Genealogy Chat

I applied for a birth cert £7 and asked for it to be cross referenced againsted his marrage cert. £3.

I have Just got a email telling they are not sending me the birth cert, as his fathers name is not John (the fathers name on the marrage cert).

But they are still charging me £6.

Does That sound right???


Also will I have to pay £6 for every time I ask for a birth cert to be crossed referenced?

I am trying to find out who John Pickfords parents were, There are loads of John Pickfords in the Manchester area it will end up costing me a ton.

Usually you get a refund of £4 and they charge you £3.

Did you supply the GRO reference number? If not, the charge for a certificate is £10, not £7. They should charge you the £3 for checking and refund the rest.

Did you ask them to check the marriage certificate as well? Maybe they charged £3 for checking the birth cert and £3 for the marriage cert.

Sam x

I gave them the GRO,
"Maybe they charged £3 for checking the birth cert and £3 for the marriage cert" Thats probley what they did.

How can I get a copy of his birth cert without getting charged £6 every time?

Do you have his marriage certificate? If so, just ask them to check that the fathers name is John, rather than asking them to look up the marriage cedrtificate themselves.

Looking at the GRO website, it does say that they will charge £3 for every check made that doesn't result in a certificate being issued so it would seem that they HAVE charged £3 for checking the birth cert and £3 for checking the marriage cert.

Sam x

The cheapest way is to get all the information you have together and go to the gro office sit at one of the desks look up the certificates you want and print them off in scotland its 50p a copy.
I pay £17 for the day to access the records and then 50p a copy before i was trying to do it throught Scotlands people and it was costing me a fortune not sure what the crack is for the english people though. ring and ask them if they provide such a service it will save you heaps in the long run
good luck
Fi

I know his dad was called John! I got someone to check his marrage cert for me.

I just wanted them to check that the fathers dad was john on the birth cert.

I don't know where the gro office is, I think he was born in the manchester area, so would I have to go to Manchester??

Sorry I'm new to this and I'm still tring to find my feet. ; )

Dont fret NO you wont have to go to manchester I think the main office for the English is St Catherines house which i believe is in London check it out on the web but GRO england in Google it should come up with an address and contact details for you then you can ring or email them give me a few mins i will do it for you and get back to you with an address Im not sure about englands as Im scottish and only know about the scottish side of things hold tight a min
Fi

Scotland is completely different to England.

In England you can't "see" a birth certificate without buying it.

You should have just given the GRO birth reference and asked for a reference check for his father's name, and not mentioned the marriage certificate at all. This would have cost you £3 if the father's name wasn't John.

Kath. x

What year are we talking about for the birth? Is it before or after 1901?

Kath. x

He was born in 1887

Hi Teresa
Ive just search the web site very briefly it was St Catherines house but it has now changed to the Family Records Centre 1 Myddleton st Islington London EC1R 1UW I had a quick browse at what services they offer and im not sure that they have any computor access facilities but you can go there and search for your records. you can also go to your local registrars office but im not sure how useful that would be and then there is always the libraries
what ever you do dont keep paying out for stuff until you are sure it's the correct one \i know its fustrating sometimes but its better to be patient and save yourself money.
good luck and let us know how you get on
Fi

look on the 1891 census that wil tell you the area he was born as well and again on the 1901 just to clairify I have an ancestor (2 actually)(father and son) who where christened Harry but where known all there lives as Henry even on my grt grandfathers headstone its Henry yet all official documents it's Harry so looking at the census's will also confirm what his name was rather than if JOhn was just a nickname or a preffered name
Good luck
Fi

These are the only John Pickford's living in Lancashire on the 1891 census with a father called John:-

John Pickford - John,
Isabella abt 1879 Lancaster, Lancashire, England Son Lancaster Lancashire

John Pickford - John,
Harriet abt 1885 Salford, Lancashire, England Son Salford Lancashire

John Chas Pickford - John,
Jane abt 1872 Mossley, Lancashire, England Son Ashton Under Lyne Lancashire

John H Pickford - John,
Harriett abt 1872 Manchester, Lancashire, England Son Ardwick Lancashire

The one born Salford is the nearest birthyear to the one you give.

Kath. x

Thanks every one, I'll let you know how I get on.

Theresa, I believe the reason you have been charged £6 is because they had to check two certificates as you asked it to be cross referenced against a marriage certificate. If you had just asked to check whether the father's name was John, you would have been charged only £3. I have done this a number of times and in each case have received a £4 rebate.
Derick.