Genealogy Chat

Getting a siblings cert is a good place to start for instance I had Polly Foster so I didn't know if she was Mary or Polly. However her mother used the name she was brought up with on the siblings cert but put her correct maiden name on Polly's cert. Also don't forget siblings can have different mother's with the same first name. I have one gentleman who married three different ladies called Mary - do you think he had a memory problem? Try and start with what you know and work backwards step by step and remember that although it would be easier and 'fits' it may not be right. Due to a trascription error in the 1881 census and 2 people of the same name being born in the same village in the same year I ended up following the wrong family however if I had checked all the info on the certs that I did have it would have saved me a lot of time and effort. Pippa

well I am not a newbie but you have given some excellent advice I did not think to order the brother with the rarer names birth cert what a good idea as I have often got the wrong cert, if its a common name , hope you dont mind me jumping your thread

hi there David's tips are the best way to go, always look for non familiar names first, ie Job and not John, theres hundreds of Johns and much few Jobs. BUT and heres a problem which can only be solved by buying one at a time. 3 thomas lee's ALL born in the same year, in the same place MANCHESTER and none of them related. One was my wife Grandfather. 3 thomas lee's all died in the same year as her Granddad, all the same age at death, all in the same place, LPOOL. the year was known and the approximate date, but how could I possibly know which one to pick? so I spent a couple of pounds extra an asked GRO to supply only the cert with the wifes name as ELIZ FANNY LEE. so instead of spending £21 I spent £14 in getting the right one first time. If you order from REGISTER OFFICES direct as per the GRO Ref, they will almost certainly look up for you and only provide the cert with the info you requested, they are usually all very good and helping you, with one or two exceptions, and they usually dont charge you any extra for the cert. TED

Lorraine What they meant was the info you gave WASN'T what was on the cert. If you say father is James Jones and his name on the cert is Jim or Jas, you may not get it. I have found that less is often more, if you know what I mean. Two useful sites: a list of registration districts, showing which parishes/towns are included and dates and volume numbers: www.fhsc.org.uk/genuki/REG/index.htm and a list of current local register office contacts: www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/RegOffice/ Two more bits of advice 1) some local register offices, especially in London, do not provide certs for genealogical purposes 2) if you order from the GRO you will get a photocopy of a copy of the cert, done when the entry was new - ie an 1846 cert will be an 1846 copy. If you order locally, you may find an uptodate copy - ie if you order an 1846 cert in 2005, someone in 2005 may copy it out. This may not matter to you, but I prefer the original copy of the cert where poss. It has more 'flavour' and doesn't have someone else's interpretation of the handwriting. nell

From time to time we all send off for the wrong certificate. Here are some usefull tips for beginners. Please feel free to add your tips and I apologise if the tips have been on here before. 1) Send for certificates in a logical sequence - 1 at a time is my moto. A childs birth cert. usually comes before the parent's marriage cert., because it gives the mothers maiden name. 2) Unless you have oodles of cash only send for the certs that you really need. 3) If you have a great grandfather John Smith who had a brother Zacharriah then send for the brother's cert. it will give pretty much the same information and there is much more chance of getting the right one. 4) Look at witnesses to marriages and informants at deaths, if you do not recognise the names check them out on the nearest census. They may have been just friends or if you are lucky, one of your relatives.