Genealogy Chat

I'm fairly new to geneaology, and have made some progress on my mother's side of the family. On my father's side though, I have no living relatives to ask for info. I need to find the marriage certificate for my grandparents, though I don't know when they married. I know they married sometime in the 1920's, which means I can't find a record on FreeBMD. Can anyone tell me how to find this certificate? What resources are there for finding info in the 20th century?

what are their names

Eric if you try Ancestry beta indexes they go up to 1983, think they are still free to access, but you will have to trawl through each 1/4 of each year . i'm not doing anything now, so if you can give me some names and areas and rough years, i'll join you in looking Jane x

You need Ancestry Complete BMD Index (they are not Beta any more) and they go up to 2004. The names of the couple and an rough idea of area will help someone to help you. Kath. x

Thanks for the advice, everyone. Their names are James Biggins and Elizabeth Clark. James was born in 1896 and died about 1974. I don't know when Elizabeth was born, except my mother thinks they shared the same birthday, August 4th. She died about 1975. Their first child (my father) was born in 1928, so they probably married not long before then. They lived and died in the Ryton / Greenside area of Gateshead. As I say, my details are sketchy, so any help would be appreciated.

i know this isn't what you asked for..................... but might help 1901 James Biggins abt 1864 Blaydon, Durham, England Head Gateshead Durham James Biggins abt 1897 Gateshead, Durham, England Son Gateshead Durham John Biggins abt 1895 Gateshead, Durham, England Son Gateshead Durham Mary E Biggins abt 1867 Winlaton, Durham, England Wife Gateshead Durham Mary M Biggins abt 1901 Gateshead, Durham, England Daughter Gateshead Durham Thomas Biggins abt 1890 Blaydon, Durham, England Son Gateshead Durham RG13/4751 Registration district: Gateshead Sub-registration district: Gateshead ED, institution, or vessel: 8 Folio: 34 Page: 17 Household schedule number: 98

found it......................... sep 1/4 1926 Gateshead 10a 1554 James Biggins m Clark have double checked, and Elizabeth Clark m Biggins, everything matched !!

Hi Eric, The reference you need to send for the marriage certificate is September Quarter 1926 Gateshead 10a 1554 Gail.

Jane and Gail, thank you very much. I'll get that ordered soon. Now I know where to look, I can make some progress with this.

This looks like Elizabeth's death - date of birth was indeed 4th August: Deaths, Sep 1975 Biggins, Elizabeth, 04-AU-1895, Newcastle/T, 2 0649 therefore, this is probably her birth: Name: Elizabeth Clark Year of Registration: 1895 Quarter of Registration: Jul-Aug-Sep District: Gateshead County: Co. Durham, Tyne And Wear Volume: 10a Page: 1016 Can't find James in 1973 or 74, there is only this one in 1975 (strange that the informant didn't know date of birth though): Deaths, Mar 1975 Biggins, James, ABOUT 1900, Newcastle/T, 2 0601 Richard.

Thanks Richard. Elizabeth's dates sound good. Asked my mother and she reckons Elizabeth was a year older than James. She also told me James died in Newcastle General Hospital (or the Wingrove, as she knows it) a few months before Elizabeth, not a year before as I believed. So that one matches too.