Genealogy Chat

Thanks ive ordered it now!! might make a bit more sense when it comes back!!!! Carly...

sorry Carly went off to watch Big Brother the number at the end is the page number yes. Zoe

I'M TRYING TO ORDER THAT MARRIAGE CERT, IS THE NUMBER AT THE END THE PAGE NUMBER????

how do i search the free BMD at ancestry.com?? i'm havin problems on it!!! thanks

Also dont forget to look at the witnesses to the wedding at the bottom of the cert. Most times they are rellies and can open yet another door! Good luck and happy hunting. Gerri. PS.....hide your credit card when ordering certs on line from your hubby/partner/parents.....lol...Most of us do cos it's addictive lol

Carly once you have those certificates it'll give you ages to try and find births for you great grandparents. if they married in 1926 there is a possibility they were born before 1901. In which case you can try and find them on the 1901 census with their fathers names. If they werent born before 1901 you'll need to work back another generation to start being able to research the families in the census data - this is where you'll be able to start finding brothers and sisters for you direct ancestors. generally you work back by getting hold of a marriage then birth for each of your grandparents, great grandparents, great great grandparents and then try and find them in the census to double check the information and see if you can find anything else. i.e. once you have a birth certificate it'll give you names for a set of parents you then try and find that couples wedding to get their ages (and fathers name) and then try and find their births (to get the mothers names also) and start the cycle over again You're doing the best thing by concentrating on one line to start with as by the time you've done this line you sohuld know how to start following your other set of grandparents. if you need any help at all or aren't sure how to make the next step just come on the boards and ask. Everyone on here was new to genealogy at one time and there's always someone around to guide you along Zoe

when the marriage cert comes in the post to you, it will tell you both their fathers names and the bride and grooms ages, - good concrete info from which to work backwards

thanks for your help!!! i think i'll go on an order them certificates!!! shall i just now try an work back from that info?? thanks

Carly I have a bit of time on my hands so I've looked up a marriage matching your grandfathers parents too James THompson married Catherine Johnston in 1926. reference for ordering the certificate is: 1926, June quarter, Birkenhead, 8a 1288 Getting a copy of this marriage will tell you: what date they married, where they married, their ages and occupations, the names of their fathers, the fathers occupations, and where they were living. To explain what these references are: every single certificate issued in England and Wales for a birth marriage or death has a unique reference at the General Records Office. These reference are found in the GRO indexes also called the BMD indexes. Each reference will consist of a year, a quarter, a registration district and then a set of numbers/letters to identify its place in the books. So for the marriage above the GRO know to look in the records for year 1926 quarter of the year that include April may and june the registration district of Birkenhead book volume 8a entry number 1288 at the moment you can look at these indexes for free on the website at www.ancestry(.)co(.) uk (you need to remove the brackets from around the dots)

Carly £7 online IF you have the right GRO ref (year, quarter, name, registration district, vol and page numbers) www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/ nell

yeh i am quite new so would need to know how to do that!!! how much do they cost to order thanks

There is a James G Thompson born in June quarter of 1927 (this covers April May and June) in Birkenhead. his mothers maiden surname was Johnston. You can find out her first name by rdering James G's birth certificate. You can order a copy of the certificate with the reference: James G Thompson June quarter 1927, Birkenhead, 8a 730. Are you new to doing your family tree or do you know how to order a certificate? p.s. I found this information using the free access to BMD indexes at ancestry.

you can look for free on Ancestry BMD you will find your Grandads birth then order cert from cert you will get his parents which you should then find on Census or then find their births and get their parents and so on Jeanette

James senior, my great greatgrandfather. my grandfather James Gerrard Thompson was an only child!!!

who had the sister? james snr or james Jnr?

1901 is the latest available census, so information about families after that can be found on birth marriage and death certificates in electoral rolls (people eligible to vote only and you need an address) street directories, phone books, school registers etc. But generally the 20th century is not as easy as the 19th and involves a lot of slog through the GRO indexes to births, marriages and deaths. nell

Hi I am trying to find out about my Grandfathers family, my grandad James Gerrard Thompson was born 11 April 1927 Birkenhead,Cheshire, I know that his father was also James Thompson and he had a sister called Christina Thompson. James thompson married a catherine and Christina married a Richard Jones but that is the only info i have!!! Can anyone help me find out any details about this. Thanks xx