Genealogy Chat

I need help!! I have been trying to find my great grandfather, Arthur Morris for over 2 years and my head is buzzing. This is what I know about him as facts: 1. He died on 1/11/1914 at the Battle of Coronel on the HMS Good Hope 2. The CWGC records his mother as Elizabeth Morris. 3. Arthur married Florence Maud Stringer on 9/1/1907 at Bham registry office. On the marriage certificate the father is shown as Alfred Morris (decd) I have found Arthur and Elizabeth (shown as Betsy)on the 1881 census. There are 2 brothers, Alfred and William. Arthur is stated as being 5 months old, born in west Smethwick. I have found Arthur again on the 1901 on a vessel in Dorset. This ties in with what my dad told me; that Arthur had been a regular seaman and then rejoined when the 1st world war broke out. He is shown as being about 20 born in west Bromwich. I can find Alfred and Elizabeth (b1848) on the 1873 census which seems to suggest that Arthurs marriage certificate is correct. I got a copy of his naval record, which shows his date of birth as 14/1/1881. I checked 1837online and found a birth registered for Arthur Morris in West Bromwich in March Q 1881. Today I have got the certificate back and the father is shown as Joseph!! They are living at 32 Pleasant Street West Bromwich. Please please please....can anyone help me find MY Arthur Morris?? I have contacted Bham and Sandwell registry offices, neither could find a birth with parents Alfred and Elizabeth in 1880/1/2/3

Just a quick suggestion as I have to dash What is the address on 1881 does it tally with the birth cert? Also perhaps his father had 2 Christian names? John

Hi. Sorry, Sophie, I'm one of those who can't get her head round the block of info when it's in the header message, so I've copy-pasted your message below, and put in some Returns (which I'd guess were there before GR garbled it all!). Original Added by Sophie Barker on 18/08/2006 19:41:45 Is anyone good at mysteries? I need help!! I have been trying to find my great grandfather, Arthur Morris for over 2 years and my head is buzzing. This is what I know about him as facts: 1. He died on 1/11/1914 at the Battle of Coronel on the HMS Good Hope 2. The CWGC records his mother as Elizabeth Morris. 3. Arthur married Florence Maud Stringer on 9/1/1907 at Bham registry office. On the marriage certificate the father is shown as Alfred Morris (decd) I have found Arthur and Elizabeth (shown as Betsy)on the 1881 census. There are 2 brothers, Alfred and William. Arthur is stated as being 5 months old, born in west Smethwick. I have found Arthur again on the 1901 on a vessel in Dorset. This ties in with what my dad told me; that Arthur had been a regular seaman and then rejoined when the 1st world war broke out. He is shown as being about 20 born in west Bromwich. I can find Alfred and Elizabeth (b1848) on the 1873 [??1871??] census which seems to suggest that Arthurs marriage certificate is correct. I got a copy of his naval record, which shows his date of birth as 14/1/1881. I checked 1837online and found a birth registered for Arthur Morris in West Bromwich in March Q 1881. Today I have got the certificate back and the father is shown as Joseph!! They are living at 32 Pleasant Street West Bromwich. Please please please....can anyone help me find MY Arthur Morris?? I have contacted Bham and Sandwell registry offices, neither could find a birth with parents Alfred and Elizabeth in 1880/1/2/3

Is it worth looking to see if there's an Alfred Joseph (or Joseph Alfred) whom you could tie in to the family? (i.e. pretty much what John F suggested in his post above). I have one great uncle (or such) who was baptised Eli Hector Christmas. In the earlier records, he's called Eli, but as time passes he uses both names and then is Hector by the time he died. Christine

Did you pick up on this one? http://www.bmsgh.org/cgi/birthind.cgi West Midlands Birth indexes for the years: 1880 Surname Forename(s) ~Sub-District ~Registers At ~Reference MORRIS Arthur ~West Bromwich South West ~Sandwell ~WBSW/78/355 It's not absolutely clear that this record made it into the GRO index. I've had a quick look through 1880 and can't immediately see an Arthur that would match (that could just be my fault, of course). Age 5 mo at the 1881 census would take his birth back to October-ish of 1880. Did you ask them to look for mother Betsy or one of the other Elizabeth variants at all? Christine

Thanks for this. Christine; I have got this certificate and the father is Joseph. I never thought of asking the registrars to seach for Betsy instead of Elizabeth. And I will check up on the address as well. It just goes to show that many heads are always better than one!! Thank you

Which cert showed the dad to be Joseph then? The 1880 Q4 or the 1881 Q1? Or do you mean they both did?!! Merry

Hi Merry I wondered that - except that the Local ones don't distinguish between quarters - it could be much too early - it just says 1880 - it was only my observation about the arithmetic, suggesting that it would be worth looking in 1880. Christine

I requested the certificate for the March Q of 1881, but the date of birth was 29/11/1880 but not registered until 10/1/1881. When I ordered this certificate, I only gave the reference, because every other time when I have given the parents names, I have been told that there is no match. I was convinced that Arthurs father was Alfred, and I can tie this in with everything apart from a birth certificate for Arthur. I know that the father could have had 2 names, but it would just have been nice to be able to prove it.

The Local registration should match the GRO in the sense that GRO ''harvests'' quarterly from the Local registrations. That means the Local one I listed should not be the same as the GRO one listed as March qtr 1881 - it should be in one of the 1880 quarters in GRO - just can't tell which! I'd say it was worth checking. You could always send a copy - or transcription - of the cert you have, saying you don't want a duplicate. Christine

The GRO March quarter index can definitely include registrations that are listed under the previous year at the local register office. I know because I once came across a marriage on Lancashire BMD where this had happened. Can't remember the details now or I would post them up to prove it! But, if the birth you mention was registered in January, then this wouldn't apply in this case - silly me! Kate.

The 1871 showing the eldest Alfred as born 1868, mother Elizabeth, father Joseph, living Langley Green which is just down out of West Brom heading for Smethwick. Bit of a coincidence if its not them as Alfreds and Elizabeths ages match. Ellen