Every now and then you come across a gem in the parish registers. I came across this entry in the registers of St Paul’s Church, Leicester:
Gertrude Vernon Harper ch. 1 Oct 1874; parents – Herbert and Ethel Vernon;
Occupation – Gentleman.
In the abode column it looks as though ‘deceased’ has been written.
Also written: ‘child adopted by George & Anne Harper of Shifnal, Salop’.
A quick search of the GRO indexes doesn’t show any birth registered for Gertrude Vernon in Leicestershire or any death registered for Herbert Vernon dying just before or after Gertrude’s birth. Neither is there a marriage between a Herbert Vernon and Ethel. So what happened to Gertrude? I wonder if there is someone out there scratching their heads trying to find great granny’s birth without knowing she was adopted!