Use for questions relating to ancestors living or visiting England, and records originating in England.
3
votes
1answer
26 views
What determined which prisoners sentenced to transportation were actually transported?
Thomas Duffett (baptised 1785 Stalbridge, Dorset, England) had a couple of run-ins with the law and got himself sentenced to 7 years transportation. Twice. But he never left the country.
The first ...
2
votes
1answer
31 views
Why would FamilySearch.org index be showing a person's age in a marriage, if that's not in the Parish Record?
This problem is somewhat similar to an earlier question of mine, but the issue is more general than before. In one tree I am researching, I can find a marriage record for Nathaniel Claughton and ...
7
votes
3answers
73 views
Strategy for distinguishing between two possible baptisms, and thus people, parents, etc
My partner has an ancestor, Peggy Crossley, probably born around 1750, who married Henry Rawlinson in Burnley, Lancaster (source) in October 1767.
I have two candidate baptismal records that seem ...
6
votes
1answer
24 views
My Brickwall with a possible lead (however with discrepencies)
I have hit a brickwall in my family research but have a possible lead. However, there are some discrepancies in this lead. I have gone to extra-ordinary lengths to research this and I am almost at ...
2
votes
3answers
46 views
Conflict between Kent Online Parish Records and FamilySearch.org database - which to believe?
I have an ancestor, William Vollins or Vallins, who I believe was the son of Richard Vollins and Mary (Bowler), b 1777 in St Mary Cray, Kent (near Orpington). There are many other Vollins/Vallins ...
3
votes
3answers
171 views
How can I find out where someone is actually buried?
I would like some guidance in tracing the burial place for a person who died in Surrey, England in the 20th or 21st century.
4
votes
4answers
78 views
Help needed reading an occupation and place name
In the 1891 Census of England and Wales for the household of James Jeans, Bermondsey, Southwark (RG12 piece 377 Folio 135 page 12), I can't read (1) the occupation of James Jeans and (2) the ...
6
votes
2answers
64 views
Freehold and copyhold land in 18th century England?
The will of my ancestor, Matthew Wilson of Wannerton, dated 1776, refers to "my Freehold or Copyhold Lands or Tenements in the parish of Clent or elsewhere".
What do the terms freehold and copyhold ...
5
votes
2answers
84 views
How much did people travel in the early 1800's?
Our family bible tells me that my gx2 grandfathe3 Robert Chapman was born in Cornwall in 1811 but despite searching for 20 years (and building up a tree containing 7,000+ ancestors I can't locate him ...
3
votes
3answers
51 views
Cornish parish records lost in fire?
I have a brickwall in the form of my great great grandfather whom I know from our family bible was born in Cornwall in 1811. I've found him (Robert Chapman and his wife Elizabeth nee Shapling and ...
6
votes
4answers
77 views
Why was Flossie baptised twice?
On 6 September 1903, Flossy Maud Mary Ann Mogg was baptised in Stalbridge Parish Church, Dorset England. Her birth date was given as 10 December 1897, and her parents as Walter Mogg (Farmer) and his ...
3
votes
3answers
82 views
How might a “nurse-child” have been placed with their carers?
In the 1861 census of England, the sister of one of my ancestors is shown living as a 'nurse-child' some distance across London from where her mother was in hospital. How would the placement of a ...
4
votes
2answers
74 views
What was George August Imprisoned For?
I've come across a log on Ancestry.co.uk which shows that George August was imprisoned in 1854. Below is a screenshot of the entry.
I have managed to read it as follows, but this could be wrong as ...
17
votes
3answers
114 views
Church Censuses a one off?
I have photocopies of clerical censuses from 1828 & 1838 from a parish in Herefordshire, England.
In fact the details given offer more information than state censuses. Have researchers found ...
7
votes
2answers
102 views
How likely is it that the England & Wales Census would be wrong about an age by ten years?
Or is it just a gap in the records?
My 3xgreat-grandmother, Sarah Rule, is shown in the 1851, 1871 and 1881 Censuses for England and Wales with ages that would indicate a date of birth around ...
4
votes
1answer
42 views
Day of publication of Church of England marriage banns in 1909
The banns for the marriage of Albert Herbert William Proctor and Julia Ann Coulson were read on the 6th, 13th and 20th October 1908, which were 3 consecutive Tuesdays. According to Lord Hardwick's ...
4
votes
1answer
52 views
Pre-official adoption years
If a child born at England in 1914 was placed in foster care and stayed with their foster family, wouldn't that child somehow have to prove their identity when they started work? For example, they ...
15
votes
1answer
69 views
Facilitators for Adoption
I have just tried to help with a question elsewhere on adoption and it has fuelled me with a fresh question. Someone wanted to find a connection between a family who "adopted" an illegitimate child, ...
