Genealogy Chat

Hi Kate, I don't have Richards death date, haven't progressed that far yet, that will be on my agenda next, many thanks for the offer, of checking for a will for me. Ben.

Hi Everyone, I have 5 persons names dating 1904 thru 1907, with the same reg district that I am looking for, how can I find out if they belong to my tree, they all have the same surname. Is there a way of checking on the computer, or for that matter anywhere, that I can check who their parents are. Ben.

Mother's maiden name, which is a big clue to show if a birth is your family or not, wasn't included in the birth register index until 1911. So I think the only way is to get the certs. The less usual the surname, the more likely they are to be related to you. I suppose you could see how many families with that surname are in that reg district on the 1901 census, but that would only be a guide. You could check for marriages with man's surname in that reg area before the births. But either going forwards or backwards in family history, you need to go from what you know to what you don't, so why do you think these births might belong to your family? nell

Hi Nell, Thanks for your reply, I have Richard Nichols married Rosa Ison 1904, and they lived at Willingham cambs, and all of the following children were born and registered at Wil cambs. Beatrice E Nichols br 1904. Elsie M Nichols br 1905 Sydney C Nichols br1905 Bertha E Nichols be 1906 Ernest J Nichols br 1907. All in Willingham cambs, I cannot assume they are all mine, but would like to check somewhere if it is at all possible. Ben.

Hello Ben, I think your best way forward with this is to apply to the local office for where they were born, using the parents names for checking points, and ask the office to supply only those certificates that match up. If you go on Genuki and put your place name in the search box it will then tell you where the local office is for that district. Snowdrops

Thanks Snowdrops, but I live in AU, so that is out of the question. Ben.

I don't think you should dismiss Snowdrop's idea out of hand!! Many local offices have email, so you can write first to check they can help you. Then it's just the additional cost of postage both ways, which won't be much compared with the possible expenses you may incur at the GRO! Good Luck Merry

Thanks for that Merry, that does seem the only way I can progress with my research, so I'll endeavour to contact them. Thanks Ben.

Have you done a name search on GR? There are several members interested Ernest J 1907 CAMBRIDGE Cambridgeshire England Raymond Send Message Ernest J 1907 CAMBRIDGE Cambridgeshire England Alan Send Message Ernest J 1907 CAMBRIDGE Cambridgeshire England Matthew Send Message ERNEST J 1907 Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England Marie

Ben, those births between 1901 and 1911 are a problem (well, until the GRO make their new index available or the 1911 census is available, whichever happens first!) Is there any chance that the father left a will (Richard Nicholls)? Because if he did, you could get a copy for £5 and, hopefully, it will list the names of his children. If you know when he died, I could look him up in the National Probate Calendar for you to see if he left a will. Kate.

Ben I use Snowdrop's method all the time and very often you receive the information byemail reply that none/only three match up or whatever - very useful and a free way of eliminating the wrong ones. In my experience local ROs are much faster at despatching certs too. But do be careful about what checking information you specify, for instance if you say 'Father must be Frederic Bloggs' and the cert says father Fred Bloggs, then strictly speaking, this does not match and they will not send the cert. I get round this by putting Father must be Frederic Bloggs (any version/spelling). Good luck Olde Crone

As this is fairly recent there may be someone in the village who remembers the family. It might be worth googling the village to see if they have a village web site where you can leave queries. Another possibility is to try to find the school admissions register for the local school which usually gives mother's name and address. Have you had a look at the rootschat (free to join) Cambridgeshire board which gives several local links? I am sorry it is the other side of the country from me.

I think i found Richard in 1891 and his marriage. However the reg. district shows as Chesterton Births on Ancestry View Record Beatrice Ellen Nichols 1904 Jan-Feb-Mar Chesterton Cambridgeshire View Record Elsie Maud Nichols 1905 Oct-Nov-Dec Chesterton Cambridgeshire View Record Ernest James Nichols 1907 Jan-Feb-Mar Chesterton Cambridgeshire View Record George William Nichols 1909 Jul-Aug-Sep Chesterton Cambridgeshire View Record Olive Grace Nichols 1907 Jul-Aug-Sep Chesterton Cambridgeshire View Record Sidney Charles Nichols 1905 Apr-May-Jun Chesterton Cambridgeshire

Hi Jim, Goodness me, that is them, Willingham being a sub district of Chesterton, excuse the delay in replying everyone, I had an early night, and have just woken up, and here I am checking the puter, at just 23.00 hrs. Thank you all for your input, I am continually seeing this kind of record being found on Ancestry, perhaps a years sub is called for. Jim, could I have found this on Ancestry myself, had I been aware it was possible?. Ben

Hi Ben Some of Ancestry is free but you may have to register(for free) This is my free link but do not know if it will work for you. http://www.ancestry.*co.uk/search/rectype/vital/freebmd/bmd.aspx ( remove * )

The birhs on Ancestry come from freebmd but they might not be all the births. For all you need to access images. http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl Surname First name(s) District Vol Page -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Births Mar 1904 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NICHOLS Beatrice Ellen Chesterton 3b 423 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Births Jun 1905 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nichols Sidney Charles Chesterton 3b 411 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Births Dec 1905 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nichols Elsie Maud Chesterton 3b 378 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Births Mar 1907 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NICHOLS Ernest James Chesterton 3b 385 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Births Sep 1907 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NICHOLS Olive Grace Chesterton 3b 412 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Births Sep 1909 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nichols George William Chesterton 3b 395 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi All, Lost my message off of the board there for a while, many thanks Jim, for your last explanation. Ben.