Genealogy Chat

It would make it much easier, wouldn't it. Just wait - the next time they want me to do something for them.....! Ian

Ian The truly comical part of this is that any retrieval of information would almost certainly be done by some humble Office Boy, earning £7.50 per hour. Why don't they just say 'No, you are not having this info' and be done with it? Olde Crone

Ian, Suggest you write to The Postal Searches and Copies Dept, York Probate Sub-Registry, Castle Chambers, Clifford Street, York, Y01 9RG. Enclose a cheque for £5 and ask for a copy of the will you expect will exist. You now know a year and District of Death so you will have no problem, Regards, Ray Whincup

Ted! But what a result - well done you lot.

Ouch! Whats the odd one out between Santa Clause, the tooth fairy and an honest solicitor? The honest solicitor, of course. He's a figment of the imagination and the others are real. Only joking. Apologies to all our solicitor readers.

Ian no no - 1837 have put me in a huff not you Z

Thanks Zoe. I was just about to log back into family relatives, you beat me to it. I hope I haven't sent you in a huff. I'll forget about the Ahled Jones CD, then. You're a star! Ian

as I'm trying to use up my 1837 credits before I storm off in a huff: 1926 June quarter, Frank Watts, aged 63, Richmond S 2a 588

OK, deal. I'll throw in a CD of Ahled Jones greatest hits for good measure. Found his death notice in the Times now, thanks to Linda. It must be him, his address seems right. Thanks to everyone for their help and suggstions :-) Ian

Glad to be of help. At least you should be able to find a GRO reference for that death - fingers crossed that it's the right one. Linda :o)

Ian could we make two bags of salt? I can use that on the front path during the frosts but I'm not sure what use I'll have for shiny beads Z

Hi Zoe and Linda Thanks for that. I think you might have hit the jackpot with that burial. I'll search for a death around then and see what I come up with. I'm pretty sure that will be my man. Zoe, if you find anything from the directories, send me your bill. Just make it slightly less than the law societies charges! I can afford a bag of salt and 3 bags of shiny beads...... Ian

Ian I'm not that far from Richmond so I can try and track down where they keep local directories and see how long he appears in those for. No guarantee that when he disappears from the directories he's died as he could of just moved but at least you'll know when he was alive. I'm off work next week so I'll check and see if they're open. Zoe

Do you know whether he continued to live in Richmond? The Richmond online burial registers have a Frank WATTS buried 9/6/26 aged 62 years in Richmond Cemetery (V-4809). The site is at http://www2.richmond.gov.uk/burials/regenq.asp if you think it's worth checking. Linda :o)

A friend researched her (English) rellie who was born in Calcutta in 1880. She was sent his baptism and those of his siblings, details of his parents, inc his and his father's work record and quite a few other bits and bobs - ALL Completely FREE and GRATIS.....Have just been looking back over her emails to see where she got this from. She keeps refering to the ''British and Oriental Office''. I know the full name was in the earliest email, which I have deleted!! Assume ot's a Whitehall Government Dept - definitely somewhere in London. She dealt with them entirely over the phone......... Merry

Yep, done that with no joy. Ian

Have you considered looking for his marriage in the overseas bit of 1837online?? Merry

Kate His details are Fank Watts, b 1865 at Blyth, Northumberland. In 1901 he was residing at The Elms, Lions Gate Gardens, Richmond, Surrey. The Ancestry transcription for this is wrong - he is listed under the wrong family - you need to look at the original to see it correctly. His wife is Alice Constance Marshall, b @ 1856 in Calcutta, India. Apart from finding his exam pass in the Times archives, in 1886, and seeing him on the '81 and '71 census, thats all I have on him. Can't see him on the '91, Zoe - they don't allow private researchers unless they are members of the law society. Ian

We have wills going back to 1906 so it might actually be worth contacting Solicitors in the area he would have worked. Solicitors firms usually get passed on from partner to partner so they may have records going back to the year dot!!! It would be worth asking around. Our last partner was still here at the age of 78! Julie xxx

Put his name and details up, Ian, just in case anybody on here can find anything. When you say you can't find his death, do you mean in the death indexes, or have you actually searched the National Probate Calendar for his will? (Because for example my great-grandmother died in N. Ireland so I couldn't find her death in the GRO indexes, but I did find an entry in the National Probate Calendar.) Kate.