Death Information Help needed!!!

David Lang · Post by **David Lang** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 2:27 pm

Hi All

I have been spoilt with all my previous research been in Scotland

One of my relatives married an Englishman and is presumed to have moved to England , how to i go about searching records?

My relatives is Annie Grant born 1884 in Ballater, Aberdeenshire she marries Harold Edwin Balme(r)? Speight in 1911 in Ballater, he was born around 1887.

She is describes as a Teacher and Harold as an Oxford College Tutor on their wedding certificate, his address was in Oxford at the time of marriage hers in Ballater

Any ideas?

David

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 3:21 pm

Hi David
Not quite sure what you are looking for, but I'm guessing you might be looking for deaths in England. [later: sorry, having a dense moment! Just noticed your title..

]

Freebmd www.freebmd.org.uk is usually the best place to start, but as the period you are probably going to be looking at is later than most of their complete records, (check out http://www.freebmd.org.uk/progress.shtml ) you may need to try somewhere like www.findmypast.com, a pay per view site where you can search English indices up to modern day.

I've not done that much English reserach, so someone else my be able to offer a better solution. As far as I'm aware, the Ancestry BMD lists take a fair bit of their info from free BMD, so I'm not sure how complete those are either. Again, someone with more knowledge in this area my be able to advise.

Best wishes
Lesley

csa · Post by **csa** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 3:21 pm

Hi David

Yes I agree searching Scottish records is much easier and the death certificates far more informative.

I am very new to family history, so not sure where you can go with this one.

However I stay in Ballater, so if you need any local research done, let me know.

Good luck

Carolyn

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 3:25 pm

From free bmd, this might be your Harold:

Births Jun 1887 (note that this means June quarter, i.e. April to June sometime)
------------------------
Speight, Harold Balme, Bradford, Y. 9b 217
The district Bradford, Y. is an alternative name for Bradford and it spans the boundaries of the counties of West Riding of Yorkshire and West Yorkshire

If you were sure it was him and you wanted to order a certificate online, you would need to go to http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/

trish1 · Post by **trish1** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 4:22 pm

The full English indexes are organised by quarter and are available to search in a number of places (if you are near an LDS centre they often have copies on fiche). They are online at some pay to view sites including Ancestry & findmypast

To search the full indexes (1837-1883) is very laborious - they are only indexed as to the beginning and end of each page, so you have to search every quarter for each page that MAY contain your name. Prior to about 1912 the only reference on a birth was the name (no parents etc) and each partner of a marriage are indexed separately. Post 1912 it is a little easier as Mother's maiden name is on birth indexes and surname of the spouse is on marriage indexes (I think!)

FreeBDM is a wonderful group of volunteers creating an individual person index. They currently have births to 1920 (with a few missing) marriages to 1927 (ditto) and deaths to about 1918. It is updated every month, so worth re checking.

There is one record I see on freeBDM which may be of interest

Birth Sep Qtr 1913 Speight Christine R G Grant Kensington 1a 149
A birth in London that may be a child of your couple. Certificates can be purchased from GRO online - quoting the Volume and page number makes them a little cheaper (but still I think, 7 pounds).
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/

BDM records post 1983 are fully indexed. These are available on pay sites also.

This may be Harold in 1891 (as per the birth from Lesley). I don't yet see him in 1901 (Shipley is in the Bradford Y district)

1891 Yorkshire Baildon RG12/3530 4/2
West Lane Andying nook?
Edward Speight head M 44 Buyer in Stuff warehouse Yorks Bradford
Charlotte R do wife M 43 Yorks Bradford
Ernest E do son 19 student in art Yorks Shipley
Marian do daur S 16 scholar do do
Arthur S do son 13 do do do
Thomas E do son 11 do do do
Harold B do son 3 Yorks Shipley
Joan k Cooper friend 28 Companion Scotland Glasgow

Trish

trish1 · Post by **trish1** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 4:34 pm

A link found from Google

HAROLD EDWIN BALME SPEIGHT 1887-1975 Harold E. B. Speight was born in Bradford, ... Harold Speight was the author of The Life and Writings of John Bunyan

The actual link does not give as much information - it is a journal article and I think pay to view.

Trish

This is where things get tricky. The only death I can find for a Harold Speight in England/Wales 1975 has a birth in 1899 !! I'll look again another time - unless he died elsewhere?

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 8:12 pm

Education Has New Tasks
Harold E. B. Speight
The Journal of Higher Education > Vol. 13, No. 6 (Jun., 1942), pp. 302-307

Who Shall Train the College Teacher?
Harold E. B. Speight
The Journal of Higher Education > Vol. 14, No. 2 (Feb., 1943), pp. 91-96

I have downloaded the above articles as .pdf files. If you would like them please PM me with your email address.
A search on Google Books reaveals a few leads as well.

Best wishes
Lesley

speleobat2 · Post by **speleobat2** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 8:48 pm

David

Google News Archive has a snippet of an article dated Jan. 28, 1938 with Harold Edwin Balme Speight as Dean of Men Swarthmore College (Pennsylvania, I think) delivering the commencement address to mid-term graduates.

Ancestry has WWI Draft Registration Card 1917-1918

Harold Edwin Balme Speight

Berkely, California

Born: Bradford, Yorkshire, England

Minister of Religion, 1st Unitarian Church of Berkley

Married with wife and child

Military training: Officer trooper training corps--Scottish something-- this part is hard to read.

With a name like his I can't believe that there are two of them out there so this must be yours and he spent some time in the USA. Of course, I've been wrong a gazillion times before!

Carol

speleobat2 · Post by **speleobat2** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 10:37 pm

David,

Just spent some time on Ancestry.

Harold and family immigrated to the US in 1915. He was a clergyman in Berkeley, CA on the 1920 US census and a professor at Dartmouth College on the 1930 US census.

The US Social Security Death Index has him dying in Canada in 1975.

The British Columbia Index has him dying in Victoria, BC on Aug. 9, 1875 at 88 yrs.

The US census records show two daughters Christine and Charlotte and his wife as Annie or Anne M.

The NY Times has Charlotte engaged to William Bowman of England on Sept. 27, 1939.

Carol

David Lang · Post by **David Lang** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 11:00 pm

Hi Carol

Thats amazing information , are these records availbale online anywhere else apart from ancestry.

I thought this might be an easy lead as he has an unusual surname ans the fact he was a college tutor but didnt expect this level of information on the family

Thanks to all

David