Genealogy Chat

PLEASE WAIT A MINUTE WHILE I TYPE IT OUT ......

I'm waiting Maz ...... LOL

We had given up looking for my grandmother's birth cert - had looked over a 20 year period (1880-1900) under both mother's married and maiden names - several times, in person at the FRC and paying on 1837. Had also tried all combinations of her THREE christian names! At the SOG fair in London a few weeks ago, the Society of Genealogists were offering free advice sessions - so I went along and asked about this. The very helpful lady suggested that perhaps grandmother's parents had had trouble deciding on a name, so maybe she was registered just as 'female'. "Go back and look for the surname you want, in the area you want, over the relevant time period". Well, a few days later my sister went to the FRC and LO AND BEHOLD (!) there WAS an entry "BELL, female - West Ham" !!!Although the surname is common we were lucky enough to already know her parents names, so put the mother's maiden name as a checking point. The certificate arrived yesterday AND ITS THE CORRECT ONE!!! Our 12 year wait is over at last!!! We now know for sure that our grandmother was born to the people we knew as her parents, 3 months after they married, and that 6 weeks later they still hadn't decided on her names! So please don't give up hope - try it, you never know! If you are as desperate as we were, you will invest in the cert and maybe demolish that brick wall. Happy hunting everyone! VERY VERY PLEASED Maz. XX

heheheh

It was worth waiting for :) Well done, Maz, you must be really chuffed. I see that you refer to the name BELL - don't suppose you know of a male one born late 1930s? If you do, pleeeeeease let me know!

Well done Maz! I've noticed on the 1837 pages there's often a name or two added right at the bottom of the page, which could be easily missed if you were checking names at the top. The most maddening thing about genealogy is not that you can't find your rellie, its that you know they are THERE, like my Matthews, there all along on the 1871 census, badly written down as Marthers (actually Matthews but without any crossing of the ts) and living next door to the house they lived in in the years pre and post 1871. Anyway as she has three names, perhaps your gran's parents couldn't decide which order to put them in! :-) I will try to avoid puns on names ringing a bell.

Helen - you couldn't think of one we haven't already done!! Linda and Donna - thanks! Mandy - my Bells are from the Poplar and West Ham area - if you think there might be a link, then bung me an e-mail!! Maz. XX

Any helpful suggestions as to how I can find my Grandfather's birth registration??? His name was JOHN SMITH (OH NO!) His marriage cert stated age 21 in 1885, 1891 census says 28, 1901 census says 38, Death cert in 1937 says age 72. Censuses say born in West Bromwich. His Father's name was William, don't know his Mother's name. Have written several times to Sandwell, Walsall & Wolverhampton reg offices but there are SOoooo many John/William combinations in those areas, am tearing my hair out. Can anybody think of any bright ideas??? Wish I'd asked before anyone who might know had died! Ann

Dorothy I have the same problem with my Grandfather, George Frederick Smith. He married in 1924,and is obviously on my Fathers birth certificate but I can find no other info anywhere.

I have the same problem finding the births of my GG Grandparents, James Durbin and Emma Bassell, Born in Bedminster and Pill, Somerset, (so it says on census) I have their marriage certificate and I know Emma died in Glamorgan in 1917. They both appear on the census after they married in 1875, but that's it. Bristol and Weston Super Mare Register Offices can't find their birth certificates for me and it's driving me mad. M.

Thanks for that tip - I'd put a thread on a couple of weeks ago asking for tips on finding my great-granny. Someone found her on the 1861 census, with the names reversed, but I still couldn't find her birth being registered. I will give it a try now. I always assumed that "male" & "female" denoted babies who had died at birth. Update - no, still can't find her!

Always wondered why I sometimes saw 'Female' or 'Male' at the end of surname listing. I generally ignored them assuming, possibly wrongly now, that they must be been stillborn or die shortly after birth. Never entered my mind that it could just be becasue parents couldn't decided on a name. Will have to go back through the records and look over some periods where I couldn't find my people Never know I might just strike lucky. Thanks Maz for the tip. Cheers Wendy

Always wondered why I sometimes saw 'Female' or 'Male' at the end of surname listing. I generally ignored them assuming, possibly wrongly now, that they must be been stillborn or die shortly after birth. Never entered my mind that it could just be becasue parents couldn't decided on a name. Will have to go back through the records and look over some periods where I couldn't find my people Never know I might just strike lucky. Thanks Maz for the tip. Cheers Wendy

The only other thing I can suggest is to keep looking for census entries while the person would have still been living with parents (up to age 15 usually to be sure). Otherwise maybe employment or service records, names transposed. Just pure brickwalls that one day WILL come tumbling down!! Just have faith!!! Maz. XX