Is there a date where there were no recorded births?

Answer 1

Actual births, non-official records of births, and recorded births are each different concepts in genealogy.

Obviously, "actual births" simply means a birth occurred, but was not necessarily written down by anyone.

Actual births obviously occurred from the beginning of mankind and even up through the late 1800s. Many States and Counties in the USA did not require doctors or midwives to "record" a birth; Laws changed between 1890 and 1910 in most States. Overseas nations kept better non-official and official records of births. Even when the "birth" was not recorded at the time of birth, church baptismal records give a strong non-official record of birth and baptism.

Non-official recorded births include the personal journals or ledgers of midwives, physicians, and clergy. These are non-official because they are not typically recognized by the government. Even in genealogy research, a non-official record of birth is considered a "secondary source" because it does not come from a Court House ledger book. However, because the person who wrote the "record of birth" in a personal journal or ledger may hold slightly more credibility because it is presumed that person had first-hand knowledge. HOWEVER, many times the person writing the dates wrote it LATER-- for example, "Old Doc Delivery" was present for the birth of a baby girl on the first Tuesday of May, 1873. But "Old Doc Delivery" didn't sit down to write his personal records until the second Sunday of May 1873. In between, he had delivered 4 boys and 3 girls to 6 sets of parents (1 set of parents had twins). The writer got the dates confused for which baby was born on what date and to which parents. So, non-official records give clues, but should not be taken as fact unless other records confirm it. For example, if a date of birth is listed in a personal ledger AND in a newspaper notice, the information has more validity. Other examples of non-official sources are a mother's own notes; a Family Bible Record; a Family History (written or oral).

Official birth records are ones "recorded" (written down) by a "professional" or "appointed person" (such as a Court House clerk). Now, hospitals submit an official record of live birth (they also make a record of stillbirths). Government policies dictate / determine the type of information collected on a "Record of Birth". These official records are submitted to offices of Vital Statistics in the county and State where the birth occurred. From these official records, a "Certified Birth" record can be located. This process is how we can later request a "Certified Birth Certificate" for specific purposes (example: entrance into school for the first time; obtaining governmental assistance for the first time, etc.)

So, yes, there were "unrecorded" births -- births never written down. But, during those early centuries and decades, births did occur. Even back to cave men days, births were not noted in any way.