Genealogy Chat

Congratulations! I have never used findmypast so I don´tknow how things work, but I think I would be inclined to order one or both of the certificates through GRO, so that you know where and when they were born - does Findmypast have a help line so that you can find out how to do this? or ask if anyone on here has done it. At the same time email the Consulate to find out if the records would have been kept. then you can go on from there.
P.J.

PJ,

I looked through findmypast and I think I have them both! Will the consulate in Bilbao have actual dates for them both as the results seem to be for 4-5 year batches?

Many thanks

Helen.

No need to grovel just yet. Ask on here if anyone can check on Findmypast for you and look through the overseas births and if you email the British Consulate in Bilbao you can do it in English.
P.J.

thanks PJ!

My need to grovel to my eldest who's doing A level spanish!

here's hoping.

Helen.

I´d look through the overseas births on findmypast first to see if there is any information there and you could try emailing the British Embassy Consular section in Bilbao to see if they have records that go that far back. Until recently most English people living abroad would register with the Consulate in case they needed to be evacuated in a hurry ( I know that I did ) and Spain was going through a difficult period politically then leading to the abdication of the king in, I think, 1931
If they needed an English birth certificate for the children then they would register their children´s birth at a consulate. There were probably more consulates in Northern Spain so even if Bilbao kept the records, they may not be the one you want, but they might give you some ideas.
P:J.

Chica,

I do apologise! My fault, they were in Spain - I have a photo of Mums Aunty Elsie and someone has written 'Elsie in Biarritz' on the back, my geography being so bad I'm am allowed out with string tied to me, I (wrongly!) assumed that this was where they were living!

They were in Northern Spain, apparrently Grandma took a boat to Bilbao, but the name of the place they lived is unknown.

Would the British consulate have been informed if they had been born in Spain?

Sorry for the confusion!

Helen.

Helen last time I looked Biarritz was in

FRANCE

not

SPAIN!!!

Many thanks to all,

My rellies are British, their surname is Pickering, they married in 1923 in Hampstead and then moved to Spain - possibley Biaritz(?sp) - where their 2 sons were born, definately before 1930 because my grandma went out to live with her sister for a while and moved back to England about 1929/30 and the the 2 boys were around then.

I don't know when they moved back to England but I do know that both boys died relatively young (one had a motorbike crash but I don't know where) in england.

Sorry for rambling!
Thanks
Helen.

I agree with everything PJ says. Helen, what are the surnames you are looking for? Sometimes names can be linked to certain areas of the country, people moved around of course, but many places in Spain were quite remote back then and families stayed in the same place, usually working the land for generations.

The civil war was 1936-1939 many people who anticipated the impending war tried to leave the country. Could your rellies be nearer that time do you think?

As PJ says, many records were destroyed during the war and as Spain became a dictatorship under Franco there was restricted access to all records.

I do remember a thread on here (a long way back) where someone gave loads of info on how to do research in Spain, I just can´t find it now.

A word of encouragement, as Spain uses two surnames on every document research could very well be easier to do than in countries using one name only. How I wish my rellies had two surnames! Good luck . Chica

Helen,

My GGran was born in Spain and married there also. I have details of marriage but that is because my GGrandad was in the Army in Gibralter. All I have is her Fathers name, I have been trying to get info for ages but no luck.

Ann

If you search the board using the words Spain or Spanish births you´ll find some ideas but the problem is that the cenuses in Spain are for research purposes only and are not available to the general public. You will find some information on the LDS site but the church has been reluctant to give access to the Mormons and so only a few areas are covered.
Birth. marriage and death certificates can be obtained from the local registry offices for dates after 1870 but you must have the name, both of the person´s surnames ( in Spain everyone uses both their father´s and mother´s surnames) and the exact date as well as knowing which registry office to apply to. The church also holds these records but the same applies - exact names, dates and area I´m afraid. You may be lucky if it´s a small village and you know within a year or so of the event. But a lot of records were destroyed during the civil war.
P.J.

hi helen if you get sorted please let me know how you did it as i am having the same problem my family come from northern spain and are now all over the world
many thanks
angela

Hi,

I have a couple of my Mums cousins she thinks may have been born in Spain, both died early, how do I go about tracing their births? would be grateful for any advice. We are lookin around about 1920 -30.

Many thanks - I'm popping in and out so will try to get back to all replies! lol.

Helen