Genealogy Chat

Hi, My grandad is refusing to help in my research but admitted to my Dad yesterday that he had his grandfathers birth certificate somewhere and that he was born about 1820. Is it possible to have a birth cert from 1820? Registration came in in 1837? Or could it possibly be a baptismal certificate? I wont know for sure until he dies as he has refused to get the papers out. Talk about frustrating. Toni

I agree with you - more likely to be a b.c. BUT you don't have to wait .... find the entry in the parish registers and then buy a copy of the cert.

Sorry to sound stupid but can you find the parish registers online. I'm in Australia and so can't just pop into the church in England. Thanks Toni

Toni if you can give us some names & dates we might be able to help. If you dont want to post living rellies names on here just send a PM. Georgina.

You could try the IGI (familysearch.org) it may be on there. Look for ones that say 'extracted' at the bottom, rather than 'submitted'. If you can't find it there, you will need to see copies of the original records. Your local LDS centre can get hold of these. If you know when and where roughly he was born. Use the Hugh Wallis site (google it) to find the film numbers, and request they get it in. There will be a small fee for this I beleive.

Thanks for the offer Georgina I don't mind giving the name but I don't have any idea of the dates. His name is Joseph Bridges, he was born in London, he married Emma and had 7 children, one born in 1891 ish. The problem being that I know he went to India and had at least one child there. So whether he married in England or India I don't know. Since I posted last my Dad told me that his great Aunt died here in Aust so I can get her death cert and see what info I can get from there. It may help pin things down. Cross your fingers. Toni

Not sure that I follow this - but aren't you trying to find the birth/baptism of the person born c1820 (your grandfather's grandfather)? If so, seems unlikely that he would have been having kids in 1891, aged in his 70's!

Yes, I think the same thing. It also means that my grandad's grandfather was nearly 100 when he was born in 1919. Sounds wrong to me but is the info (verbal) I have. The thing is the grandfather can't be born in 1820 if there is a birth certificate. The whole thing is very confusing and frustrating. Toni

Toni do you know the name of the child born about 1891? Georgina.

It could be that there is a family secret that your grandfather doesn't want known. My grandfather wouldn't tell us about his family background until after his wife died, as he didn't want her to know about it, and his sister forbade her son to research her family tree. So you may be opening up a can of worms! But if you still want to find out anyway, you may just have to do it the hard way. Start with somebody whose details you know enough about to find them on the GRO indexes and get their birth or marriage certificate and work backwards from there. The Indian events may be on the 'overseas' section of 1837 online if you are lucky. Also, there are lots of Joseph Bridges marriages on FreeBMD, so if he did get married in this country, you might find his marriage by clicking on the page number for each one till you find one who may have married an Emma. Happy hunting! Kate.

There is this marriage on the FIBIS website, but the bride's name isn't Emma. www.fibis.org Presidency of Marriage BENGAL Marriage Year 1878 Husband First Names Joseph Husband Surname Bridges Wife First Names Eveline C. M. Wife Surname Marshall Comments 1878163155 Transcribed by FIBIS Volunteers Kate.

Georgina the baby's name was Josephine Elizabeth. There was also a Dorothy, Kathleen, Lena, George, Lou (female), and Eleanor. I only found out there were sisters and a brother yesterday so I haven't had time to search yet. The entry on FIBIS might be the right one but all I know is the name Emma from my great grandma's death cert, no surname. Toni

Don't discount large age gaps completely, it is surptising how many you come across the deeper you delve. As for a Granfdather being nearly 100 when a grandchild arrived I have come acrss quite a few, in my own case my paternal Grandfather was born in 1836 one hudred and six years before I was born in 1942, he was 50 when my father was born and he in turn was 56 when I was born. Jennifer

Toni this is a very long shot but this family on the 1891 census have 2 children born in India, the father is James not Joseph and his wife is obviously not the mother of some of the children (much to young) so maybe his first wife died? Dorothy M Bridges abt 1890 Stowmarket, Suffolk, England Daughter Stowmarket Suffolk Edith M Bridges abt 1889 Stowmarket, Suffolk, England Daughter Stowmarket Suffolk Ellen E Bridges abt 1886 Stowmarket, Suffolk, England Daughter Stowmarket Suffolk Ethel E Bridges abt 1877 India Daughter Stowmarket Suffolk James Bridges abt 1849 Marylebone, London, England Head Stowmarket Suffolk Lilian L Bridges abt 1888 Stowmarket, Suffolk, England Daughter Stowmarket Suffolk Louisa Bridges abt 1864 Isleworth, Suffolk, England Wife Stowmarket Suffolk Reginald J Bridges abt 1885 Stowmarket, Suffolk, England Son Stowmarket Suffolk Sidney W Bridges abt 1874 Kildare, Ireland Son Stowmarket Suffolk Stella Bridges abt 1882 India Daughter Stowmarket Suffolk Source information: RG12/1457 Registration district: Stow Sub registration district: Stowmarket ED, institution, or vessel: 19 Folio: 99 Page: 5 (click to see others on page) GSU Number: 6096567 James is a Sergant Instructor of Infantry. Georgina.

Toni going back to the marriage Kate found above it seems this couple had a child in India, from the IGI... Kathleen Eva <Bridges> Female Event(s): Birth: Christening: 23 JUN 1885 India Office Ecclesiastical Returns-Bengal Presidency, , , India Death: Burial: Parents: Father: Joseph Bridges Mother: Evalina Constance Georgina.

Hi, Thanks for searching for me. I have found a Kathleen Eva Bridges on NSW BDM wih parents Joseph and Emma. I don't have the cert as I only found the entry today. But I am beginning to suspect that either Evalina died young and kids didn't know name or maybe she was known as Emma. Thanks again for your help. I'm off to bed now so please don't be offended if I don't reply for a while. Toni

The parents' names on the death certificate are only as accurate as the knowledge of the informant. I have seen a few death entries on the NSW index relating to my family where one or both parents' names are wrong. And according to the index entry, Kathleen's death was registered in the name Kathleen Eve, so if it is her then given that her middle name should have been Eva, it is certainly possible that the person who registered her death could have got her mother's name wrong too. When I posted up the FIBIS marriage entry I was pretty sure it wouldn't be connected to your Bridges family, but now it looks as though it could be the right one! And from the list of children's names you gave, I reckon that Stowmarket family will be the right one too! (By the way, I went to school in Stowmarket - small world, isn't it?) Kate.