Found under a Gooseberry Bush? Looking for missing births and - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Found under a Gooseberry Bush? Looking for missing births and baptisms Dr Janet Few

Aim  To help you find the birth or baptism of your elusive ancestors

 After 1837  Before 1837  Too many possibilities

After 1837 1st July 1837 

After 1837  Birth Certificate

After 1837  Birth Certificate

After 1837  Birth Certificate

After 1837  Birth Certificate

After 1837  Birth Certificate

After 1837  Birth Certificate

After 1837  Birth Certificate

After 1837  Birth Certificate

Obtaining a Birth Certificate  Family Possession  Free  You’ve got the right one  Another Researcher  Local Register Office  Using the GRO Indexes  General Register Office  Local Register Office

Local Register Office  Need to know where and roughly when event took place  Internet search/telephone directory for address or ask own local register office  £10  Can ask supplementary questions  Don’t give too much information  GRO reference numbers are meaningless  Will be more ‘original’

General Register Office  Use GRO indexes either to find location or date so can order via local registrar OR  To order certificate directly from GRO www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/  Cheaper pdf copies for genealogical purposes £7

General Register Office www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/

General Register Office www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/ Maiden name of mother for all births  Find short-lived siblings

General Register Office  Name  Year  Quarter of registration N.B. 6 week delay  Registration district  Covers several parishes  Unexpected names West Derby = Liverpool  Volume  Page  Dec Q 1852 Torrington IX 104  March Q 1853 Bideford 5b 508

General Register Office Index

General Register Office Index Mother’s maiden name in index from Sept Q 1911

Finding a Reference Number  Free BMD http://freebmd.rootsweb.com  Free  Near complete  High level of accuracy  Are images of actual indexes  Allows most flexible searching

Free BMD

Free BMD Can use * (even for initial letter) or

Free BMD Only one initially Will automatically include 2 nd names and some alternatives

Free BMD Useless before Sept 1911 – use sparingly

Free BMD Don’t use for births

Free BMD Registration date Remember 6 week delay

Free BMD One or the other

Free BMD

Free BMD

Other Options for Indexes  www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/  Free  Complete  www.findmypast.co.uk  www.ancestry.co.uk  www.thegenealogist.co.uk  Subscription or pay per view  Complete  Indexing errors  Try more than one

Other Options for Indexes  Several counties and registration districts have complete free online indexes - see www.ukbmd.org.uk

Why Can’t I find Them?  Spelling wrong  Date wrong  Place wrong  Wrong forename  Wrong surname  Mis-indexed  Mis-registered  Not registered

Why Can’t I find Them?  Spelling wrong  Mis-heard or mis-read?  Ask others to write the spoken surname  Try accents!  Note commonly confused capitals L S T  Use wildcards

Why Can’t I find Them?  Date wrong  Widen date search  Use as many other sources as possible to estimate date of birth  Remember late registration

Estimating a Birth Date  27 when married 20 th Dec 1874  Born – 21st Dec 1846-20th Dec 1847  43 in 1891 census – 30 th March  Born 31st March 1847-30th March 1848  73 when died – 15 th July 1921  Born 16th July 1847-15th July 1848  Born 16 th July 1847-20 th Dec 1847  Sep Q 1847 – Mar Q 1848

Why Can’t I find Them? Place wrong   Check as many censuses birth places as possible  Widen search  Try home of mother  Were they away from home?  Were they overseas?  GRO miscellaneous indexes for births at sea etc  Changing county boundaries

Why Can’t I find Them?  Wrong forename  Look at other sources for clues  Reverse forenames  Consider nicknames  Polly = Mary Ann Jenny = Jane  Remember Male and Female registrations  Search with surname only

Why Can’t I find Them?  Wrong surname  Look at other sources for clues  Consider mother’s maiden name if known  Search without a surname

Why Can’t I find Them?  Mis-indexed  Will depend on degree of error  You are using an index of an index  Try several indexes  Try local registrar

Why Can’t I find Them?  Mis-registered  Will depend on degree of error  Order from local registrar with supplementary information

Why Can’t I find Them?  Not registered  Try other sources

Other Sources  Family information  Census returns  The wife of the head of the household is not necessarily the mother of his child  Baptism  Will  Obituary  Certificate of full sibling

Before 1837  Registers of Baptism  May be a long time after the birth  No standard information until 1813  Anglican or non-conformist?

Baptism Registers  Pre 1813 No standard information  1813 onwards Anglican baptisms give date of baptism, name of child, names of parents (very rarely give mother’s maiden name), abode, father’s occupation  Non-conformist baptisms often more detailed

1813-1837

1813-1837

1813-1837

1813-1837

1813-1837

1813-1837

Before 1813

Dade Registers for some Northern Counties 1777-1812  Date of Birth

Dade Registers for some Northern Counties 1777-1812  Position in Family

Dade Registers for some Northern Counties 1777-1812  Mother’s Maiden Name

Dade Registers for some Northern Counties 1777-1812  Parents’ Parishes of Origin

Finding a Baptism Record  Always aim to have sight of the original entry be it a digital image, on film, or the actual register

Finding a Baptism Record  In Family Records  In the Church  In the Local Record Office  Online

Finding a Baptism Record  In Family Records

Finding a Baptism Record  In the Church  Rare  May Charge

Finding a Baptism Record  In the Local Record Office  Be aware of what survives for your area  Phillimore’s Atlas and Index of Parish Registers  www.genuki.org.uk  Local Record Office website or catalogue  Remember possibility of gaps in registers Commonwealth Gap 1645-1660 

Finding a Baptism Record  In the Local Record Office  May need an appointment Will probably need to use  microfilm or microfiche May need online index first to  locate parish May use transcripts initially 

Finding a Baptism Record  Online  https://familysearch.org  Good but not complete coverage  Free but contains errors  Limited access to original records  Subscription website  Paid, incomplete coverage, errors

Finding a Baptism Record  Online  http://dustydocs.com/  Links to free websites for British parish registers  www.genuki.org.uk  Online Parish Clerks  www.freereg.org.uk/  Specific County or parish sites  http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/EssexAncesto rs.aspx

Family Search www.familysearch.org/search/  Less is more  Change one element at a time  Beware of errors  Search for children of a couple  Search by batch number http:www.genuki.org.uk/big/  FindingBatchNos.html

Non-conformist Registers  Local Church or Chapel  County Record Office  The National Archives  Made accessible online by www.thegenealogist.co.uk via www.bmdregisters.co.uk

Too Many Possibles  Revisit other information  Look for infant deaths  Kill off later in life  Look for them marrying the wrong person but be aware of second or bigamous marriages  Trace all for possible link  Other sources

I Still Can’t Find Them  Revisit existing information  Try other sources

Other Sources  https://discovery.nationalarchives. gov.uk  Wills  Obituaries  Memorial inscriptions  Service records  Leases  Court records  Apprenticeship indentures

I Still Can’t Find Them  Hire an expert  They may come to the same conclusions as you  Trace another line while you wait for new developments

Thank You You have been listening to The History Interpreter www.historyinterpreter.wordpress.com @JanetFew