Help required

[David Lang]

I think i may have located a lost relative in England (of all places ), having never done any research there i need a bit of advice

What inforamtion is available on marriage and death certificates?

Any where do i get them from? and is this online?

I keep getting the index but not the actual details that i require

Any help appreciate

Thanks in advance

David

[margarita]

David,

There's a very useful web-site here

http://tinyurl.com/mwel4e

which tells you what information may be contained in the various English certificates.

Unfortunately the English certificate details are not available on line, but there's information here

http://tinyurl.com/dlwzlg

about ordering them.

Regards,

maggie

P.S. Sorry, don't know why links don't open in a new window - they are supposed to!!

[AndrewP]

P.S. Sorry, don't know why links don't open in a new window - they are supposed to!!

That is a downside of this version of the forum software. You can hold down the control key and click on the link to open a new window, or at least a new tab, for the link (that works for Internet Explorer 8, but I don't know if it does for other internet browser programs). There is a complex program edit which can be made to the forum software to resolve this matter, but so far I have not had the bravery to try it in case it breaks something else.

All the best,

AndrewP

[trish1]

Hi David

BDM information from England is not as comprehensive as in Scotland, but I have found the service from GRO quite Speedy for buying the certificates. They cost 7 pounds if you have the index details from whatever source (freeBDM, Ancestry, FMP). Make sure you double check an image as they may send the wrong certificate if you have the index entry incorrect. You can pay extra to have checks done but I have never found it worth the cost.

It is easy to order online - from here http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/ - you have to register. Probably should remember that GRO has only a registrar's transcription of certificate details - the original registrations are in the district offices.

You can buy certificates from districts - some are more helpful than others in providing the information - most encourage people to buy from GRO and many charge more than GRO. Depending on your county/district, however, there are many sites with online indexes to the district records if you prefer to purchase from them. Their records are indexed very differently to GRO records & especially for marriages you need a district index or the exact location of the marriage to easily access the district information.

Marriage certificates contain name of fathers but not mothers & death certificates contain neither parent names (except if a child death the father's name may be given). Sometimes (more often for women) you will get a spouse name. The informant on a death certificate is the most hope for family information & I have bought a few where the informant was a neighbour! I buy few English death certificates as I have not found them very useful for research. From c. 1970s a birth date (rather than age) is on the index (and the certificate) - this has been handy to track a birth which then leads to parent names.

Trish

PS There are some sites around - other than GRO - that offer to buy certificates for you - very inflated prices - with GRO online there is no reason to pay extra - I get certificates in Australia - (about 10 day delivery) and pay the same as anyone in the UK

[LesleyB]

You can hold down the control key and click on the link to open a new window

Also, to get around the problem, if using Internet Explorer or Firefox you can right click on the link and there should be choices to "Open [link] in New Tab" or "Open [link] in New Window"

Best wishes
Lesley

[margarita]

P.S. Sorry, don't know why links don't open in a new window - they are supposed to!!

That is a downside of this version of the forum software.

Thank you. At least I know it wasn't something I was doing wrong.

Regards,

maggie

[JustJean]

Hard to improve upon Trish's neat summary of how to deal with the English Civil Indexes!!

I've always kept a little cheat sheet of important changes to the indexing procedures and include it in my handout data for my genealgoy presentations that contains the following info:

England GRO Civil Indexes start 1 July 1837 and are kept by quarter until 1984 after which they are kept by year.

Birth indexes list only the name of the child from inception through Jun quarter 1911. They add the mother's maiden surname beginning with the Sep quarter 1911.

Marriages are found indexed under surnames of both Groom and Bride but are not indexed with both names in same entry until Mar quarter 1912.

Deaths add age at death beginning Mar quarter 1866. Deaths add date of birth beginning Jun quarter 1969.

Hope this is helpful
Jean

[David Lang]

Thanks for the help

I know the name of both parties involved, im interested in finding out the brides father's name as it will either rule her in or out, the woman has been a mystery for years she just disappears aged 15 on the 1861 census never to be seen again. The marriage is in 1863 in Sunderland so would tie in with the last known citing.

Also the children of the marriage on the census' fit with a Scottish naming pattern, which i know is not exact but it certainly adds to the positive factor. And in 1881 census she actually states her birthplace as Glasgow, Scotland

I will take the plunge and order it online.

I dont think her DC will help as she died around 1922, so that will not have any of her parents names on it?

Thanks again to all those who provided advice and help

David

[trish1]

Hi David

The Death certificate would not have parent names - the informant would probably be a spouse or child which would be of little help, apart from verifying that the death relates to the census records that you found. If the census appears to match your lass then the marriage certificate would provide the best verification - it should have her father's name and occupation & whether he was still living at the time. You only need to quote one name (I would suggest the girl) and the Volume & page number when you use the online purchase. To get the 7 pound price at some stage you have to answer Yes to a question as to whether you have the index reference details.

All my 1st/2nd generation Scottish families in Australia used the naming patterns for their children. It seemed to stop from the 1870s onwards, although the family names were still used in many instances but the "rules" were no longer followed. I have used the concept many times to find/verify my family groups.

Trish

[maggiehill]

David

There are many marriage certs now on Ancestry but only if they lived in London. My "Londish" husband has found his Aunts marriage cert for 1920 on there and many earlier ones.

Maggie