Genealogy Chat

Otherwise I'll have to wait for the 1911 census as I can't afford all the certs... I'm trying to find the parents of the following Day-Smiths all in West Ham: Emma Esther Q4 1901, George Henry Q1 1903, George Henry A Q2 1903, David Arthur Q1 1904 and David Arthur Q1 1909. Looks like there might be two families and not just the one I'm expecting? Can anyone help please?

LMA doesn't have records for West Ham, you have to go to the Essex records office in Chelmsford. Andrew.

Heidi By 1901 very many people are not baptised. If they are non-conformist the family may not believe in baptism, or the records have not been deposited. Some people are baptised where they are born, but not everyone. My parents, in a slightly later period, are a case in point. My father was baptised in a different religion to the one he was born into (the time of the service was more convenient!) and my mother some twenty miles from where she was born, in the church her grandparents used. If you know the ecclesiastical parish that the family were living in on the 1901 census, you could ask for a specific lookup and hope you strike lucky, but such a vague request would involve a great deal of hard work, without any guarantee that your family will be found. The GRO are re-indexing all their indexes at the moment. The new indexes will have mother's maiden name from 1837 onwards. Hopefully, this should be available before 2012. Alternatively, order the certificates one by one, giving mother's name as a checking point. Good luck.

Phoenix, Thanks, I didn't know about the re-indexing - that will make a massive difference to all my research ! It'll have to be that or wait until 2012. Thanks all