Person:Joseph Meekins (3)

Joseph Meekins was born on 16th June 1896 at the Infirmary in Plumstead in the south-eastern suburbs of London. He was the son of a laundry hand and field hand named Alice Meekins, formerly Keating, and her husband Henry Meekins, a general dealer. Joseph had a twin sister Catherine, born just under two hours earlier.

Joseph was baptised on 29th July 1896 at St Joseph's Catholic Church in the village of St Mary Cray in Kent.

Sadly Joseph died from whooping cough on 15th August 1896 when he was about two months old, at 35 South Street in Dartford.

1. ↑ Birth certificate, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   REGISTRATION DISTRICT Woolwich
   1896 BIRTH in the Sub-district of East Plumstead in the County of London
   No.	When and where born	Name, if any	Sex	Name and surname of father	Name, surname and maiden name of mother	Occupation of father	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered	Signature of registrar
   305	Fifteenth June 1896 12.40pm The Infirmary	Joseph	Boy	Henry Meekins	Alice Meekins formerly Keating of 83 High Street Woolwich	General dealer in market	Alice Meekins Mother The Infirmary, Plumstead	Twenty ninth June 1896	W.J. Vincent Registrar

   If the birth certificates of Joseph and his twin Catherine are taken at face value, then Joseph was born first, at 12.40pm, then Catherine was born at 10.50pm, over eight hours later. Such a gap between the births of twins seems implausibly long, especially for this era when the scope for medical interventions was relatively limited. It is also worth noting the order in which the births were registered: Catherine's birth is listed first, being entry 304, then Joseph's birth is entry 305. On balance therefore it is considered more likely that the time of "12.40 p.m." given on Joseph's birth certificate should actually have referred to 12.40am, meaning he was actually born on 16th June, not 15th. This would make the gap between the twins' births one hour and fifty minutes - still relatively long for a gap between twin births, but within the range known to occur naturally.

2. ↑ Baptisms register, in St Mary Cray, Kent: Roman Catholic Parish Registers of St Joseph, St Mary Cray (Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark, London).

   Meekins / DIE 15 Junii 1896 natus et die 29 Julii 1896 baptizatus fuit Joseph Meekins filius Henrici et Aliciae Meekins (olim Creedin) conjugum a me E. Carroll Misso.
   Patrinus fuit E. Carroll Matrina fuit Anna Self
   Approximate translation:
   Meekins / Born 15th June 1896 and baptised 29th July 1896 Joseph Meekins son of Henry and Alice Meekins (formerly Creedin) his wife by me E. Carroll Priest
   Godfather E. Carroll Godmother Anna Self

   Baptised same day as sister Catherine.

3. ↑ Death certified, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   Registration District Dartford
   1896 Death in the Sub-district of Dartford in the County of Kent
   No.	When and where died	Name and surname	Sex	Age	Occupation	Cause of death	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered	Signature of registrar
   317	Fifteenth August 1896 35 South Street, Dartford U.D.	Joseph Meekins	Male	2 months	Son of Henry Meekins General Dealer	Whooping Cough Bronchopneumonia Convulsions Certified by A.W. Paterson M.B.	A. Meekins Mother Present at the death 35 South Street, Dartford	Fifteenth August 1896	James George Cann Registrar