Genealogy Chat

I made an application under the freedom of information act through the National Archives website at the weekend. I thought others might like to know what you get for your money! You can only search for specific addresses, but my grandfather was born in 1910, so I had a reasonable chance of success. See next post

After two working days (not bad!) I received a copy of the page for the address that I had searched. The columns you get are: Name and Surname Relationship to Head of Family Age (last birthday) and Sex Particulars as to Marriage: Status (single, married, etc) Completed Years the present marriage has lasted Children born alive to present marriage: - - Total children born alive - - children still living - - children who have died Personal Occupation Industry or service with which worker is connected Whether Employer, worker or working on own account Whether working at home Birthplace Nationality of evry person born in a foreign country Infirmity (this column is blanked out) Lots of very useful information there! Unfortuately my family had moved, so I lost my money. I will have to wait until the name index is released to find them. I was searching for Smith here! In the meantime, direct descendants of John Erasmus Law should contact me as I have infornation to their advantage! Lin

So you spent £43.50 and got the wrong family? Ouch... I think I'll wait for 2012.

It was a calculated risk. I have no other way of getting back on my tree on my Dad's side. My grandfather's birth cert is the only evidence I have and his parents surnames are so common that I have no hope of working out which William and Mary Ann Smith I want without getting the 1911 census. Fortunately my grandfather had a very unusual forename - Erle... hopefully there aren't many aged 1 in Wolverhampton in 1911. I knew that I may not get the correct family, but decided that as a one-off I was willing to take that risk. What I am pleased about is the information that you can get from the 1911 census. The length of the marriage and numbers of children will be very handy. I didn't start this thread to moan about my failure; just to let others know what they'll get for their money if they decide to take the risk as I did. Lin

Thanks for that Lin l eagerly await the 1911 for my grandparents children older than my dad. He was born 9 years after they married in 1901. l never knew his family and don't know where they were baptised Liverpool City somewhere. l can't wait now after seeing the information you posted Thanks again Pam

It looks like the 1911 information will be wonderful to help determine children born between 1901 and 1911. Searching common surnames can be difficult but knowing of any children born to a couple, ..whether the babies survived or not, will be a great help. Gwyn

Hi, Do you know if this applies to the Scottish 1911 census as well? Can you view that for a certain price? Dawn