Genealogy Chat

Have paid my subscription and am a Gold member, however, what does the info mean? Unless you have a start how do you obtain more info. I think I have found my great grandfather on the 1901 census but how do I find what his wifes maiden name is, what kids they had etc. Am I missing something? I've done well at copying other peoples tree but that isn't really fun (or reliable) Am I being thick??!!

Samantha.
You have to work back from what you know. You know your parents names. Do you know your grandparents names? You have to buy birth and marriage certs to confirm the names and occupations of the father. In this way you can be more certain if the person you find on the census is yours.


The 1911 census is now available but you wont get it on GR even with a gold membership. 1911 is a pay per view. Can you post some details so others can help you look on the census?

Well not sure where you have started but the best way is to start with what you know. ie yourself and your parents, then their marriage ,the cert should give their dads names and also their ages on marriage so you can go back and find their births.
Gradually work back till you hit the census ie the 1911 census ,which is on a separate site and you will have to pay to view the data, then the 1901 and so on.
I would strongly recommend you verify each stage with back up certs otherwise you will go off track and possibly chase the wrong families somewhere along the line

I would avoid copying other peoples' tree like the plague, unless their info is well backed-up. Make sure you ask older relatives for everything they know, but please do not take it as 100% accurate. Lots of people have gone well astray that way (says with feeling).
To emphasise what others have said, you MUST start with what you know and work back methodically.
For marriages, births and deaths up to about 1930 make use of the freebmd site - www.freebmd.org.uk
Jan

Your great grandfather and his wife produced one of your grandparents - find that person's birth on freebmd, and buy the cert. Then you will have accurate info about two of your great-grandparents.

http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/

Then you can start to work backwards..................

And, to echo what others have said - never, ever, rely on anyone else's ''research''. Not even GR members! Check everything yourself - buying certs if necessary to prove the info.

When you do make contact with people who share the same ancestors you will find that some of them (us) are quite happy to share copies of certificates etc. It's always worth asking.

If I have a cert or two that helps someone else I'm quite happy to scan and send. If we share common ancestors we can also share some of the costs of the research.

Jill