attention, and he delivered a series of lectures on the best means of preventing them, suggesting sanitary improvements, many of which were carried out, especially the clearing of congested areas in the city. He was one of the honorary secretaries of the Duchess of Marlborough's relief committees for the administration of the fund which was raised by Her Grace to relieve the distress that prevailed in 1879 - 80 along the Western seaboard of Ireland.

Dr. Grimshaw was one of the founders of the Dublin Sanitary Association and of the Artisans' Dwellings Company Limited. The slums cleared by the Corporation were utilised by the Company as sites for artisans dwellings built according to the best sanitary models. The success of these dwellings was attested by the low death-rate and an immunity from epidemic disease as compared with the rest of Dublin City. Dr. Grimshaw designed health charts indicating the locality of every epidemic, and he carried out the same idea for the Government in dictating the poverty-stricken districts which were under the administration of the Congested Districts Board.

He published numerous papers and pamplets on Fevers, Zymotic Diseases, and various other medical and sanitary subjects, official Reports on Births, Marriages and Deaths, agricultural emigration, banking, Criminal and Judicial Statistics, and on the Irish Census, 1881. 

He was the author of "Facts and Figures about Ireland", and a joint author of the Manual of Public Health for Ireland". In conjunction with Dr. J. W. Moore, he published a paper regarded to be "remarkable", on a zymotic form of pneumonia, which they termed "pythogenic pneumonia".

He was the President of the Statistical Society of Ireland 1888 - 1890. He was honoured with the C.B. (companion of the Order of the Bath) on 22 June 1897, and in the same year he was elected as President of the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland.

He was married in 1865 to Sarah Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev T.F. Thomas of Newport, Isle of Wight, and had issue nine sons and three daughters.

Dr. Grimshaw died at his residence at Priorsland, Carrickmines, Dublin, on 23 January 1900, aged 61 years.

The Right Honourable Sir Robert Edwin Matheson
Registrar-General 1900 - 1909.

Sir Robert Matheson, P.C., Ireland (1910), Knight (1907). Born in Co. Dublin on 6 May 1945. Elder son of Robert N. Matheson, esq., Clerk of the Privy Council for Ireland, and Victorine, daughter of Jeas Phillipe Jossevel, of Moudon, Switzerland, Juge de Paix; Married on 30 January 1866 to Cherrie Maria Hardy, elder daughter of Freeman B. Hardy, esq., of Belfast. Educated at Rathmines, Dublin. Appointed Clerk in the Office of the Registrar of Marriages after a competitive examination held in 1863. Entered Trinity College, Dublin in June 1873, aged 28 years. Studied law at the King's Inns, Dublin, and Middle Temple, London. Called to the Irish Bar in 1875. Appointed as Secretary to the General Register Office, 1877; Assistant Registrar General, 1879. Commissioner of Irish Census in 1881, 1891 and 1901. Registrar General for Ireland 1900-9. Honorary L.L.D. of the Royal University of Ireland (1901). President of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland 1904-5. Examiner in Vital Statistics and Public Health Law in the University of Dublin 1901-9. Author of various works on Irish names, legal, statistical and other scientific treatises. In recognition of his public services he received the honour of Knighthood on 9 November 1907, and on his retirement from the post of Registrar-General in 1909, was appointed a member of H.M. Privy Council in Ireland.

Resided at 25 Crostwaite Park West, Kingstown (Dunlaoghaire), Dublin, and then at 44 Belgrave Square, Monkstown, Co. Dublin.


Sir William John Thompson
Registrar-General 1909 - 1926

Sir William Thompson, Knight (1907). Born in Co. Tyrone in 1861 to William Thompson, a farmer. Married in 1891 to Mary Louisa Wilson (who died 1910), daughter of James Wilson, Monaghan. Educated at Enniskillen. Entered Trinity College in June 1889, aged 28. Also educated at Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin; L.R.C.S.L., L.R.C.P.I. 1888; B.A., Dublin University 1893; M.B., 1894; M.D., 1895; F.R.C.P.I. 1902.

Registrar General for Ireland from 1 December 1909 to 1926. Chairman of Census Commission 1911. Physician-in-Ordinary to the Marquess of Aberdeen, when Lord Lieutenant of Ireland; also Physician, Jervis Street Hospital. Consulting Physician, Royal National Hospital for Consumption, Ireland. Member of the Medical Consultative Board, Royal Navy. Examiner in Medicine, Royal Navy Medical Service. Censor in Medicine, Royal College of Physicians, Ireland. Fellow and Member of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland. Member of the Council and Honourary Treasurer Irish Medical Association. President, Statistical Society, Ireland. President and Member of Council, Leinster Branch, British Medical Association. Chairman of Census Commission 1911. Medical Visitor in Lunacy under High Court of Chancery. Vice President of the Society for Study of Inebriety. Author of several medical and statistical papers.

Resided at 59 Fitzwilliam Square North, Dublin, (tel. 2075) and Charlemont House, Dublin. 

"Schulze Registers"

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries several clergymen were willing, for a fee, to marry couples in secret. The demand for the services of these "couple-beggars" could come from a desire to avoid objections from families, to circumvent legal restrictions on inter-church marriages, or simply to avoid the expense and delay associated with a public wedding.

A group of eleven Dublin clergymen kept registers of the irregular marriages they performed, recording roughly 40,000 marriages between 1799 and 1844. 

One of these was J.G.F. Schulze, minister of the Lutheran Church in Poolbeg Street who died in Feb. 1839. While licensed to act only in his own congregation he is known to have married couples of all sects, recording over 6,000 marriages between 1806 and 1837. His church in Poolbeg Street is gone, but two of his registers still exist, "amongst which appear the names of many of the first families in the land. Scarce a day seems to have elapsed during the entire period, without a marriage, and on one day ... (was)... counted no less than sixteen. Well might the reverend gentleman boast of "Nulla dies sine linea." The entry of each marriage contains merely the date and the Christian and Surnames of the contracting parties, and these are not even original signatures. There are no witnesses to the ceremony, and no residence or description given of the parties, neither are these registers authenticated in any part of them by the signature of the clergyman. Many of the simplest names are misspelt, and ... (it was observed) .... some entries totally effaced." The two registrars are held by the General Register Office of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Dublin.

The "Schulze Registers" are the only surviving record of clandestine marriages in Ireland. The registers of the other "couple-beggars" were taken into the custody of the Public Record Office and subsequently destroyed during the civil war fighting which took place at the Four Courts in 1922.