Genealogy Chat

As someone who suggests ways of tracking down relatives using a very indirect approach, I have wondered sometimes how effective it all is. And I think people sometimes find it a bit odd when we ask for births, marriages, deaths etc. when they are looking for living relatives.

Well, I took my own advice and bingo!

Had been trying to track down descendants of Denis Philips for about 2 years (different surname but about as common). Born & lived Birmingham but gone by 1940's, wife Alice and a daughter Barbara. Nobody with the family here or on Ancestry. Seemed a bit hopeless really as we had no idea where he had gone.

However, I knew his exact birth date from the cert, and found a matching death record in St. Helens (thanks for that Ancestry!). Took a chance - birth recorded as Birmingham and who registered the death but daughter Barbara. Using her surname and address I did a street search on FR.

And who was registered there but her sister-in-law!! Have now had phone calls from Barbara and her daughter.

Just to show that lateral thinking really does pay off - that and a huge slice of luck! In short, sometimes we need to go back in time in order to come forwards, if that makes any sense.

A very chuffed Jan

Well done Jan.

I'm a firm believer in going backwards to go forward too.
I have a few 'brick walls'.... well enough to build a village really, but every once in awhile I look again at those dead ends and search any new lists on Ancestry, even if it seems a lost cause.

One of our best results this way was browsing the in-coming passenger list when they were put online.
Instead of OH's grandfather dying in South Africa ,.... there he was arriving in Southampton with a new wife and family.
Using later certificates we tracked the ex wife of the son and so learnt alot about the lost years after Grandfather was last seen in 1930s in Scotland.

Gwyn

I bet that was a Eureka moment Gwyn!
I suppose it was a similar thing - if Ancestry hadn't put all death records online we would never have found him.
I now have to track down his brother, and again I have found clues because he was still at the family home in 1930 - with his wife! Hence the marriage etc. etc. In fact his son-in-law registered his death so have managed to cross-match a daughter that way. All good fun! I must admit I never before realised what a valuable resource death certs can be.
jan

Hi.... Yes it does work...... I did this too..... found one 2nd cousin once remove & two second cousins.... Have exchanged details & photo's,,, We correspond now & again to keep in touch....
Margaret

Yes death certs can seem an unnecessary extra, but sometimes you get a 'gem'.
We sent for one and found the informant was a daughter, ... Daughter..what daughter?
Lots of searching later and we think we uncovered a hidden-from-the-rest-of-the-family birth of an illegitimate child in 1890s raised by the sister of the deceased.

You never know which piece of searching will 'open another door', ...so we keep looking, ..Lol


Gwyn

Great news Jan,

last year I found out (thanks to the 1911 census) that OH's only child Grandfather had a brother! Bought his birth cert and traced his death through Ancestry.

Now OH's only child Grandfather was born out of wedlock (to put it politely), so when I got his brothers death cert his daughter had registered it.......... so tracked her down and spoke to her. Oh and guess what OH's only child Grandfathers mother (hope you're keeping up with me) confided in the brothers wife that so and so was actually his father!!!! BINGO!!!!!!!! So a name for OH's only child Grandfathers father.............. well what a result.

Still don't know why there was a split in the family but hey I'm happy with what I found out.


Dee x

Jan

Re your post on using death certs information - via Ancestry

When a death is registered - is the birth date supplied by the person registering the death - or is it found by GRO and inserted


Thankyou

Irene

Irene... hope you don;t mind me replying here...

The informant of the death supplies the information that is recorded. This is a good guide, ... but can be wrong. Especially the year can be incorrect, although the birthday might be recalled.
Birthdates have been added since 1969 registrations....as have birthplace.
Sometimes you will see just a birth year only, where insufficient detail is known.

Gwyn

Thanks for replying - <i did think that was the case - but with FMP digitising ¿ births now - I thought there may have been a change I was unaware of

Many thanks

Irene