Genealogy Chat

My rellie was married in 1822 so his marriage cert has no fathers name on it. On the census he has 4 different birth years, 1791-1804! He also has what is a pretty common name around here. Has any one got any tips as to how I can find his parents names? Thanks, Jan - rapidly going grey and hairless!

From the census you should be able to get a good idea of where he was born. Then go to the church records for that parish if possible. Look back for births that could fit in with his age. Pauline

How specific is he about where he was born? Do you know of any siblings?

Hi Janet, Registration of births, deaths & marriages didn't start to 1837, so you won't get a marriage certificate for 1822 anyway. Have you tried looking at the IGI on the family search website? Hopefully you will find his christening on there which should show his parents names. If you're lucky than some marriage records show the parents names too. Otherwise you will need to look in the parish records in the relevants records office if you're able to get to it. Rachelxx

Jan, you may find that the witnesses' names on the marriage entry in the parish records will help. Also, if you can go through the baptisms covering all the possible years when he may have been born and get a list of all with the same name as him (assuming you know the parish he was born in?) then you can start to see if you can eliminate any of those - e.g. by going through burials and see if any died in infancy. If you can get a list of possible parents and see if any of those still have their son with them on censuses, though not very likely I suppose, also if any of the possible fathers left a will.. Hmmm, got to go to bed now. Good luck! Kate.

Thanks all, I think I'm going to have to go via the elimination process. I'm pretty certain that he was born in Wadsworth which is west of Halifax, although the census does say Wadworth too. Unfortunately Thomas Sutcliffe is a common name round here so there are plenty of possibles. I've seen his year of birth listed from 1791 to 1804! Any one would think he didn't want to be found. His children have much more interesting names, My 2xgtgf was called Wilkinson, his siblings included Leah and Zilpah. Happy hunting, Jan

It will be hard work, and probably involve a visit to the relevant record office. 1. If you've not done so already, look at the original marriage entry, to see if there are any clues, like the parish he is from. 2. Look at the Wadsworth records. Note all the Sutcliffes and follow baptisms through to post 1811 to find the fathers' occupations. Look particularly at burials, to see if you can kill anyone off. 3. Are there any settlement records for the area? Check in case he or a family member is mentioned. 4. Check A2A for any Sutcliffe mentions in the area. 5. Check will calendars for Sutcliffes/anyone in Wadswoth. 6. Find out if the monumental inscriptions in the graveyard have been indexed. 7. Leah and Zilpah sound like nonconformist names. Find out the local chapels and explore their records too. 8. If you find out nothing in Wadsworth, explore a wider area. This method often works, but quick it aint!