Genealogy Chat

Hi Gail

I think I remember the mill!

We lived in Waterhead from 1951, my dad died there in 1970 and then a year or so later, the house was demolished in a grand reconstruction scheme!

We were taken back to where the house used to be in 2001 ..... and I noticed that the War Memorial was now on our street whereas it used to be closer to Huddersfield Road. Fancy moving a War Memorial?!


I had relatives who lived in Chadderton, but Royton was a little off the beaten path for me.


sylvia
xxx

Hi Gail,

I was born and raised in Oldham! I left the UK in 1967 after getting married, and we came to Canada.

We lived in Glodwick and Waterhead.



mgnv ....... those were some of the next steps that I took in tracing the family!! AND I did buy the certificates :))))))



sylvia

When buying certificates use the local RO or the GRO - and don't pay more than about £7.00 (I think the local offices can be a bit cheaper sometimes).

There are some real rip-off sites out there that will charge you £25 or more - do not go down that road!

Jill

Looking further at Sylvia's example, one can buy a m.cert from either the GRO or the local RO, and some local ROs have their own indices online, and they may have different keys from the GRO index available thru FreeBMD. Check:
http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/
In this case, the one of interest is at:
http://www.lancashirebmd.org.uk/


Lancashire Marriage indexes for the years: 1902
Surname Forename(s) Surname Forename(s) Church / Register Office Registers At Reference
SCHOFIELD Harry COTTRELL Clara Werneth, St. Thomas Oldham CE247/5/272

Oldham RO added the mother's MS before the GRO, so of possible interest are:

Lancashire Birth indexes for the years: 1903
Surname Forename(s) Sub-District Registers At Mother's Maiden Name Reference
SCHOFIELD Hannah Oldham Below Town Oldham COTTRELL OBT/240/151
Lancashire Birth indexes for the years: 1910
Surname Forename(s) Sub-District Registers At Mother's Maiden Name Reference
SCHOFIELD Frank Oldham South Oldham COTTRELL OSOU/15/490

Incidentally, the parish registers didn't stop in 1837, and sometimes one can find transcripts/ extracts on line. Whilst the OPRs don't actually record births and deaths, but baptisms and burials, they can still be useful post-1837.

Just as an example from Hindley All Saints (know the streets but not the people):
Marriage: 10 Sep 1938 All Saints, Hindley, Lancashire, England
Harold Ellis - 23 Cotton worker Bachelor of 92 Ladies Lane
Elizabeth Yates - 20 Cotton worker Spinster of 64 Atherton Rd.
Groom's Father: William Ellis, Collier (deceased)
Bride's Father: James Yates, Collier
Witness: Harold Yates; Edna May Aldred
Married by Banns by: E.O.Beard, Assistant Curate
Register: Marriages 1935 - 1946, Page 85, Entry 169
Source: LDS Film 93751
http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/indexp.html

Actually you don't have to do a new search to find the spouse's full name on freebmd (www.freebmd.org.uk)


You just click on the last number in the sequence, and it opens the page of all the brides and grooms. There are usually 4 names (2 male, 2 female) to the page.

If, as sometimes happens, not all the names have been transcribed, then you would have to do the search that Gail indicates.


For example, I know my grandfather Harry Schofield married Clara in 1902, so I enter this in the search boxes. Clicking Find produces this result (among others)


Marriages Dec 1902 (>99%)

Schofield Harry Oldham 8d 1131


If I click on 1131 ........

Marriages Dec 1902 (>99%)

Cottrell Clara Oldham 8d 1131
Matthews Ernest Edward Oldham 8d 1131
Saunders Clara Oldham 8d 1131
Schofield Harry Oldham 8d 1131



ooooopsy, two Claras!!!!!

I did however know that my Clara had at least 2 sisters, and I knew their forenames, so I then went to the 1901 Census and found the family.



This is EXACTLY how I started my research about 4 years ago ...... within 2 hours, I had Clara's surname, her parents, etc etc




freebmd goes back as far as the September quarter 1837 .... registration began on July 1 1837.


Before that date, you have to find parish registers, and there are several sites that will help you do that



sylvia

Work back from what you know by getting birth certs which have both parents names and fathers occupation.
Then get the parents marriage cert which will have both fathers name and occupation. You can then check on the census to locate them using the occupations as a guide.
Keep working back this way and hope you dont have a Smith marrying a Jones

What is the easiest way to find the maiden name of a great-grandmother when you have no idea and no-one to ask? And then going further back, great-great-grandmothers? I would love to know more of the surnames on my family tree, but don't know how or where to look. Marjorie