Genealogy Chat

This may sound stupid but i dont really know where to begin with tracing my ancestors in the UK. I have researched my ancestors here in Australia but dont know where to search next. I am unfamiliar with UK bdm's and dont get me started on understanding counties etc. I have purchased cert's from here in Aus, and naturally some ancestors were born/married in the UK. So where to next? I have looked at freebmd and the likes but havent found them to be to helpful. I have also come across plenty of websites which you need to be a Paid member to do any searches, Are any of these worth joining? Any help would be appreciated. Many thanks.

Well if you want to do a lot of research then get a sub with ancestry - it covers all the census 1901-1841 for England and Wales and the 1841 for Scotland. Most of us couldnt live without it - about £70 the whole year 24/7 access, view the original census records etc. It also has the full index of bmd free to anyone to check out at the moment. As long as you have got back to someone who will appear on the 1901 census then you should be ok Give some names etc. Oh yes, only ever use the GRO online for buying certs. They will cost £7 each NEVER pay any more. There are some sites that have set up with similar names and charge up to £50 for a cert. Read the getting started info on the homepage here to give you an overview of the sites you need.

I am sure if you give details of who you are looking for on this web site people will do look ups and help you. I will help if I can. When you need a certificates you can apply on line to the General records office at Merseyside www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content Hope this helps Gwen

The first question to ask is: When were your ancestors in the UK? THEN Were they in England, Scotland or Ireland? Where you look depends on when they lived and where they lived. As a basic principle, you need to start by looking at the freebie sites, to check that you are likely to find your ancestors, before you start handing over any hard-earned cash. All the indexes for English and Welsh censuses (1841 -1901) can be SEARCHED for free, though you will need to pay to view the images. All the indexes for bmd for England and Wales can be searched for free (though not every year is indexed) but you will have to pay £7 - never pay more - for certificates. One warning. English certificates are no where near as good as yours.

hiya, there are a few sites which can aid you in you search, depending on what dates you have to work from, ancestry is by far the best site for census from 1841-1901 inclusive, this is a subscription site, but i wouldnt be without it now, if you are a full member on here, why not ask for lookups???? makes alot of sense if money is a bit tight, people dont mind, as long as manners are remembered, if you like give me a name/dob, area and i'll see if i can find any for you, i dont mind Julie

Thanks Heather. The thing is there wont be any family on the 1901 census, they arrived in Aus in the 1840's. I have a marriage cert for my gtgt grandparents, Charles william Jeremy Kay married Margaret Mary Flynn in 1865 in Syd Aust. Charles is listed as 24 years of age born in London. His parents are Charles Kay and Elizabeth Garfield. Charles occupation is listed as a shipwright. Charles also had a sister born in Eng her name was Eliza (born approx 1837) any help or advice appreciated.

Hi Rachel There's a map of the counties of England Wales and Scotland on the genuki website, perhaps that will help give you some idea of which areas your family were from. Genuki has lots of information about each county too. Heather

Rachel, I'm from Aust too and the UK is quite scary. I'm in NSW and England's BMD is not like ours. The index doesn't have parents names and you have to guess and hope you order the right cert. From what I have read on here you may order several certs before getting your rellie. You need to consider when you think your ancestors arrived in Aust before joining Ancestry or anything else. If your rellies are convicts then Ancestry wont help at all as the census's start in 1841. Ancestry is good if you can make use of the census. You can trace a fair bit of family that way. The LDS site is also quite useful to help you work things out. Good luck Toni

I agree with Heather. I wouldn't be without a subscription to Ancestry. It sounds expensive, but when you work out how much it costs per week, it's not too bad. They are even starting to put the Scottish census details online. Kath. x

hiya, was it just your gt gt grandad that emigrated, or did the whole family travel over? did his parents/sister stay in uk is what i'm really asking julie

Hi Julie, The whole family came over, ( sorry should have clearly stated this). I found the details of when they came over on the government records (aus) site. They were Charles (father), Elizabeth (mother), Charles william Jeremy and Eliza.

Your family is on the 1841 census, living in St Lukes, an area of London. Use this link to see all the Kays there - clearly more than one family: http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?gsfn=&gsln=kay&sx=&f1=Middlesex&f2=st+luke&f3=&f18=&rg_81004011__date=&rs_81004011__date=0&_82004011=&_82004013=&f7=&f20=&f8=&f9=&gskw=&prox=1&db=uki1841&ti=5538&ti.si=0&gl=&gss=rfs&gst=&so=3

1841 census View Record Charles Kay abt 1806 Middlesex, England St Luke Middlesex View Record Charles Kay abt 1841 Middlesex, England St Luke Middlesex View Record Eliza Kay abt 1835 Middlesex, England St Luke Middlesex View Record Elizabeth Kay abt 1806 Middlesex, England St Luke Middlesex View Record Emma Kay abt 1837 Middlesex, England St Luke Middlesex View Record Mary Kay abt 1832 Middlesex, England St Luke Middlesex

hiya, is ok, dont worry about it, have you a mariage for charles/elizabeth? if not that would be a good starting point julie

Terrific, Thanks Phoenix!, I will have to join Ancestry. Will i have to be a member to view the record?. ( just read the above messages, so i guess i can view the records!)

Thanks Jim (and everybody else). I have the marriage for Charles william not Charles Snr and Elizabeth Garfield, I had no clue how to go about getiing it. The NSW bdm website is pretty straightforward. The UK sites do my head in. I have no certs for any UK event.

Drat, I always forget the d o t c o business http://search.ancestry(.)co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?gsfn=&gsln=kay&sx=&f1=Middlesex&f2=st+luke&f3=&f18=&rg_81004011__date=&rs_81004011__ date=0&_82004011=&_82004013=&f7=&f20=&f8=&f9=&gskw=&prox=1&db=uki1841&ti=5538&ti.si =0&gl=&gss=rfs&gst=&so=3 Just remove the brackets. Personally, if the entire family left in the 1860s - it looks as if at least Charles senior is dead by 1861, I would ask for someone to email me the images, as there aren't very many. And ask that they save it to their hard drive, rather than doing it directly via Ancestry, otherwise you won't be able to print or save it yourself. All is not lost re civil registration. The early indexes may not be up to much at the moment, but that will change in a couple or so years. They are being re-done and will include ages for deaths, and mothers' maiden names for births, making it easier to order the correct ones first time round.

Hi Phoenix, Thanks mate, I was just searching for the date when they arrived in Aus. The date was 22/3/1842, Charles snr and Charles william, Elizabeth, Emma and Eliza are all listed. Was there a census taken every 10 years?? So i take it that means they would have only been included in the 1840 census as they were in Aus before the next one was taken.

No time to type this up as yet, but I've found the baptisms of two elder sisters. And Samuel Kay, born Markwell St, St Giles Cripplegate, (bp St Mary Aldermanbury) may well be Charles sen'r's brother.

Hi Rachel Just another thing, its ok using the GRO site for obtaining certificates if you are sure you have the right one from the index. If you use checking points such as parents names and they dont match, GRO will keep part of your payment and not send any certificate. I am a signed up member of Random Acts of Genealogy Kindness and have helped a number of people overseas with this problem. Just send me the details of what you have found and what you know and I will contact the local register office, who will simply return payment if checking points dont match. Only when I have found the right one will you need to pay anything. Even then, I make no profit from this, I only ever charge the £7 plus airmail postage of about 68p If I can be of help, please send me a message.