Altered Birth Certificate

January 1909

Sheffield Daily Telegraph – Monday 11 January 1909

Altered Birth Certificate

Sarah Ann Lumby, widow, of Denaby, was charged at the Doncaster West Riding Court on Saturday with using a false birth certificate on October 29th.

The case was brought, under the Elementary Education Act, 1876. Defendant was charged with using a birth certificate after it had been tampered with. For some time the defendant had been anxious to send her boy to work, but he was only 12 years of age, having been born June 4th, 1896, and in order that he might be taken from school the certificate had been altered to 1894.

The Education authority, it was stated, had had a great many of these cases, and this was brought as a warning to other people.

The defendant denied that she altered the certificate.

She was liable to three months’ imprisonment, but a fine of 30s. was imposed.