Genealogy Chat

Hi, just google Staffordshire bmd. These are fantastic sites and easy to use. Happy hunting.

Thanks Cynthia

I've just been on the mormon site and there's so many leads it's untrue! Going to call my second cousin tonight to see if there are any links!

Wow, after looking on the staffordshire bmd for 10 mins I've found my mum's parents marriage records!

Thanks

Sorry another quick question - I've found their marriage record but I can't find a birth or death record and I know these dates.

I've also tried looking my paternal grandad who died in 1994 and can't find him either.

How up to date are these bmd records?

The following free online resources for Durham are useful:

You can buy a BMD certificate from either the GRO or the local RO. The GRO index up to abt 1929 is online at:
http://www.freebmd.org.uk/
If you quote the vol + page #s with your order, it's cheaper to buy certs.
If I search for a marr of Wlliam Barrow to Sarah, I get 3 hits including:

Marriages Mar 1868 (>99%)
-------------------------------------------
Barrow William Easington 10a 414

The (>99%) figure indicates how much of this index for this quarter has been put online - this is the highest that FreeBMD gives, and means essentially all of it is online.

If I click on "Easington", a new window appears, which says:
The district Easington is in the county of Co. Durham; information about it can be found here.
If I click on the here link at the end of that sentence, I get info on which townships (e.g., Kelloe, Hutton Henry) are in Easington RD, and its sub-districts:

Abolished : 1.7.1938 (succeeded by Durham Eastern, Durham Central and Durham South Eastern districts).
Sub-district : Dawdon; Easington; Wingate.

At the bottom, it says who's got the regos now:
Registers now divided between County of Durham and Sunderland districts.


Alternatively, if I click on the page # (414 here), I get:

Surname First name(s) District Vol Page
-----------------------------------------------------
Marriages Mar 1868 (>99%)
-----------------------------------------------------
Barrow William Easington 10a 414
Sloane Jane Easington 10a 414
Stonehouse Sarah Easington 10a 414
Turnbull William Easington 10a 414

These are the names on page 414. At this time there were two marrs per page (earlier there were 4). It doesn't tell me who wed whom (although we do know here).

Marriages are registered instantaneously, deaths within 5 days (I think), and births within 6 weeks - in theory.
Prior to 1875, it was the registrars job to seek out births - afterwards it was the parents job to register, with fines if they didn't.

One can also buy certs from the local ROs, and Durham ROs have some of their local indices online. A general portal to these is:
http://www.northeastbmd.org.uk/

Guessing they went to Durham (Auckland now), not Sunderland, we can search for this marriage again:

Surname Forename(s) Year District
BARRON William 1868 Durham Central
STONEHOUSE Sarah 1868 Durham Central
BARROW William 1868 Durham Central

(I guess his name is hard to read, although sometimes if the woman has two different names, it means she was a widow).
Now this sorts out who wed whom, but don't stop here - click on the application form, and note the local ref number:
DCCE22/3 - 352 - Durham Central (1868)
Now back out, and search for the keywords church register at top left search box:

Church of England Registers - Durham City Area
Name Date of First Entry Date of Last Entry Number of Completed Registers Reference Number
St. Helen Kelloe 09.09.1837 24.06.1972 11 DCCE22

so now we know which church he got married in - before 1898, the registrar had to oversee the signing of RC and all non-conformist sects (except quakers and jews), and all these marriages are in the registrars own volume, along with reg. office marrs.

Next, lets see if this marriage or their kids are in the IGI at the LDS site.
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp
and click on search records - advanced search then select the IGI (one could also select the 1881 census instead)
The search
:
Results for: William Barrow, Durham, England, British Isles
Spouse: Sarah Stonehouse
Exact Spelling: Off

got no hits, but the search:

Results for: Durham, England, British Isles
Father: William Barrow, Mother: Sarah
Exact Spelling: Off

produced 3 hits for Wingate christenings (the oldest girls) - the source information was very sparse, and it didn't say where the records came from, but all had the batch # c017029
This is normally a style of number just used for extracts from parish baptismal records. Typically, these number have an associated source #, and clicking on that and drilling down lets one view the cite of the parish register extracted, and the film notes which give details of the coverage of the registers, as well as the film #, should one wish to rent the film from the LDS. However, this stuff is missing here.

There is another useful resource I can access thru this site. From the Search Records dropdown menu we used earlier, select record search pilot.
This opens a new window - scroll down to the map and click on Europe, then on the Durham Bishops' Transcripts. These were a copy of the parish registers that were kept at the regional head office.
Suppose I suspected that Sarah Stonehouse's birth (d/o John + Mary) was rego'd in 1845q4 or 1846q1, and she her pob=Fishburn.
Now, maybe you know Fishburn's in Sedgefield parish - if you don't, look it up at:
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.aspx?pubid=445
Now you can search the DUR BTs for Sarah's baptism - 1845 begins on image 419 - it may not be there (I didn't find it with a cursory search).

