Genealogy Chat

Just to let you know - they did the reference check and I got the right certificate. Because Enfield RO say they are not staffed to do genealogy research or checks, I will use the GRO for that area in future. Jenny

Thanks everyone. I agree about going first to the local R.O. and have done this. However, I haven't found Enfield R.O. that interested in genealogy in the past. They couldn't find the certificate despite giving them names of both partners, the wife's father's name and the vol and page no ref. I don't know how common that is. They advised to go through the GRO... Thanks for the extra info about the reference checking. My ref check was just to put the name of the wife's father in. Some R.O.s don't have e mail addresses - but thanks for that tip too. I'm helping a close friend with his family history in Liverpool and their R.O. is great, sending certs withinin 4 days. I found Cardiff the same, with them ringing to help me clarify things when I was a total beginner. Night-night. Jen

Hi Jen, Just a tip: I always email the registrar at any register office first, giving what details I know of the certificate I'm after. I've always found they email back within a day telling me if they've found the right certificate and then I send them the cheque from there. I always find the local reg office to be far quicker and much more helpful then the GRO. Carlabee

Hi the reference checking is usually when you put say, the Fathers name on a childs birth cert so you know its the right one

The 'reference' is the quarter/vol/page stuff from the index. If you have a choice and you don't know which one is the right one to order, the system allows you to give more than one reference, then they check all of them and just send the one that matches your extra details. They charge extra for this, so it isn't usually cheaper than ordering one at a time. The 0 just means that you've only asked for the one registration to be looked up, you haven't given any additional references to be looked up and charged for. In this case, when you get to the summary order form, there isn't anything which indicates that you've asked for checking of extra details. It's a nuisance for us who can't rely on memory to keep track of what we're doing.

I put a reference check on mine and the box came up with a O in it so did it again they then charged me £10 for the cert , but they emailed me to say I had asked for the same reference check twice so were refunding £3 it seems even if the box says O it doesnt mean the reference check did not go through.

Thanks Helen. All these steep learning curves - I never had a head for heights! My entry was clearly there on the screen for the ref check and submitted - I think, like you say, I will keep those fingers crossed. I was impressed the delivery date is estimated as 2 October. It's taken nearly 2 months to get a reply from Enfield R.O... Jen

Jenny don' take this as gospel, but as far as I know, the GRO only check the * items. The way to add a check - if I remember rightly - is to put in the minimum details and then ask for the details when you ask for the check. BUT sometimes this works against you, so if you specify father's name James Brown, if the marriage cert says for example, Jim Browne, they won't send it. Fingers crossed, eh!

Hi - The local Register Office in Enfield could not find a marriage cert (with all the refs) and advised me to try the General R.O. Have ordered the cert online with GRO, putting in vol and page no and both partners's full names. Also put in a request for reference check naming her father. However...when the confirmation box for the order came on the screen, the box for ref checks had 'O' in it. Went back and submitted the ref check again and box still said 'O'. Have submitted the request as it stood...now nagging worry that they won't do the ref check. Should I contact them - any advice? Thanks - Jen