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Thanks anyway Jan . You are all so helpful on this message board Val from Kent

JULIE: I copied all the information as it appeared on the sheet. TRISH: The 1837 site is a copy of all the original records of births, marriages and deaths registered since 1837. For each quarter and each event, the names are listed in alphabetical order. One side of my family is FOSTER, so I had to type in FOS, and its then a case of searching through the pages to find the right one for my particular name. I would find, for instance, for each quarter: FOR-FOS 1 page. FOS-FOS 18 pages. FOS-FOU 1 page. Its then a case of trying to calculate first where FOSTER would appear, and then where WILLIAM (or JOHN, or FREDERICK) would come. So for each name in each quarter, its quite easy to use up three or four credits = 12-16 credits per year. The site is an excellent one, though it can work out quite expensive. The first place to try is FreeBMD, but that is only a partial transcription of the 1837, and as a transcriber myself I know that its often very difficult to read the writing, especially the final, most important figures, so even if you do find a record on FreeBMD its well worth double checking on 1837 before ordering a certificate. If you don't know the year in which the event occurred, then you can use all of your £5 very quickly. But if you can't find a record of the birth, marriage or death anywhere else, you either give up, or bite the bullet and pay to search this site. What I try to do is to find several events on FreeBMD and then double check them all at once on the 1837, then use any credits I have over to do more sweeping searches. I didn't know exactly which year my gt grandparents married, but eventually found the record. I think I had to search through about 12 quarters, sometimes looking at three or four sheets per quarter before I found the right alphabetical place in the lists. So 55 credits are soon used up. But if you find the record, its worth it, and if you don't, make sure to make a note of which years you've searched, so next time you search different ones. One tip, which I'm hoping has found me the record of the death of my elusive great grandmother, is that I first searched on FreeBMD between 1874 (when my grandfather was born) and 1891 (when my gt grandfather was shown as Widower). No results were found, so I looked on the same site to see the percentage of deaths transcribed for each year. I found that in one year in that period only about 2% had been transcribed, and in two others only about 10%. So I searched first of all the 2% year, but didn't find her. I then searched the other two years, and found a record of the right name and right area, so I've sent for the certificate in the hope that this is the right one. Sorry this has been such a long message, but I do hope its explained a bit better the workings of the 1837 - an excellent search tool, though can be expensive. Jan.

Thanks Jan - I might look at that one Lauretta

Thanks for that, which one could it be tho, did the mother have a first name?

Jan I haven't used this web site but saw the comments you made to Lisa about taking ages to find details. I was thinking of logging on to try and trace info but if I don't know the year of birth, from what you said, it could cost a fortune - am I right or did I read it wrong. I'd appreciate your feedback on what the site is like and if you think there are better sites to try. Do you know if there is a site with all census detail on? regards Trish

VAL: Sorry I still can't help you. First of all, I've used up all my spare credits, and secondly its not until quite recently that the spouse's surname is listed. Earlier records are just in alphabetical order, so its impossible to tell who married whom. The only way would be to get the reference numbers and send for the certificate. Jan.

thanks jan

Hi Jan Sorry that i asked for an address look up but could you look for Robert Powney marriage c1861 i need to know his wife,s surname her first name was Ellen and i think it would be Wandsworth area thanks Val

Thank you very much.

JULIE: Positively the last I can do. December quarter 1916 GARDNER Margaret, (mother's maiden name Cowgill), Blackburn 8e, 419 Margaret R. (Stevens), Pancras 1b, 29 Margaret R. H. (Summerbell), Lanchester 10a, 544. Jan.

Him it this ok, Margaret Grdner born on the 1/11/1916 in liverpool. can you find the parents name on it.

JACQUELINE: Just managed to find the right page before I ran out. Unfortunately there was no Charles Goodchild, and three James: Hoxne 4a, 317 S.Stoneham 2c, 31 Bury St. Edmunds 4a, 271 There were only two names from the same area, they were Arthur and George, Guildford 2a, 35. Jan

LORETTA: December Qtr. 1879 Rosa Winifred LEWIS, Stroud 6a, 343 That was the only one that looked possible, none for Gloucester itself. TWO units left, I'm going to bed in a minute. Jan

ROSEMARY: June Quarter 1911 ASTON William B, Hemsworth 9c, 186 William F. V., Aston 6a, 362 William W. G., Aston 6a, 291 GROVES William, Haslingden 8e, 82 William J., Holborn 1b, 604 William T, W.Ham 4a, 401 Jan

Hi would you be able to look up Rose Lewis born in Gloucester 1879 please. Going mad at mo Thanks

Lisa, yours was one which I really thought I'd be able to do, until I saw how many pages of Thomas there were. Sorry about that. Jan.

Jan I am sorry, you are right I do not know how this all works. I have just started doing my family tree and in a space of 3 weeks I am finding it difficult to find where I am supposed to find info from. Thankyou for you help. Lisa

Perhaps you haven't used the 1837 site before, so don't know how it works: First of all, you pay £5, for which you receive 55 credits to be used up within a certain time limit. Then, you indicate whether you want to look up a birth, marriage or death, put in the year/s you want to search, each year being divided into the 4 quarters, and then you type in the first three letters of the surname you are looking for. So, for each year, there are the four quarters to search, and there are often dozens of pages per quarter to search to find the right name. For instance, trying to find Thomas in 1848, there were 39 pages for the first quarter, 42 for the second, 41 for the third, and 38 for the last quarter. Trying to work out which page holds the name you are seeking is hit and miss, and it could have used up all my credits just searching one quarter. No addresses are given, so this is not the site to try and find who was living where. You need a census for that. Of all the above requests, I've just been able to work on two: for DIANE - Alban Stark, March quarter, Portsea 2b, 552. I couldn't possibly look for the second marriage, the time scale is too wide. for LUCIA - Matilda Lucas, March Quarter 1846, Brighton VII, 319. I'm very sorry, but the other requests were far too general to be possible. I do still have a few credits left, so if you can tell me the event, name, year and district, I'll see if I can find anything more. Jan.

Hi Thanks for the offer, could you please look up the birth of Richard Thomas born 1848 in Buttington, Welshpool, Powys. Thanks Lisa

Hi Jan please could you check a birth for me Julia Hickey middlesex 1863 - 1865 many thanks Jan