One can look up a transcription of the 1881 census at the LDS site

Results for: Sarah Barrow, Birth, 1841 - 1851
Head of Household: William
Census: 1881 British Census
Census Locality: Durham, England
Exact Spelling: Off

gets a unique hit, and shows Sarah's pob=Fishburn which agrees with the 1891 pob=Sedgefield, and Williams pob=Hutton Henry.
The 1881 is available online for all England + Wales. There are bits of DUR available online at:
http://www.freecen.org.uk/cgi/search.pl
These cover small bits in 1871/91, and abt half in 1861.
To see exactly what's covered, go to the home page link at the foot of the page, click on "Database Coverage" then on Durham 1861 details.

There's none of this family in1871/91 In 1861 Sarah Stonehouse a=15 is there, but William Barro? a=18 +/-2 is ambiguous - the full census has:

Name Parent or spouse names Birth Year Birthplace Relation RESIDENCE View Image
William Barron Francis,Jane abt 1843 Rowdnsworth [Ravensworth], Durham, England Son Gateshead, Durham [Coal Miner]
William M Barron abt 1844 Easington Pane [Lane], Durham, England Head Tudhoe, Durham [Coal Miner, w bro John a=15]
William Barrow abt 1845 Washington, Durham, England Grandson Lamesley, Durham [Joiner Ap]
William Barrow Thomas,Ann abt 1844 Heather, Durham, England Son Trimdon, Durham [Coal Miner]


The grandson seems less likely - why would an apprentice joiner become a miner - but there's little to choose between the others except pob, and here Easington seems most likely.
1861 FreeCEN lists only:

Surname First name(s) Rel Status Sex Age Occupation Where Born Census Place
BARRON William M Head U M 17 Coalminer Co. Durham - Easington Lane Tudhoe
BARROW William Son U M 17 Coal Miner Co. Durham - Heaton Trimdon

I think these are your Sarah + family in 1841/51/71.


1871 England Census
Civil Parish: Trimdon
Town: Trimdon
County/Island: Durham
Country: England
Street address: Chambers Street
Registration district: Stockton
Sub registration district: Sedgefield
ED, institution, or vessel: 17
Household schedule number: 296

William Barrow 28 Salton Henry, Durham, England Head M Coal Miner
Sarah Barrow 25 Fishbern, Durham, England Wife M
Mary E Barrow 2 Trimdon, Durham, England Daughter
Margret A Barrow 1 Trimdon, Durham, England Daughter

Source Citation: Class: RG10; Piece: 4911; Folio: 84; Page: 56; GSU roll: 848013.


1851 England Census
Civil Parish: Fishburn
County/Island: Durham
Country: England
Street address: Fishburn Village
Registration district: Stockton
Sub registration district: Hartlepool
ED, institution, or vessel: 2
Household schedule number: 43

John Stonehouse 46 Bishop Middleham, Durham, England Head M Mason, Master emp'g 3 sons
Mary Stonehouse 47 Woodham, Durham, England Wife M
James Stonehouse 20 Fishburn, Durham, England Son U Mason
Margaret Stonehouse 16 Fishburn, Durham, England Daughter U
John Stonehouse 15 Fishburn, Durham, England Son U Mason Ap
Thomas Stonehouse 13 Fishburn, Durham, England Son U Mason Ap
Elizabeth Stonehouse 11 Fishburn, Durham, England Daughter
Robert Stonehouse 8 Fishburn, Durham, England Son
Zeta Stonehouse 6 Fishburn, Durham, England Daughter
Sarah Stonehouse 5 Fishburn, Durham, England Daughter

Source Citation: Class: HO107; Piece: 2384; Folio: 612; Page: 13; GSU roll: 87062.



1841 England Census
Civil Parish: Sedgefield
Hundred: Stockton (North East Division)
County/Island: Durham
Country: England
Street address: Fishburn
Registration district: Stockton and Sedgefield
Sub registration district: Sedgefield

John Stonehouse 35 Durham, England Mason
Mary Stonehouse 35 Durham, England
James Stonehouse 10 Durham, England
Mary Stonehouse 7 Durham, England
John Stonehouse 5 Durham, England
Thomas Stonehouse 3 Durham, England
Elizabeth Stonehouse 1 Durham, England

Source Citation: Class: HO107; Piece 316; Book: 4; Civil Parish: Sedgefield; County: Durham; Enumeration District: 7B; Folio: 4; Page: 2; Line: 10; GSU roll: 241356.



