Genealogy Chat

Thank you thank you thank you lovely people! I am going to have a go using your tips and then if I am still stuck I might come back and bother you again. As an aside, following on from what I think Heather said yesterday: having said less than 24 hours ago that I had exhausted the family info route, I went home last night to an unexpected and rather lovely letter from one of my great great grandfather's sister's descendants, mapping out 2 whole lines of the tree for me from 1866 to the present day. I am such a lucky girl!!! Thanks again. Shareen.

If you know a definate birth we can show you how to search for that one.After that the same method applies to all the rest,at least ancestry is free,unlike some of the sites,so mistakes (and we all make the odd one here and there) only cost you time not money. Glen

A technique I've found useful is to trace female family members. As the tradition seems to have been to marry in the bride's home town or at least what she regarded as home you might be able to find a marriage in the GRO index. I tend to look around when the person would be 20 years old and search a few years either side. From this you might be able to find any children. As a very general rule children seem to come along within the first 3 years of marriage and then at fairly regular intervals after that. Its very hit and miss but I've had some luck bridging the gap between 1901 and 1911. I have no idea how to follow the male members, but try the OneName projects. If you don't get any joy looking through Ancestry's GRO indexs try 1837online or freebmd.rootsweb. You may need to pay to view the indexes on 1837online and freebmd is incomplete but free. Try google by using the surname and area they were most attached to, this can bring up some interesting results. On the upside there's only another 6 years before the 1912 census is out!!

Shareen If you really feel you are struggling why not try a 'sample' search. You say your grandfather is really helpful, so you should know who he married, his children and his grandchildren - you included!!!!!! Have a look at the indexes and try to find his birth, marriage and his children's births and marriages and this will show you how the information is displayed so you know what you are looking at. Alternatively, post the 1901 census information for a couple who's children you're trying to find with as much info as possible and I'm sure someone on here will point you in the right direction. Good hunting. Looby

You can search each year,quarter by quarter using a specific name (ie John Smith) or just search under a specific surname (ie Smith). The index is alphabetical,and lists the district that the event took place in. Each event (birth,marriage or death) can be searched this way,but you won't have the names of the parents displayed,for that you need the certs. But as an example,if you know that you have rellies born in Lincoln with the surname Hay,you can note all the Hay births,marriages and deaths for the Lincoln district,or expand it to the births in the county. After 1911 the births would have the mothers maiden name (mmn) so if you found a 1912 birth surname Hay with mmn of Abbott,and a 1914 birth surname Hay with mmn Abbott it would show that they MAY be from the same family,they may be siblings. Flip that round and then look for a male Hay to a female Abbott in the marriage index and you have a good chance of knowing who married who. To verify the details though you would need the certificates. Easier to search than it is to explain really. Glen

Bring up the following link http://www.ancestry*co*uk/search/rectype/vital/freebmd/bmd.aspx You have the option to search indexed records upto 1910 or Non indexed records to 1983 or Indexed records from 1984 to 2004 Indexed means the info has been transcribed and can be searched on various fields. Non indexed means you'll just be presented with index page and these need to be trawled through. You'll need a surname to make a start.

Thanks, but I'm not stuck, I've just been advised to search the GRO indexes but I don't know how to practically do this. People are so sweet and generous on this site, but sometimes forget that 'work forward through the indexes' actually means very little to us newbies!

Maybe a good idea to post some details of your family and at what point you are stuck.

Please come back!!! I'm all poised ready to start searching armed with this new information very helpfully shared by you all, but have no idea how to, in a practical sense 'work forward through the GRO indexes'!!!

Erm...I'm still not sure how to do this guys. How do you search on ancestry if you don't know who you're searching for? Is there a search facility where you type in the names of the parents? Sorry, I am so clueless : (

So I can search using the names of the parents and this will hopefully thorw up the children? (Don't laugh - I really do have no idea how to start!!!)

Another thought,is there a local Family History Society (FHS). They often come in very handy at times, Glen

There are a few sites with the bmd index,but ancestry has the full index from 1837-2004 available and they are free.No subscription,no pay per view malarky,you just need to register with ancestry initially then the whole lot is free. www.ancestry*co*uk (replace* with the usual dots) Glen

Thanks guys, but I've exhausted the family info side of things - I have a very intelligent, alert and interested 80 year old grandfather who I see regularly and who has been a star in all this (I'm going to stay with him up north in 2 weeks and we're going round taking photos of all my family's old haunts including the farm they lived in in 1792!), however he knows very little about the lines going forward after 1901. His 86 year old sister has also been a great help, although she's frustrantingly cagey with certain info so there's only a certain amount I can deduce. (We think she might be hoarding the family bible, which has the family tree in it for generations and which she claims was burnt on purpose by her mother!!! However short of organising a burglary, I can't think how to get this out of her!!!) So the GRO indeces are on Ancestry? Is that the only place to see them? Sorry for basicness of questions! (In my favour is that the whole extended family seems to have stayed pretty much in one small area for generations.)

Good point Heather,older rellies might be able to give some pointers. Use any info as a guide though,old Aunt Mabel may be sure something happened in 1942 when it was really 1938,the memory can be a funny thing. Apologies to all the Aunt Mabels out there, but you know what i mean. Glen

You can use ancestry free still at the moment. Personally, Id ask every member of the family for info first and ask if they have any certs or photos. Do it now as these wonderful bits of info are often thrown out when elderly rellies die.

Thanks guys, I appreciate that. So the GRO indexes are the next place to look then? Are they online?

Hi All wills post 1858 are held at York,there is a charge for the staff to search,and if no will can be found the search fee is not refunded.Pre 1858 may be on the national archives website,but not much good for post 1901 work though,lol. Post 1901 birth index will give a few possibles for each district,and post 1911 births have the mothers maiden name listed too,that really does help to narrow down the options. The 1901-1911 era is the 'black hole',you have to try and find marriages and likely births,or hope the descendants married post 1911. Try googling likely names,searching through GR name search and trawling through the index. A male born 1890/1900 may well have served in WW1,perhaps personal papers may be listed on the national archives site,or they may have been killed in action and be listed on the War Graves sites.Often listed as son of or husband of,i have found a link or two that way. Glen

The first hurdle is the gap between the 1901 census and the beginning of their including the mother's maiden surname against birth registrations in 1912 or so. Once you get past that, you can do reasonably well moving forwards through the GRO indexes, assuming that you're not dealing with 'Smith' or that your family didn't keep moving around the country. Remember that as you plug in more recent stuff into your tree on GR, you're also more likely to find people researching backwards along other lines.

I have gained pretty much everything I can from the censuses - I have my grtx3 Grandfather, his ten children, and most of their children. How do I now start to find their descendants? Is it a case of going to the probate office now and starting to trawl through for wills? Or is there a more straightforward way to get started?