Genealogy Chat

How do you know that you are actually following the right family through the years?

I am currently following a family with JONES as a surname (in Wales) so obviously there are quite a few.

I have got one of the daughters marriage certificate, so from that I have got both Father's names. But how do you get their spouses names, and how can you be absolutely positively sure that they are the right ones?

Is this all truly hit and miss and guesswork, or is there a surefire way of actually getting the right people?

Have you been using the census records too?

Yes, and I am sure of a 1901 entry as it has the same address as the marriage certificate. But then, although it tells me the wife's name there, it still doesn't give her maiden name. How is it done?

Like Sheila mentioned, if can find a birth of a child of the wife, her maiden name will be listed on it

Ah, there is another thing...birth certificates. I have the date of the daughters birth, but how from the hundreds and hundreds of Susannah Jones that were born on the same day do you pick which is yours? I would get a birth certificate if I was sure I was choosing the right one.

what date & place of birth do you have for her?

there's also christening records but it means trawling through records at the records office.

I have her death index, as her surname was a little easier than Jones. (I am waiting for that to come through the post, at the moment).

But from her marriage certificate, her death index and the 1901 census, she was born 1882 in N.Wales in the parish of Cilon or Cilcen or Cilcain. Each census spells it differently. They all do say Flintshire though.

You can always order a cert from the local registry office rather than the GRO and specify parents names to rule out which one you are after.

As for the 1901 census - I think you'll find its Cilcain, it comes under Mold district.

http://www.northwalesbmd.org.uk/bmd_welcome.html

Can order it by phone Mrs Tibbetts? If not thats going to be a little difficult as I live nowhere near Wales.

Personally I'd say it was this one

Sep 1881
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jones Susannah Holywell 11b 256

As http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/FLN/Cilcain/index.html#Registration states that Cilcain was under the Holywell district., and it's teh closest to 1882 on FreeBMD

Just to make sure, when you order it, put some refernce points on it, such as mother & father's first names as there other births in that area

Mar 1880
JONES Susannah Holywell 11b 219

&

Jun 1883
Jones Susannah Holywell 11b 268

If you look on the website - you can order certs by post - you can do a search for say your Susannah Jones in 1882 - in Flintshire - Mold and then click on the reference number which brings up an order form you can print out and send off with a cheque and a self addressed stamped envelope for them to return the cert in or return your cheque - if you provide the father's name and mother's first name - you can narrow it down. If it doesn't match they return your cheque.

Thank you so much for your help...I have been totally stuck on that one and thats just the first generation!!!

A long way to go!

Yes - Louise is right - Holywell! But on the North Wales BMD you search under Flintshire - Mold - it will bring up the sub-districts the event was registered under which also helps narrow down the search field.

I would be very wary of relying on anything from Wales. The problem is there are so many people with the same surname. I have been looking for the birth of John Davies for 2 years, Flintshire. There are 35 John Davies's born in Flintshire in 1840-1941. His father is Peter, a stone mason or quarryman. 10 of them have a father Peter, stone mason or quarryman. Not a clue which is mine, and none of the married couples appear on the 1841 census with baby John, or even 1851 with a 10-year old.

That said, the staff at the Records Office are full of enthusiasm, and if you write to them with your problem, they will take great delight in trying to solve the issue - and free of charge!

Give them a whirl.

Margaret

Can I suggest that you also try the excellent Cheshire online BMD site? My family seem to move between Wales and Cheshire - there is quite a lot of overlap. (I ordered from them online and the cert came a day later!!)

http://www.cheshirebmd.org.uk/