Genealogy Chat

I am a Newbie and have read all the Newbie advice but can't find an answer to the following. I am not asking you Old 'Uns to do my research for me, just for some advice.

I have my grandmother's birth certificate,obtained for the purpose of obtaining Army or Navy pay during war (presumably WW1) she was born 10 November 1908. Her place of birth is 51 ********* Road, Smethwick (in the now West Midlands), she was registered by her mother, address is also 52 ********** Road, Smethwick. Because the certificate is old and has been folded and refolded before I got my hands on it, the name of the Road is torn in both places. I have credits for GR records which are due to expire (tomorrow) and have tried to search the GR records but am getting nowhere.

Is it worth taking out a subs for Ancestry? Is that site easier than GR? I have found my great, great grandfather and grandmother via my great grandfather's birth certificate in the 1871 census on GR but cannot find either him or her in earlier or later census. What am I doing wrong?

Deffo worth taking a sub on Ancestry. GR records are a waste of money. U get lot more better value for money on Ancestry

Clare

what are you trying to find a ref to the cert you already have or to back from that info. I,m a bit lost as to what you are searching for!

Shirley

Clare is right Ancestry are the best to subscribe to. But if a quarter is missing, as sometimes happens on Ancestry, buy credits on FindMyPast. They cost £6.95 for 60 units and you can hold them for 90days.

Linda

Just a tip,

Sometimes when you search a year on the full Ancestry index, it may only show results in three quarters. This does not mean that there was no one of your name in that quarter; it means the image is missing. To look at the missing quarter, go back to the page with the search box on it, scroll down the page and you will see all of the years listed. Choose the year you need, then the missing quarter. Then choose the letter of the alphabet for the name you want. It is then just a matter of scrolling through the images until you find your name.

Deborah

If your grandmother was born 1908, then she will be looking for army/navy pay during SECOND W War not FIRST W War as she would only have been 10 at the nend of the First W War in 1918. Second W war was from 1939 (when she would have been 31 and most probably married) to 1945.

Are you trying to say that you are prepared to buy another Birth Cert because you cannot read the one you have? If so then just send off for a new Certificate from Southport GRO. However, if you think that Ancestry will have all the details of the Birth Cert and you can obtain the address that way then the answer is no they won't. They will only have the same details as Free BMD and you will have to purchase another cert at the cost of £7.

Ancestry or Findmypast will find the same cert and give you all the details of page and volume No etc which is needed to order up a new cert, but Free BMD will also give you this information for free and all you then pay is the cost of new Cert.

Janet North London Borders

Deborah,


when searching on censuses (or in fact almost anywhere) try the following tricks if the name you want doesn't appear.


Use the wild card symbol *

For example,

Instead of Louisa Martingale, enter Lou* Martin* or even Mart* in the search boxes.

There MIGHT have a mistranscription (or a mis-seplling on the census), and this will bring up:-

Louisa, Louise, and a very popular mis-spelling Lousia! Or martngale, Martindale, Martingal, etc

Then remove the place of birth ...... keep the county, but the place can and does change from census to census.

Widen the birth year to +/- 5 years.


Try surname only

Try christian name only

Try NO name at all .... but just birth year and birth place ........ means a lot of searching in a big place, but not if you are lucky and have a small village!

Just keep getting trickier and trickier!!



sylvia

n thanks for the very useful information.
Ancestry here i come.

If you want Census info then Ancestry is a great place to try. But if you want the index for the birth record then try Free BMD before you pay out for ancestry.

Try finding your great grandparents on the 1881 using the Latter Day Saints website.

Ancestry is well worth the subscription though

Problem with the LDS site is that you cannot look at the actual image of the 1881 census. So you cannot look to see mis-spelling or mis-transcription!


But it can be a good start, and costs nothing!!!


You can also see the 1880 US and one Canadian census on there.


sylvia