Genealogy Chat

Am I being completely thick or not? It seems to be that unless you know most of the info already the census and BDM searches are almost useless. For example; i have no idea what my g g grandfathers name was or any dob etc. Only info i have on my g grandfather is name and details from the 1901 census. I can even order a birth certificate without knowing their parents names? aaarrrrgggghhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

with the name you have, you could try www.familysearch.org and if you dont know there dob then you could work it out i guess. have a go on that it should tell you there mum and dads names or spose. chantelle

Hi I don't know what you mean when you say that census info and BMD searches are almost useless. If you have your g grandfather's marriage cert, that will give you his father's name and occupation which should help you trace him on the census. As you already have him on the 1901 census, it will tell you his age and where he was born so you should be able to find him on an earlier census, possibly with his parents. If you find his birth reference in the BMD index, you can order his birth cert (and if there is more than one possibility, you can specifiy that they check the father's name that you will have from the marriage cert). The birth cert will tell you the maiden name of his mother and enable you to find that marriage reference and get that cert etc etc Sam x

Maybe i'm getting a little frustrated. I'm making the most of a suscription to ancestry.co.uk, don't know if this site is any good or not really or maybe (probably) i'm looking in the wrong places. My example is; Joseph James East born c1875. I've found him on the 1901 cencus with an Elizabeth J East listed at the same address. I beleive this is my great grandfather. With this info, how do if find out more? I can't seem to order any certificates online without knowing parents names etc.

David - what makes you think he is yours? Have you worked your way backwards by obtaining your parents' marriage certificate, and their birth certificates, and their parents' certificates. Keep asking - we'll do our best to help.

If you have the correct Joseph East, then on FreeBMD I have found this.,, Cobbett Elizabeth Jane Wandsworth 1d 1221 Dear Elizabeth Wandsworth 1d 1221 East Joseph James Wandsworth 1d 1221 Jones Ernest James Wandsworth 1d 1221 It looks likely that Joseph James East could have married Elizabeth Jane Cobbett OR Elizabeth Dear at Wandsworth in June Qtr 1900. Is this the right area? Once you have managed to confirm if this is your ancestor, then you can order their marriage certificate in his name, from ref. Vol 1d page 1221. from the GRO site. You will then find out more about THEIR parents.

I'm 99% sure he's mine. I know my father's dob and place of birth as with my grandfather. I only found a few Joseph Browns on the 1901 census with ages that matched with what i'd expect my g grandfather to be at the time. The clincher was the address listed was the only one remotely close to Mortlake in London where these generations of my family are from. I assked my father what my greatgrandmother's name was and he gave the same first name as was listed as JJ's wife.

David, If you have the reference numbers for an ancestor's birth, then you don't need parent's names in order to buy the certificate online. Kath. x

Hi, If you look on http://www.freebmd.org.uk which is free you can try and narrow down your search. The only Joseph James East around the time you mention was born Births Jun 1874 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- East Joseph James Wandsworth 1d 609 Now lets say he was 18 when he married so looking for a marriage of Joseph James East to an Elizabeth, enter these details in the boxes provided and run a search. Joseph James East SpousesElizabeth from 1892 Surname East First name(s) Joseph James Spouse/Mother surname Spouse first name(s) Elizabeth Date range 1892 Freebmd now returns the following results Surname First name(s) District Vol Page -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marriages Jun 1900 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cobbett Elizabeth Jane Wandsworth 1d 1221 Dear Elizabeth Wandsworth 1d 1221 East Joseph James Wandsworth 1d 1221 Jones Ernest James Wandsworth 1d 1221 There are two possibilities, James Joseph married Elizabeth Jane Cobbet or Elizabeth Dear. Ancestry 1901 details Joseph J East & Elizabeth J abt 1875 Wandsworth, Surrey, England Head Mortlake Surrey It says Elizabeth J so Joseph James married Elizabeth Jane Cobbett Hope that's right. It's all detective work. Cheers Paul

This is Joseph J. East in the 1891 census with his parents and siblings:- Name: Joseph J East Age: 17 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1874 Relation: Son Father's name: Joseph J Mother's name: Lucy Gender: Male Where born: Battersea, Surrey, England Civil Parish: Wandsworth Ecclesiastical parish: St Anns Town: Wandsworth County/Island: London Country: England Street address: 21 Edmunds Street Occupation: Painter Condition as to marriage: Education: Employment status: View Image Registration district: Wandsworth Sub-registration district: Wandsworth ED, institution, or vessel: 29 Neighbors: View others on page Household Members: Name Age Arthur East 15 Edith East 4 Ellen East 7 Joseph J East 47 Joseph J East 17 Laura East 9 Lucy East 39 Lucy East 13 William East 11 Source Citation: Class: RG12; Piece: 450; Folio 63; Page 25 Kath. x

Wow, how did you do that??!!!! I couldn't find anything for marriages at all. Let me print this thread and let it sink in. I'm amazed and grateful - cheers

Joseph and family in the 1881 census:- Name: Joseph East Age: 7 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1874 Relation: Son Father's name: Joseph Mother's name: Lucy Gender: Male Where born: Battersea, Surrey, England Civil Parish: Battersea County/Island: London Country: England Street address: No 1 Mantua St Education: Employment status: View Image Occupation: Scholar Registration district: Wandsworth Sub-registration district: Battersea ED, institution, or vessel: 19a Neighbors: View others on page Household Members: Name Age Arthur East 5 Joseph East 37 Joseph East 7 Lucy East 29 Lucy East 3 Willie East 1 Source Citation: Class: RG11; Piece: 642; Folio: 48; Page: 31 Kath. x

David you can find the marriage on Ancestry's Free BMD or you can go to www.FreeBMD(.)co(.)uk remove brackets. The latter is only transcribed up to 1911 so far, and is still not complete. I'm working on 1856 marriages at the moment.