Genealogy Chat

Well, you can put in pointers, i.e. - fathers name should be XXX XXXX in which case they wont send you the cert but will deduct £3 for the check. If you ring the office local to the event you may find they are a lot more flexible about searching out the right one. Do you want to put the details of the lady on here so others can see if they can narrow it down for you?

Hi, Can someone tell me if I have a female's name and age, also a rough idea of when she married, and also the details of her father, but I have several possible matches for the groom. Can GRO do a search 3 years either side of this year, and if I leave the grooms name out, find the match from her details and her fathers details alone ? Thanks for your help Sheila

What sort of date are you talking about - pre 1901? If so, you should be able to narrow down the hubby from the census info after she married.

For a fee they will search eirher side of a date . cost depends on how many years search you want to pay for. if you tell them her name & her dads then that should find you the right cert hopefuly!!

Hi Heather and Shirley Thanks a lot for that info, can't really put her details on here as its in the last 40 years, but could try the local registry office like you suggest. Do you know what the maximum number of years they would search would be ? is it 3 ? Thanks once again for your help. Sheila

Hi Heather, Problem is the bride has a common name and there are 30 possible matches for the groom over a few years, thought if we had her age and her fathers name if they search for those details together we could find her. Do you know how much the member paid for the 5 year search? thanks again :O) Sheila

Aargh, just a thought, less than 50 years ago??? Oh dear, I think for that you need the exact date of the event to buy the cert. If the marriage was since 1984? You can search for that by name on ancestry with the grooms name given for the match..

Sheila, I deleted that bit of my message and updated it as above, I dont think you will be able to buy a certificate that recent without the full date of the event. If anyone knows??

Just copied this from GRO site: For births, marriages and deaths registered in England and Wales, you may apply online for any certificate if you have the full GRO index reference. In the case of events in the last 50 years you will be prompted to supply further details as you complete the online application form. If you have not done your own searching in the GRO indexes, you may apply online for any event which took place on or after 1st January, 1900 to 18 months from current date, provided you know the exact date of the event. Again, you will be prompted to supply further details for more recent births and deaths as you complete the online application form. It may be best for you to ring a local office and ask their advice on this.

H Heather, That might be the best thing to do, once again thanks for taking time out to reply, Good Luck with your searches :O) Sheila

Hi Sheila, and Heather! From my experience, it's only birth certificates that you can't obtain from the last 50 years without specific dates. I've obtained both marriage and death certs from recent years without any problems. Again, I could be wrong, but I think the birth cert rule is to do with identity theft. Mandy :)

Dont know Mandy, you may be right. But it says on the site that you will be asked further information and as Sheila isnt sure of the right person that may be a prob. I think her best bet is with the office local to the event otherwise she could spend a fortune following up every possible?

Do you know if she had any children? You could look for them under the surnames of the various men and with their registration on the index showing the correct mother's maiden name. This is not foolproof but might narrow your search, then you would still need cert. to confirm. Ah I've just seen that we are talking about alot of men here!! Gwyn

Thats a good idea Gywn. Lot of trawling but with 30 possible would save a lot of wrong certs.

The local reg office would struggle to help. The marriages are recorded differently to births, each marriage venue has a register to itself,. As an example Lincoln distict had over 100 possible marriage venues in 1908 and each one has a separate register. Some registers remain active for many years at a little used venue and aren't available to the office anyhow. In fairness to the local staff they do not have the resources to search each register and find the likely matches. In most cases they require the actual venue to be quoted (ie the name of the church or chapel) where the marriage happened. It is something unique to the marriages, as births and deaths are recorded differently and easier to search.

Back to trawling then Sheila or spending a fair bit of dosh on the possibles.

Hi Folks, Sorry just caught up on my thread. Glen, Good to see you around, thanks for the info, this searching larking can be so stressful and expensive, heh Heather :O) Sheila