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Births at Sea

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Deb needs a change

Deb needs a change Report 4 Nov 2007 08:54

Hi Allison,

The GRO is the General Register Office. The indexes are a list of all births. The indexes give name of child born, the district, year, quarter, Mother's maiden Name (but only after 1911), volume and page.


Deb:)

Allison

Allison Report 4 Nov 2007 08:46

Thank you

What is the GRO index? Do they list parents with birth of baby or nationality?

Allison

Ivy

Ivy Report 4 Nov 2007 08:27

The passenger lists are also not very helpful. There are two Amy Halls, both the worng age. There are 45 A Halls, mostly of the wrong gender/age/marital status. A couple of possibles are one in 1906 with Mrs M Hall, and a nurse going out in 1902.

I'm off to get some work done now!

Ivy

Ivy Report 4 Nov 2007 08:13

There does not appear to be a female Hall birth registered at sea in the 1872-1883 period (I've relied on the Findmypast indexing rather than searching every page), but there is a female Hall registered for 1878 in the GRO index to marine births (no christian name supplied). The name of the ship is blurred, but may be "La Hague".

I've found nothing for Amy Hall on the 1881 or 1891 England census returns (one born in India, but aged 4 in 1881; and an Amy G Hall aged 15 in Paddington London in 1891 listed as place of birth NK).

Allison

Allison Report 4 Nov 2007 07:24

Thanks,

The most frustrating bit is that I don't know what country she came from.

Her name was Amy Hall, birth date sept 1878.

If I apply for a birth cert, what country do I go to?
Unsure if she arrived in NZ in 1878/1879 or she came out later.Only know that she was born at sea during a voyage somewhere.


Allison
She married here in 1910.

Ivy

Ivy Report 4 Nov 2007 05:36

If yourr ancestor came from England/Wales, then there are some sources you can check fairly easily - births of British subjects born overseas/at sea were required to be registered from 1854 - and there are the ten yearly England and Wales census from 1841 to 1901 which gives name and rough date of birth plus a place of birth on all except 1841. I came across a woman who gave her place of birth as "at sea" on one census, and "off the coast of France" on another. I'm not sure what info you get from Scottish census/registration info.

Outbound passengers from the UK are on lists for years between 1890 to 1939.

If the name is unusual, you can try Googling for related info or checking the "looking for" boards on various sites.

If you're happy to post the name and date, you may well get look-ups done for you.

Allison

Allison Report 4 Nov 2007 01:54

How do you find the record of a birth at sea.

I have an ancestor in my tree who was born at sea but I am not sure of her nationality,what boat her mother was on etc.
The only information recorded on her sons birth cert is her name, DOB and High Seas or At Sea as her birth place.
I know that she lived in NZ, but unsure if her family emigrated during her birth to NZ or her birth was during another voyage.

Any ideas where to start looking?

Allison