Genealogy Chat

Can anyone help me trace the Birth Certificate of my GGrandmother who was born in Germany in 1869. She married my GGrandad in 1891 in Hackney, London. My question is how can I obtain her birth certifcate if I do not know which part of Germany she came from. Her name was Elizabeth Mary Kline and my GGrandad's name was David Scripps - I need the Birth Certificate for her parents names. She is in the 1901 census as Elizabeth Scripps born in Germany Bs. but that is not a lot of help. Many Thanks Carol Scripps

Does the marriage certificate give her father's name? It might be one that's common to a particular part of Germany ( A long shot I know). Also, someone might be able to advise on these boards whether naturalisation records held at PRO in Kew might be able to help. I had some notes about the process: I don't know what information is given aprt from this. The look-up procedure begins with the index books (known as records HO1). These are in alphabetic surname order. There are several books spanning groups of years as shown below. They indicate surname, first name, naturalisation date and place, country of origin. So for an unusual surname it is easy to get a hit! Common names can result in several possible entries. Years covered: 1844-1900 / 1901-1910 / 1911-1914 / 1915-1924 / 1925-1930 / 1931-1935. Having obtained the naturalisation certificate number and date from the the index book it is then possible to look up the filing reference number which can be used to obtain the "duplicate copy of naturalisation certificate" (records HO334). Alternatively it is possible to look up the filing reference number for the "complete file" (records HO144).

Hiya Your great grandmother on the 1901 is down as 'germany BS'? This means that she's been naturalised. My great grandparents (also German) were never naturalised which makes it difficult to find out where they came from. Anyway, you'll need to look at the naturalisation records. There is an index at the Family Records Centre in London. It's in the Wills Index room on the first floor. It goes back to the 1700s so she's bound to be there. I don't know where you would go about obtaining the naturalisation record but this should tell you where she was from in Germany. Hope this helps, and good luck. Chloe

Ooops just noticed that Annie said roughly the same thing. Didn't mean to step on your toes! At least it's definitely there!! There definitely is an index at the FRc. I've searched through the books for my great grandparents etc. Chloe

Found them on 1891 in Hertfordshire..... says she was born in 'Baen, Germany'. BUT unless David was married they have a four year old son, David with them..... did you type it wrong? Chloe PS, is there a Baen in Germany?? I can't seem to find it,

Glad you answered ,Chloe because I was going to go to Kew and have a look then realised my (French) ancestors were never naturalised so it would have been a waste of time! Glad I passed the theory test! Annie

Maybe it was Bayern?

Perhaps it is Bayern. Isn't that a 'county' though? Anyway, glad I helped you. I too was going to make a trip to Kew. I found the index by accident. Annoyed my great grandparents weren't in it though..... bloody patriots!! Chloe x

Bayern is 'Bavaria'. My German grandmother was from Bavaria and the family town comes up as being in Bayern on FamilySearch. However, I discovered the boundaries have changed a lot and the town is no longer in Bavaria but in the Pfalz. Just a word of warning in case your Baen turns out to be Bayern Carole

There's a Baien near Ravensburg. Maybe it's this?