Genealogy Chat

I am quite new to this and was wondering if there is any way that I can actually view BMD certificates, I am getting stuck because I don't know the maiden names of my female relatives. I would appreciate any advice on this. thanks. Betty Price

Ancestry have some London parish records on line where you can view the actual certificates.

Medway have a lot on line too.

I think Lancashire has some on line but not sure if these are transcriptions or images.

Check FreeREG - it's a growing database so worth keeping tabs on.

For specific areas it is always worth asking. Lots of us have info on certain churches and areas, so you might strike lucky.

Jill

Start with what you know. If you have a subscription to Ancestry look for the deaths for say your grandparents You may be lucky and it will give a date of birth. On www.freebmd.org.uk you can search for birth marriages and deaths free of charge. If you find a marriage and are unsure who married who find them on the census.

However you will need to buy certificates to prove your research otherwise it is just a work of fiction.

I would also recommend that you use other trees as a guide and never copy. You will make mistakes as you go and have to backtrack. Always double check your information before adding to your tree.

This is a very addictive hobby and most important bit of advice of all is Have Fun

I would love it if you could find a maiden name for me. my great grandmother Elizabeth was married to Samuel J Ricketts, she was born in 1856 and Samuel was born in 1857 they married in 1878 and had 8 children. but I don't know how to find Elizabeths maiden name. thanks Betty

I am over the moon, thankyou very much, and without sound too dumb hehe can you tell me what does DF stand for ? once again thanks
Betty

thanks for your help, I am just starting to get the hang of things, it's great fun and I am finding relatives I didn't know I had.

could I ask your advice on something else ? I have been searching for the death of a Jeanette Crebbin born in 1943 and cannot find it, is it possible that her death was not registered ? her mother was Ellen Crebbin and father was John Oliver Crebbin

Could this be the death with the name spelt differently:-

Name: Jeanette Cribbin
Death Registration Month/Year: Dec. qtr. 1943
Age at death (estimated): 0
Registration district: Liverpool North
Inferred County: Lancashire
Volume: 8b
Page: 454

Kath. x

thankyou for looking, I think Annie has found the one I was looking for. could you please tell me where you found it Annie, I don't seem to be looking in the right places.

Yes - found on Ancestry.

Betty - if you are using Genes for your searches then it is not the best place to look.

Kath. x

Kathleen, would you recommend that I go on to Ancestry ? I do find that it takes me ages to get information from Genes records, but I just thought that it was me not looking properly.

Well I would definitely recommend Ancestry - although there are other sites too (like Findmypast). It is all a matter of personal choice but I have had a subscription for Ancestry for the last 6 years and I wouldn't be without it.

I am not really doing any of my own family history at the moment but I like to come on these message boards and do a few look-ups for other people - just as a way of paying back some of the help I got on here when I first started.

I think a lot of people on here use Ancestry and would recommend it.

Kath. x

Just to let you in on a little family mystery, Jeanette was my sister and all I knew was that she had died when she was a baby, but it was never talked about, and when I couldn't find the death I thought that she might still be alive, but at least the last piece of the puzzle has fell into place. thanks to everyone for looking.

That's such a shame Betty. I think it happened a lot in those days - people just didn't talk about the children they lost.

My husband had a baby brother who was born almost exactly 1 year before hubby was born. The baby had my husband's name and only lived 12 hours (just because he was two months premature, and today would probably have lived). He was never talked about. The only thing my husband knew was that his parents had lost a baby. We didn't find out anything about him until after my in-laws had died and we started to trace the family history. It's so sad that they felt they couldn't talk about him.

The death certificate would give you a cause of death - if you wanted to know.

Kath. x

I think that I'll be looking at Ancestry later on, it sounds good. Just out of curiosity I would like to know how she died, is there any way I can see the certificate or do I have to buy a copy ?

Unfortunately you have to buy the certificate - £9. 25p from the GRO.

This is the address to order online:-

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/

Kath. x

A big thanks to everyone for all your help and information. Speak to you all soon. bye for now.
Betty x