Forbes Family : Maria Forbes 1827

Hello, Ange and welcome.

Civil registration of births began in Ireland in 1864 and in England and Wales in 1837.  There was an overseas births register kept in Britain. I don't know how extensive it was.  It recorded some births or baptisms which pre-dated the start of civil registration . From what I recall, majority of the births were of children whose fathers were serving in the British army and navy and Foreign Office. The purpose of the register would have been for maintenance of the wife and children, pension rights,  right of Settlement of the children in the father's parish in England, and eligibility for admission to schools or charitable institutions owned by the army or navy.  A wife had right of settlement in her husband's parish and children in their father's parish. Right of settlement entitled them to live in that parish and apply for poor relief from the parish if they fell upon hard times.  Ireland had no Law of Settlement.  I don't know if the overseas register included emigrants. Emigrants weren't expected to return so there was no reason to keep records of their foreign-born children.   I think I saw the overseas births register on The Genealogist website , a subscription site. It may be on other subscription sites such as Find My Past and Ancestry.

There would have been  no birth registration for Alexander Forbes. You will need to search for a baptism for him. What religious denomination was he? Survival of church registers pre 1800 varies according to religious denomination and place. When looking for his baptism you should regard his birth year as approximate. He may have been a few years older or younger. I notice you have 1791 as birth year for Alexander and his brother Edward. Is the year estimated or were they twins? There is a typo with Alexander's year of birth (1972), the first time you mentioned him.

The British Commonwealth began in 20th century. The 2nd British Empire began sometime in 19th century. 

Some sources of information about British subjects who were born, married or died overseas.   Irish people were British subjects in 19th century.

General Register Office (GRO) Indexes. (England & Wales)  Register on the website and login. Information about BMDs overseas is in the section "Find out about researching family history".  Births, marriages and deaths registered by British Forces, British Consuls or High Commissions in the country where they took place from 1849 onwards.  https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/menu.asp 

The National Archives ( Britain).  Research guides:  topic:  "Births, marriages and deaths at sea or abroad".  The GRO officially maintained the records from mid 19th century. NB. There was no obligation to keep records of BMDs at sea before GRO was established (1837)  https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-gu… BMD registers of former British colonies were usually retained by the colony, however National Archives holds a few registers. The list of holdings from former colonies is in the appendix. Details of BMDs of Irish people in other countries are held by Irish GRO. (Irish GRO began 1864.) 

Article  "British subjects born overseas" on website family relatives.com. (Subscription site; indexes can be looked at free; this is a website I haven't used before.)  A brief introduction followed by a list of resources with a description of each. Regimental registers and regimental chaplains' returns both began in 1761.  Consular births, marriages and deaths 1849-1994. NB. Registration of BMDs of British subjects or citizens was never compulsory.   https://familyrelatives.com/articles/details.php?aid=46  (Edit. This link can be accessed via the RootsChat thread detailed below.)

Discussion  today on RootsChat family history forum in response to question "What records should exist for someone born abroad to British parents?" The subject of the enquiry was born in 1920s; answers showed that registration by British Consuls wasn't complete even in 20thC. The thread contains links to sources.   https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=819832.0

Hi Maggie,

Thank you for responding to my post. 

No they were not twins, Edward was Alexander's older Brother. I have found several entries saying that Alexander was born 1792 but in references the title was given as 1791-1834 .

I beleive Edward was baptised (as were his Children) in Templemichael, Co. Longford, Irelandand and I am hoping so was Alexander. Their parents, Alexander Forbes born about 1750 married Jane Williams on 30 September 1780 in Templemichael, Co. Longford, Ireland.

It was also said that Alexander Forbes was born of Protestant parentage in Longford, Longford County, Ireland.