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I am looking for John Cross born or resided in Gloucestershire/Wiltshire area around 1860/70s who had a son called Percy John. Percy was "farmed out" to a family in Pontefract, West Yorkshire as a young boy. We are told his parents couldn't afford to raise him. Any information would be gratefully received
Thank you

do you know percy's DOB please

I don't know his exact date of birth, all I know is he was born in 1900. He was my father in laws father
Thanks

Kim, I've not looked yet, but you will appreciate that John Cross is going to be a common name.

Was Percy born in Gloucestershire/Wiltshire?

for ref likely

Births Sep 1900 (>99%)

Cross Percy John Westbury S. 6a 291

Yes Percy was born in Westbury, that much we know, the only information I have is that his father was called John. Thanks for all your replies, and I am so grateful for any help in finding Percy's parents

Presumably you already know that one of these ladies is whom he married in Pontefract?

Marriages Dec 1921 (>99%)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cotton Cora E Handley Pontefract 9c 281
Cross Percy J Roberts Pontefract 9c 281
Handley Walter Cotton Pontefract 9c 281
Roberts Sarah Cross Pontefract 9c 281

But you said it was John Cross his father that you needed to find.

As we know Percy's birth, have you got his birth certificate to tell us his father's occupation and his mother's maiden name. And the date of marriage.

And do you then know when his parents married, and the occupations of their fathers? Or is that where you are stuck.

Thanks meg
He married Sarah Roberts. I will ask my father in law if he has any certificates or information, (but his memories are a bit vague) and get back to you
Thanks again for your help
Kim

We found a marriage certificate for Percy, date of marriage to Sarah Roberts was 24th Dec 1921. It list fathers occupation as deceased. If his father died, maybe this was why he was sent to Yorkshire?
There is no birth certificate, I can only guess his mother kept it or it was lost.
I have found an entry in birth records for a John Cross born in Tisbury Wilts in 1863 but there is no mothers maiden name, so that looks like a dead end too.

Hello again Kim.

It's a pity the marriage cert for Percy is not more informative. Who were the witnesses on it?

You probably need to get his birth certificate in Westbury to get any further.

There will be no mother's name on online records for the birth of John in 1863 unless you get that birth certificate, but at the moment it is far from certain that would be the right father.

Get the birth cert of Percy and give us his parent's names and father's occupation when you have got it.

Thankyou so much for trying to help me, it's appreciated.
I will look into obtaining Percy's birth certificate
kind regards

We might still be able to help if you tell us the witnesses on the marriage of Percy and Sarah Roberts.

Do you know how to go about getting the birth certificate of Percy?

Ask if you don't know, I'd be glad to advise.

Thanks Meg, I will find out the names of the witnesses for you.
I have no idea about obtaining the birth certificate, so any advice would be welcome, thankyou
I have also found a possible on familysearch.org of a John Cross born in Warminster Wilts in 1856. It lists his father as William Cross and Mother as Emma Walter, but no other information.

Rose posted this:

for ref likely

Births Sep 1900 (>99%)

Cross Percy John Westbury S. 6a 291

To get a copy of the birth cert go to:

https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/Login.asp

You will need to register.

It's ages since I ordered a cert, but you click "Birth" and lower down it asks if you have the GRO reference. Say Yes. The year is 1900. The next screen has your own personal details. The next one asks for details of the Cert you want. They are all above. Quarter is Sep, District is Westbury, Volume 6a, Page 291.

You only want a Standard certificate, cost £7, unless you want to pay extra for a faster delivery, but at the moment they are responding quite quickly to certificate requests.

DO NOT order certificates from Ancestry or any other commercial site, they will cost far more.

You can order certificates from the local register office if you can find it, they are also £7 and sometimes have more flexibility, e.g. if you need to check out a person's occupation before deciding it is the right person.

But the GRO is fine in most instances.

Hope this helps you.

Re the John Cross you found on family search, wait till you get the birth cert of Percy. Let us know when you have it, cos we can then help with finding his parents on the census, if you need such help.

That's great Meg. I will probably be back once I have the birth certificate.
Many Thanks
Kim

I tried ordering the birth certificate online and hit a snag. Required information include exact date of birth and mothers forename/s and maiden name. So another brick wall lol

Do not panic, it's not a brick wall. On the first page where you ask for a birth cert, move down to where it asks "Is the GRO Reference known". Click on Yes and enter the year (1900). You then get a second screen to enter his name, the Quarter (Sept), District (Westbury S), Volume (6a) and page (291), as you were given earlier in the thread.

You don't need any other information. Unless you want express delivery, it should cost you £7.

Good luck.

Thankyou, that worked!
Certificate is ordered, I'll be in touch once I have it
Many thanks
Kim

You see, we make these assumptions that people know how to order a certificate, and of course "everything is easy when you know how, and a damn problem when you don't" as my dad used to say. So, Kim, always ask for help with anything new.

Let us know when you get the cert. Takes about a week normally.