Isaac COLLINS b. abt 1858 in Lydbrook (General)

by jchardy , Saturday, April 04, 2009, 12:27 (5785 days ago)

Throughout his life my grandfather, Isaac COLLINS, listed his birth place as Lydbrook and the date as 28 Dec 1858. That's the date he wrote in the family bible and, after emigrating to Canada in 1882, that's the date he gave on the Canadian census forms in 1901 and 1911. Nevertheless, I could never locate any birth record for him for that date.
About a year ago, when the parish records for Lydbrook appeared on this site, I thought my problem was solved: Isaac's baptism was recorded on 17 Jan 1858, nearly a year before the birth date he used. I supposed that his parents had misremembered his birth date, perhaps by a year. However, I still can't find any record of his birth though I've searched through the official handwritten lists of registered Collins births (available at Ancestry.co) for several years before 17 Jan 1858, and tried automatic searches for every variation on the name Collins (or Isaac) that I can think of.
Does anyone have any ideas on new avenues I can explore? Given the date and the "remote" location, is it plausible that Isaac's parents never bothered to register his birth even though they obviously bothered to baptise him?