Genealogy Chat

Glen you have convinced me to try again with local offices. Have just ordered 4 certs from the GRO so the next lot I order I will go local. Just hope they do not come folded in small envelopes again!! JoJo

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Here here OC,I had to go for a marriage cert recently from the GRO,can't be sure of the father of the groom (Jim or maybe John) it is impossible to tell. One call to a local registrar coming up tomorrow.Let's hope the answer is the one i want. Glen

Another point to remember is that the GRO on-line service is an automated system. They have production targets to meet etc and work to a strict set of rules, to speed everything up.There is no allowance made for a bit of humming and haa-ing etc. Before they had this automated on-line service, their certs were £8.50 as a standard price and their search fees were phenomenal - well, a lot, anyway. I stopped using them years ago, when despite paying a search fee of, I think, £30, for three years, they could not find my 2 x GGF's marriage. I eventually found it in the LOCAL office and sent the GRO a copy, asking them why they had not been able to find it. Some six weeks later I got a reply saying they did not appear to have this marriage, it had not been reported by the local Register Office at the time and 'this is very rare, almost unheard of' Since then I have found another five events not registered with the GRO but all sitting in the LOCAL Registry Office - none of the events are either the first or the last in any given quarter and the local RO states that they WOULD have been reported to the GRO because of the stringent checking procedures which were in place in Victorian times. So, to recap - use GRO if you know EXACTLY what you want and there is no doubt. Local RO if you arent sure, or even if you are - ask for a photocopy and you'll probably get it - there is no space on the GRO automated order form to request a photocopy! (And it wont be your ancestors writing anyway, just the writing of some long-dead victorian clerk) OC

When ordering certs you need the REGISTER office,(sorry to shout),the Records/Archives are for the parish registers. A local register office can often take online orders,99% take phone orders and they all take a postal application. You don't have to apply in person or attend the office,at worst you have to drop a letter in the post. I know i keep banging on about local offices,but they are just as easy (if not easier) to use than the GRO. The hardest thing is placing the first order.....Which office?,do they take payment by plastic?How do i apply? A quick google answers the most often asked questions,and you can speak to a person on the phone,not the big corporate GRO(polite though they may be) Glen

Im with Rachel Anderson. I have 3 children under 8, including a baby. I don't drive, and my husband works. None of my family live anywhere near us. We're living in Coventry but my ancestors come from Notts and Derbys...it can be so hard finding time, and childcare, to get up there. Ive never visited a records office yet, although I really want to. Its so much easier to order from the GRO, generally speaking you don't have to wait too long for certs. Thanks for reminding me about the programme Glen, I'll order a cert I need today, before the mad rush gets underway.

Thanks Elaine You found me. Glen

Jumping on your thread Glen - left a message for you earlier - will nudge it up!

Sorry if it looks like i'm hogging the board.(all my threads are towards the top with this post) The threads mentioned have been nudged,anyone who needs them and hasn't bookmarked them is more than welcome to do so. The threads can also be found by entering 'the a-z' in the thread search,all three will come up as a match (clever you see,one search three results) Sometimes i sound anti GRO,that isn't true but i do prefer to use a local office unless it can't be avoided.I realise that not everyone can do so. I hope that the threads are useful to everyone regardless of how and where they order certs,sometimes a local office does take some searching for but the results are worth the work (for me personally anyway) Glen

David, glad you weren't offended, didn't mean to imply anything personal...just thought the tip might help some Newbies. regards, Louise :)))

Lots of local record offices don't take credit cards and living abroad I can't send a check. My last cert was ordered from the GRO on the 8th august and arrived in France on the 12th. I've never had to wait more than 10 days at any time. Maybe I'm just lucky or there's a direct postal service from Southport to France. Of course, next time I'm over I'm looking forward to spending some time in the Wigan records office. Anyone been there? Taking this opportunity to thank again all you kind people who have lots of patience and lots of know-how and are always ready to help in the search for lost rellies. Patricia

Hi David, I promise I'm not stalking you.... Just to clarify, there is a difference between a Record Office and a Register Office. For example if you have an ancester born in Cheltenham, you can write to the Superintendant Registrar at the Chelteham Register Office ( not the Record Office), and order a copy of the certificate. They are also quite useful if you're unsure of an exact date, as they will do a (limited) search for the event. Hope this helps, Louise

I found a birth and death in Rotherham on Ancestry. When I looked at Rotherham's online Marriage and Birth Directory, they are not there, (it says the registry is up to date.) So I've emailed them to ask who will have the records, thought maybe Derbyshire (their records are not on line yet)...waiting for reply. They seem to change boundries, so sometimes you don't know which office has the record. Another marriage I found on Ancestry said Stockton, but when I looked at Stockton's Directory......the cert is at Middlesbrough. It's sometimes confusing It maybe would have been easier just to have gone straight to GRO Jean

Lorraine--- Thanks, being out of town has it's drawbacks Sheila

Yes I use the local offices and they are much quicker and I like the fact that they return your money if they dont find the right match. I have even received a telephone call from form one of the offices to discuss my application as they have not been able to find the right one. After talking with them them found what I wanted. Gwen

Sheila its the BBC programme 'Who do you think you are' where celebraties have their tree done for them by experts Glen any chance of nudging up your records office thread for those of us not sure where to start

Sorry to ask the question but what does WDYTYA stand for ? Sheila

I wish I could use the local office. I called them before ordering from GRO. Problem is i'm in the states. They don't take credit cards. I'd have to paypal money to my brother and have him send the request with a pounds sterling cheque.... too much hassel, it was so simple with the GRO But Glen I promise, when I come home for a visit i'll order from the local RO. Helen

Sent a postal aplication to Lincoln on Wednesday afternoon for a birth cert,got my cert this morning,all lovely and scanned. Now i know the name for one of my grandfathers and the GRO marriage cert looks nothing like the right name,only one letter was anywhere near!! Glen

Salty It's not enough