In 1841, adult (i.e., 15+) ages were supposed to be rounded down to a mult of 5. Also, for pob, one only gets to learn if they were born in this census county, and if not, which country they were born in (i.e., usually England).

Lets look at William with the brother John. His parents (John + Mary) are at Easington Lane, Front St in Hetton-le-Hole subdistrict in 1841.
Wm + John appear in 1851 in Durham (St Oswald) (HO107/2390/244/19) and Wm gives his pob as Hetton.

Wm s/o Thomas Embleton + Ann - clearly Wm is really a stepson of Thos - here's 1841/51:


1851 England Census
Civil Parish: Monk Hesledon
County/Island: Durham
Country: England
Street address: Main Street
Registration district: Easington
Sub registration district: Easington
ED, institution, or vessel: 5
Household schedule number: 172

Ann Barron 47 Whickham, Northumberland, England Head W Pauper
Dorothy Barron 20 Wrekington, Durham, England Daughter
Elizabeth Barron 12 Thornley, Durham, England Daughter
William Barron 9 Hutton Hang [Henry], Durham, England Son
George Herrington 19 Durham, England Lodger Miner

Source Citation: Class: HO107; Piece: 2392; Folio: 197; Page: 43; GSU roll: 87070.


[2 doors away - check the h/h #]


1851 England Census
Civil Parish: Monk Hesledon
County/Island: Durham
Country: England
Street address: Main Street
Registration district: Easington
Sub registration district: Easington
ED, institution, or vessel: 5
Household schedule number: 170

William Embleton 33 West Moor, Northumberland, England Head M Miner
Jane Embleton 20 Wallsend, Northumberland, England Wife M
Elizabeth Embleton 7 Sunderland, Durham, England Daughter Scholar
Jane Embleton 1 1 Mo [a=1.5 y] Winlaton, Durham, England Daughter

Source Citation: Class: HO107; Piece: 2392; Folio: 197; Page: 43; GSU roll: 87070.

[Whether this neighbour has any relevance, I don't know]



1841 England Census
Civil Parish: Kelloe
Hundred: Easington (South Division)
County/Island: Durham
Country: England
Street address: High Row
Registration district: Easington
Sub registration district: Easington

William Barrow 35 England Coal Miner
Ann Barrow 35 Durham, England
Isabella Barrow 7 Durham, England
Ann Barrow 5 Durham, England
Elizabeth Barrow 2 Durham, England

Source Citation: Class: HO107; Piece 313; Book: 14; Civil Parish: Kelloe; County: Durham; Enumeration District: 26; Folio: 66; Page: 46; Line: 2; GSU roll: 241355.


I think it's significant that Wm's pob=Hutton Henry in 1851, and this gives him my vote.
Now Ann's marriage situation is confusing - seeing as she has a daur b 1831 in 1851, we expect a marr before 1/7/1837=the start of civil registration.

Results for: William Barrow, Any Event, 1820 - 1840, England, British Isles
Spouse: Ann Maddison
Exact Spelling: Off
Batch Number: m156062

International Genealogical Index / British Isles - 1
Select records to download - (50 maximum)
1. WILLIAM BARROW - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Marriage: 02 AUG 1828 All Saints, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England

DUR BT (image 544 of 713) btp banns Ann(X) Witn: John Barrow, Jos Barron (Jos looks like a pro witness he's on all 4 marrs 2/8/1828).


Now lets look for her 1851-61 marr to Thos:

Surname First name(s) District Vol Page
Marriages Dec 1852 (>99%)
BROWNBRIDGE Elizabeth Easington 10a 369
Bury Ann Easington 10a 369
EMBLETON Thomas Easington 10a 369
James John Hogget Easington 10a 369


Surname Forename(s) Year District
BURY Ann 1852 Durham Eastern
EMBLETON Thomas 1852 Durham Eastern
MADDISON Ann 1852 Durham Eastern
DE/C-E/T1 - 68 - Durham Eastern (1852)
Holy Trinity, Wingate Grange 05.12.1842 05.08.1989 9 T

So how did Ann Maddison get the name Bury - there's no marr 1841-1852 to Mr Bury. Is it a misrecording of Barrow (we know Ann can't read)? Was Ann a widow at a=~24 when she wed William? Was she born Ann Bury, and took on her stepfather's name when her mum wed Mr Maddison?

I think this is our Wm is at Trimdon, but I think you'll need William's m.cert and b.cert to sort this lot out.

Dear mgmv.
I have sent you a mesage.

Just want to say that I'm very grateful for whoever it was who suggested the familysearch.org website

Using it, in just a few days I have managed to trace back to realtives born in 1701 so now I can hopefully find more information from other sources

Thanks again