Genealogy Chat

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Last week I was delighted to find my elusive g'grandfather's birth cert (I hope). He was John UREN, b. London according to the 1881 census when he was 1 yr old. In the June Q. 1880 I found, in handwriting at the bottom of the page, a ref for John UREN b. Poplar. But the GRO tell me they can't find any under Poplar, and have kindly refunded my full 7 pounds. That's well and good, but I really need this cert to prove a link. I was wondering if anyone else has had this sort of problem with handwriiten additions to the indexes, and what they did? Thanks, Sue (in NZ)

Hi, Re-order the cert just by year 1/4 and give name of a parent/parents without the place..just quote ref numbers an letter,,,, Kay,

I haven't been able to check the image as it's not on FreeBMD, but pencilled additions often include something like 'D94' to indicate that the birth will be found in the December quarter 1894.

Geoff. The case you are quoting refers, I think, to a cross reference to adoption. Keith

Sue , You didn't say what ref. you had, but on 1837online the ref. is 1c 624. It also has Poplar for the area. The 6 looks a little like a 1 but is clearer when enlarged Jane

Sue, had a look for you and its all there nice and clear on 1837online at the bottom of the page like you said. i can't understand what the problem would be, did you order certs off the same website?..MOE!

It's definitely on 1837online as Poplar. If I were you I would ring the GRO and tell them what has happened and ask them to look again. I have found them very helpful if I've had to phone (which I have a few times). Kath. x

Failing that you could try the local records office for poplar direct and order from there instead of from the GRO.

Thanks, everyone - I've just accessed this site, NZ time! Yes, that's the page ref I saw. They say it's a mistake and have refunded the full 7 pounds, so I sent another e-mail asking for the cert anyway, even if it's not Poplar. It's SUCH a pain- it's the very cert I need to prove a crucial link! Fingers crossed that they will send me whichever John UREN they have, even if it's not Poplar. The 1881 census simply said London, and I only quoted Poplar as that was the ref on the 1837 site! Thanks to all of you for spending credits to doublecheck for me. Sue.

Keith - it's not just for an adoption - I found a ref for someone when the subject was aged 38!

The GRO won't be able to send you ''whichever John Uren they have'' as the records are sorted by district, vol and page number and not by name, so unless it's a case of someone not looking hard enough the first time (quite possible!) then they may not be able to help further. I think the best bet would be to contact the reg office for Poplar. Their records are now held by Tower Hamlets: Bromley Public Hall, Bow Road, London, E3 3AA. Tel: 020 7364 7883 or 7364 7884. Fax: 020 7364 7885. I have no idea how helpful (or otherwise!!) this office may be, as I've never used them, but if you plead hard enough you may gat a result, if you don't get one through the GRO. Good Luck Sarah

Print the image off, circle the reference in red biro and post it to them. It sounds like someone didn't check the bottom of the page, but if you hand them the physical evidence then they can't dispute it. If they have to search for it, you could argue that you shouldn't have to pay extra as any mistake is on their part, not yours.

Twinkle's suggestion is definitely the best thing to begin with!! Sarah

Thanks - I'll try that. You wouldn't credit it - the next 1837 search I tried for Emily Alice KING March q. 1880 (illegible on FreeBMD version) comes up with the page up to KINGHIN according to them, but it's actually KINCHIN. So it won't take me to the page with the actual KING family on. GRR! I've sent a little query off there too. Perhaps someone's trying to tell me I should be getting on with my work instead of my hobby in the evenings! Sue.

Hi Sue, The only Alice Emily King birth in that qtr on 1837online is:- March qtr. 1880, Stepney, 1c, 490 That's if it was a birth you were looking for. I had to put a different name in that would be just before King to get the image to come up. I seem to have a lot of problems with 1837 at the moment myself. Hope this helps. Kath. x

Thanks, Kathleen, I'd just tried that tack myself before I checked this thread, and that does seem to be the one. i hope so,anyway, though I'm a bit puzzled. I'd previously sent for the wrong cert - Emily Alice King b. Stepney Dec q. 1880 - it's 1c 445 - earlier than the March page! Doesn't make sense to me! Any further suggestions, team? Sue

if your, ''any further suggestions'' refers to the page number in Dec being a smaller number than in March (apologies if I've missed the point lol!), then the reason is that every quarter the GRO starts indexing from page one again. Within each volume number the various districts are recorded in the same order every time. It can be useful to know this as say, you have worked out that Stepney is always the third district to be added to the index for the volume number 1c (I/m not saying it is the third, just an example), then if you saw a birth for Stepney and it said Page 1 or page 10 you would know there was something wrong in the index, as there were two other districts to be indexed before Stepney. So, in your case, there were less births registered in the Dec Q than the Mar Q, or the one birth was reg 1st Sept (start of Dec Q and the other 31st March (end of Mar Q) Hope this makes some sense?? (am not here to read your reply as am going on hols in a mo - this is my final fix! lol) Sarah