Genealogy Chat

Elmers Wardrobe depot. Started in 1868 at 34 The Strait, (now some trendy clothes shop called 'Yak' or similiar) and moved onto Clasketgate by the 1890's. Kellys for Lincoln shows it was still going in 1926 but i haven't been able to check any later than that at present. The daughter of the proprietor appears to have owned several houses in Lincoln which she rented out. I have certs for different branches of the family who rented the houses from her and show the family in the houses from the early 1900's to the mid fifties. Still waiting for her will as yet, bet that is going to be interesting. Most of the streets along Carrholme Road have some connection, Moor St, Hewson Road, Charlesworth St and Richmond Rd, as well as a few on the High St such as Sibthorpe St (4 generations lived there over the years) and Altham Terrace. Just to perform the perfect hijack on the thread, if anyone stumbles across an old newspaper advert or photograph of the business can they please get in touch? A couple of interested distant cousins still don't believe the company existed but it is listed in Kellys and Bennets directories. Glen

Hello, just to say how I agree with Glen. My dad's side of the family are all from the Lincoln/Grantham area but I really knew nothing about them. You don't always like what you find such as illegitimacy, relatives being born in the Workhouse and women dying in childbirth. But it's all part of who and where you come from and reminds you of the uncertainties in life. Jennifer PS. Glen what was the name of your ancestors furniture place in Lincoln? Just interested, all my relies are still there and I have been doing the history of my niece's house for her.

Just to throw this in the pot about rellies. I am researching my birth family, my mother and all her generation fied several years ago and none of her other children (my half siblings) have an interest in family history or sharing what little they know with me. It does make things awkward when you get conflicting information but i did use the odd rumour here and there to base a few searches on. You just have to keep pluging away and get back to 1901 via the certificate route, then use the census, libraries, national archives and a2a websites etc. It won't happen overnight but i have been pretty successful over the last year with some slightly unusual methods. No one in the family knew my grt g/f had a furniture business in Lincoln or thatit ran for over 70 years, he came from a farm owning family but slowly i have pieced together a lot of details around a tree of around 500 names. I prefer that to having 2000 names with just 'born about xxxx in Lincolnshire'. It takes time but there are ways and means.

Thanks again everyone for your help. Glen: I only found out my grand-parents names yesterday when i recieved my dads birth cert, so don't know anything about them really and i don't live near any relations most of them live in Lincoln and i live in Doncaster, i have asked them Q's but they all tell me different stories so not much point asking them. Thankyou Denise.

Question for Denise. Do you know if she died before or after your grandfather? Have you got his death certificate, this might give you a clue as to whether you need to look earlier or later, and will hopefully tell you where he was living at the time. It is possible to use that information to your advantage later if you know it. People can live to a ripe old age deaths can be awkward to find (women can also re-marry which isn't always considered). I spent ages looking for a rellie in the death index, she lived to 101 but i stopped looking 10 years to early thinking i had missed her.

Thanks Glen Thats helpful and I suppose I'll get used to using these other sites, I'm also trying to get some Irish ones but have 2 brithers who live in Dublin who I'll call in some favours from. Cheers Helena

Helena English results can only be viewed by buying the certs. There are ways to try and avoid a wrong certificate but it is awkward to say exactly how as it depends what you are looking for and how common/uncommon a name is. I have found a monumental inscription before now, and proved it was a rellie, that gave me a date of death and saved trawling through the index but i was extremely lucky. For births after 1911 the mothers maiden name is included in the index which helps to identify whether a birth belongs to a particular marriage. Name searching via GR, Rootsweb, googling names and using the IGI (family search website) can also point you in the right direction.

I'm new to records in England, can you tell me if there is a way of looking at entries online. In Scotlandspeople that I'm used to you can see the actual entry and get parents names, residence etc immediatly, for a small cost. For England can you only get this by ordering? Helena

OK Thanks for letting me know, i have searched all the death index but can't find her anywhere, her name was Suie Whittaker (maiden name: Sewell) born abt: 1883. Not sure where she was born but possibly died in Grimsby as my grandad did. Denise.

Denise, the death will be registered under the married name. Sheila

Thanks for your replies i appreciate all your help, could someone tell me when looking through death indexes do i look under the married name or the maiden name as iv searched loads under the married name, found my grandad but not having any luck with finding my nan. Denise

As Reggie says the number is the area (or more correctly the district) of the country. Depending on the timeframe you are looking at 7a is probably Lincolnshire (and parts of Leicestershire)...? If an entry says Lincoln, 7a 387 it means the event took place in the Lincoln (7a) registration district and is on page 387 of the index.

The volume number is indicative of the registration district in which the event is recorded............. All people born, married or dying in a particular registration district are recorded under the same volume number. Reg

when searching records they have vol numbers eg:7a, what do these mean? As i am searching Whittakers and each one i think could be related have vol number 7a does this mean they are related, does everyone who is related have the same vol number? Thanks Denise