Genealogy Chat

I recently started to research my family tree as I am the end of the line for my family name :(

tracing my Maternal Grandmothers side of the family was very easy as she had quite a rare maiden name, I was quickly able to get back to the early 1800's

However on the paternal side it's been hard work as the Name is very common (Thompson) and the family seem to have a penchant for calling the first and second born George and John.

What should I try to get hold of to help me make progess?

I have used the online census's to get as much info as i can.

I know when and where my grandfater was born so I assume sending off for his birth certificate will give me His Mothers Maiden name which i am missing .

That would hopefully lead me to the marriage Certificate.. If I then send off for that what Info will that give me?

sorry for the basic nature of the question but I am new to all this

mark

The marriage cert. should give you the names and occupations of both fathers, and state whether they were deceased at the time of marriage, and the addresses for the bride and groom, and their occupations. The witnesses names can sometimes help.
Liz

If you have the mother's maiden name that can help you track down the marriage. If you know the date of marriage or have a rough idea then if you find the two names with the same volume and page number it's a good (but not foolproof) indication that that will lead you to the marriage certificate.
The marriage certificate will tell you the full names of both parties, where they were living at the time, their age (which may not be accurate for reasons either accidental or deliberate, and may only state "of full age"), their fathers' names and occupations and if either or both fathers were deceased. Also of course where they were married.
There was a recent post on here about useful websites which may help you. I'll give it a nudge to bring it back to the top of the Tips Board

For what info is on any BMD cert their is a very good site that i recommend to anyone new to researching their family tree,
use this link

http://home.clara.net/dixons/Certificates/indexbd.htm

But the marriage cert should give you their fathers names and occupations, and the names of the witnesses, plus on later certs it will give the age's of the bride and groom, but most early ones just say full age

Roy

Thanks Guys,

Do I need to order the certificates and have them sent to me (I live overseas). Or is there a way just to get the info I need off of them?

Mark, I think it will cost you more than £7 to order from GRO if you are overseas, but I don't think there is any cheaper way of doing it unless you order from one of the "local bmd sites" e.g. Cheshirebmd, where you can specify the name of the father or spouse etc. and pay nothing if it is wrong.

Hope that is clearer than mud!

Margaret

Margaret

Sorry to correct you


Ordering a certificate from GRO does not cost any more when ordering from overseas. It is still £7 including postage, and they are sent airmail.


On the other hand, ordering certificates from local Registry offices does cost more when ordering from overseas.

................ ROs require a stamped addressed envelope of a certain size when using this option. BUT, the size of envelope requested is not available (at least in North America) and so you have to buy either a smaller size that results in the certificate being folded or one much larger.

................. UK stamps are not available overseas .

So one has to either ADD £1 to each certificate ordered (even if ordering more than one at the same time) to cover the cost of postage. OR one has to buy an International Reply Coupon (from a bank) that is used for postage ...... the last time I bought these coupons, I had to buy 3 and each one cost me $10 Canadian. The total was $30 Canadian ..... or about £15


................... also many of the ROs and other sites don't accept credit cards, they want cheques. BUT those of us overseas usually don't have pound sterling bank accounts ................. so we have to buy money orders from the bank


Ordering from freebmd for example costs me £8 per certificate + the bank charge for a money order + an exchange rate + the cost of buying special envelopes.


Can you wonder that I only order from GRO?!



Don't forget that you can also use the extra Reference Check on GRO ....... if you know definitely the name of one or both parents or the spouse, then you can specify that you only want the certificate if those names are on it. If the names are not correct, then GRO will only charge £3, and will refund £4


The only snag is that the name(s) you specify under Reference Check have to be EXACTLY the same as on the certificate ............. if you think it should be Mary A Jones and the certificate has M Anne Jones ........ then they will not send it.



sylvia

Sylvia

Thanks for clarfying this, I was daft to jump to conclusions.

Now you have explained, I remember it all. Just to say that even ordering from local ROs means getting a folded certificate, as it does from GRO. I wondered about ironing them.......

Margaret