Missing birth record

According to his marriage certificate, my great grandfather Henry Bracey was
25 in February 1878 and so must have been born in 1852 or 1853. However I
have searched all the birth indexes for this period and found only one
person of that name who turns out to be the wrong one (wrong place of birth
and parents' names). My Henry was born in or around Bath (according to the
1901 census), and his father was James Bracey, a gardener.

Eve McLaughlin...

By no means everyone was registered this early. The facility existed,
people were supposed to do it, but they didn't see any point in it, so
they didn't. Only when a fine for nonregistration was introduced did
more people (not everyone even then) start to do it. What really
concentrated the mind was WW2 - no registration, not ration book.
Try the census for Bath in 1861 - he should be home with his parents,

Can anyone shed any light on this? For instance are there any entries

Peter Goodey...

They weren't all registered more's the pity.

Also consider the possibility that he was born and originally registered
under a diffrent surname, Bracey being a later acquisition (eg mother's
remarriage).

missing for this area and period? (I went through all indexes, quarter by
quarter, on microfiche, as well as trying Ancestry and FreeBMD).

Thanks for any suggestions

Helenem...

Is it possible that the surname could have been spelt "BREACY" at this time?
There was a Henry Breacy birth in Bath registration district, Sept 1852,
Volume 5C Page 637. Also a Charles Breacy same page, perhaps a twin, who
died the same quarter.
I checked the 1861 census and there was a Breacy family living at Wells, St.
Cuthbert Out, District 7.

Head, James Breacey aged 57, Farm Labourer born North Cadbury, Somerset
Wife, Rachael Breacey aged 47, Born Radstock, Somerset
Henry Breacey, aged 9, Born Wellow, Somerset
There were other children of this couple.

Best wishes
Helen

Charles Ellson...

Never give absolute credence to the age on older marriages (or in some
recent ones) especially if there is a difference between the ages of
the partners. A quick look at Ancestry.com gives:-

Henry Charles BRACEY Mar 1853 Keynsham 5c 759

with the next nearest in the area being:-

George Henry BRACEY Sep 1849 Thornbury 11 440

and others with increasing variance by age and name.
Keynsham and Thornbury seem to be the favourite locations.

Saffy...

Could he have lied about his age? My G Gradfather deducted several years
from his age on his marriage certificate because his wife was a lot younger
than him.