Fake entries

The malpractice of falsifying births and deaths came to light in Liverpool. Charles Chubb Jnr was charged September 1848 with ‘felony for obtaining fees from the parish’ for ‘manufacturing entries for at least five births in August.’ Elizabeth Mckenna was confined on 21 July with son James, but Chubb added fictitious Patrick’s birth naming a ‘Thomas’ as father. As Elizabeth was illiterate, counterfeiting her mark was easy. Chubb’s court case at the assizes concentrated on another fabricated child, Mary Bibby daughter of Ellen. Page five of the Liverpool Echo 23 December 1848 reports Chubb’s actions. After 15 minutes’ deliberation, the jury declared Chubb guilty and he was despatched to the House of Correction for six months’ imprisonment with hard labour.

Chubb was not alone in faking entries. St Marylebone, London, and South Shields, County Durham, also faced allegations of forgery. For more on Chubb, malpractice in St Marylebone and South Shields in the 1840s, read Peter Park’s article in the Guild of One Name Studies’ Journal: https://familytr.ee/chubb

Few fake births and deaths, if any, have been discovered post 1850. As for fabricating marriages? Well, the obligatory presence of bride, groom, two witnesses and a vicar made it virtually impossible!