Genealogy Chat

I have found an unexpected child in 1846.....she was being raised by Grandma and I found her on the 1851 Census. I know who her parents were......I have her birth cert......what do I do now?? ......How do I come forward in time to the present day?? How would I be able to find her wedding....or if she died young .....or if she got married at all.......It just seems so much harder to come forward than go backwards........ Do I make sense??.........Sue xx

Hi Dawn On the 1851 census she was 5 so she won't be married on the 1861 census being only 15, so that bit should be ok. But what about the 1871 census....she may be married by then ...then how would I know what new surname she has. This sounds a bit too complicated for me :-( I'll give it a try what you say and see if I can get anywhere I would really love to bring her forward to the present day to see if there are any relatives out there Sue xx

Put all the deatils you know on here, then sit back as everybody looks for you!!

Sue Girls were legally able to get married from the age of 12, so if she isn't on the 1871 census under her maiden name, she may have married. You can look for her marriage on FreeBMD and with any luck it will have been transcribed. If not, she will be in the GRO indexes. But bear in mind that if she's not on the census, she might be dead instead of married :-(( so you will have to search for a death on FreeBMD/in the GRO indexes instead. I know it can be tedious trawling through the GRO indexes - this week I was looking for a marriage that I knew took place between 1901 and 1937. I started from 1901, 1902, 1903 etc in the big books at the FRC - remember there are 4 quarters to each year, so I had some aching arms by the time I reached 1918. I then started on a different tack and went backwards from 1937. I only had 2 more years to go when I found it - just as I was thinking - its only a great-uncle and aunt, not direct relatives, and they didn't have any children, so do I need to bother with them? How much effort you put in to looking will depend on how much you want to find her. Best of luck nell

Hi Sue, If you don't find her on the 1861 census, with her parents/other family or not (as she may be a servant somewhere), assume she had died by then. As Nell said, the legal age for marriage was 12m but it was very unusual. Go through the deaths to 1861. Assuming you don't find one, look for her on the 1871 census. If you don't find her, first look on the deaths, then look for any marriages, and make a list of both from 1861-1871. Unless you can be positive that she died, search FreeBMD for any matches on those possible marriages, and then search on the 1881 census under the married names for her, looking for the right (about) age and birthplace. If you find a married woman that might be her, check the next census - see if she gives the same info, or if she's died by then, not forgetting that men usually married pretty quick if they were widowed with young children, so if she did die then he might already have a new wife, so dont be put off if you see he's with another woman (.......now that does sound weird) if everything else fits. Hope you follow me! Also, don't discount any marriage until you have a match to follow up with, and if it was me I wouldn't spend money on certificates until I was sure, or forced to. Get as much info as you can on any possibles, unless you are sure you've found her at some point. It's a process of elimination, evaluating everything as you go along. It is harder coming forward, especially with women, but it can be done so give it a go, even if it's only when you're at a standstill with everything else. Best of luck, Cazza

Nell and Cazza, Thanks for the info. When I put this thread on I really didn't have a clue what to do. This family all lived in Wakefield and from the present day to 1819 still do. They didn't move around much and can be found in one yard or another...so this may make it easier. We have a brill Archive Centre in Wakefield, where I also live. I think earlier on I was looking too much at the big picture...but I will take your advice and just do it in blocks of 10years checking out BMD for her. Her father died of TB and so did a few other relatives!! Thanks for your advice its made it clearer for my next task. Yours Sue xx Peter - ha ha but then I would miss out on all the fun and frustration