4
votes
2answers
70 views
Identifying Blenkinsopp-Leaton family photos
We have family photos. The family name was Blenkinsopp-Leaton. Throughout the 1800's, the family was very wealthy and lived in Northern England. None of the photo's have any names, but are obviously ...
6
votes
1answer
101 views
UK Marriage Witness Index
In the 1990's, Ted Wildy of New Zealand created an index of marriage witnesses, which had contributions of the names of the witnesses of many marriages in the UK (as well as Australia and New ...
6
votes
4answers
114 views
Applying a corrected relationship to a census on Ancestry
Ancestry.com provide a way of applying per-user corrections to census records. However, this only supports changes to a personal name, place of birth, or date of birth. I would like to report a ...
3
votes
2answers
88 views
Parish Records for Belper, Derbyshire, England
Does anyone know of a good searchable (i.e. CD or Web site) source for parish records for Belper in Derbyshire (UK)? I have tried to contact the Derbyshire family history society for information but ...
7
votes
2answers
76 views
Citing local BMD registrations in England and Wales
The index of civil registrations of births, marriages, and deaths in England and Wales can be found on the FreeBMD Web site. This is not yet complete but fuller versions can also be found on the ...
6
votes
4answers
135 views
How can I identify all the possible alternatives for a surname
My ancestor Mary Ann Harper is frustratingly elusive as mentioned here. However, Harper is a surname that would lend itself to different spellings in censuses, birth records and the like — ...
7
votes
1answer
92 views
How did the lives of Worcester nail-makers change 1840-1875?
The 1850 Census of England and Wales shows my ancestors living in Forge Lane, Halesowen (in Worcestershire).
Note that not only are all the adult males on the page working as gun barrel forgers, but ...
6
votes
1answer
78 views
Did Carl M. Olson of Göteburg (Sweden) take 19th century photos in England, and if so, approximately when?
I have a photograph of an ancestor from England who I believe was born in 1818 (in Somerset) but became a police constable and lived in Devon, Gloucestershire and London later in life. I am guessing ...
13
votes
4answers
161 views
How can I establish (and describe) my confidence that the child and adult are the same person?
My two general questions are:
At what point can one say that, yes, the adult you have identified as your ancestor is the same person as the child you think might be your ancestor, and that you have ...
2
votes
1answer
98 views
Where was Timothy Kelly born (married in London, died in Herefordshire)?
My ancestor Timothy Kelly, died in Weobley, Herefordshire, in 1839, and was born around 1774, according to his death certificate.
Supposedly, his son told descendants that his father was from ...
4
votes
1answer
70 views
Ancestry of Christian Penn (d. 1684) (married 1st Francis Eaton and 2nd Francis Billington, both of Mayflower)
Does anyone know the ancestry of Christian (or Christina) Penn, who came to Plymouth colony on the Ann in 1623? She married first Francis Eaton (Mayflower) then Francis Billington (another Mayflower ...
5
votes
2answers
81 views
How do I find twins in the England and Wales civil registrations?
How do I find twins in the England and Wales civil registrations?
In one of my workshops, I was given some information about a couple in the UK who had identical twin daughters. Although I knew their ...
3
votes
2answers
88 views
Where can I list my DNA in Europe (England) to improve the chances of making a match with other researchers?
My DNA is listed on several USA sites. Does any one know of similar sites in Europe (England) where I can try to make a match?
2
votes
2answers
66 views
Thomas EUSTICE, Married Helston, Cornwall. Dec 28, 1867
Cannot find birth record for Thomas EUSTICE. At time of his marriage, Helston Registry Office, Cornwall,Dec.28 1867, to Matilda GAY, he is shown as an agricultural labourer, living at Wendron St., ...
15
votes
4answers
817 views
What is the earliest age a boy in England could get married in the 1800s?
My wife has an ancestor named Charles Davies. The 1841 and 1851 Wales censuses as well as his marriage record state that he was born in Flintshire, Wales between 1813 and 1816. A search for his ...
4
votes
3answers
127 views
Finding detailed UK Naval Records (1920's)
I have the Naval summary of an ancestor (Who served in the UK Navy during the 1920's) which lists the bases and ships he served on, with a small bit of other information too.
The document I have ...
7
votes
2answers
105 views
Cost of BMD Certifcates in England and Wales
The cost of BMD certificates from the General Records Office (GRO) of England and Wales is quite expensive (£9.25 at time of writing) but what is preventing the obvious streamlining of this?
The GRO, ...
7
votes
4answers
116 views
How can I find out about military service in WW1 for an English veteran?
My grandfather, Robert Wright (born 1896, Kings Norton, Worcestershire, England; and still living there in the 1911 census), fought in WW1 and was (according to family oral tradition) gassed while he ...
7
votes
3answers
116 views
How do I find a New York birth record from the early 19th century?
My 3rd great grandfather, Charles James Sanderson, was born around 1804 in New York according to the 1851 and 1861 England Census (and some other references I've been able to find).
The earliest ...
13
votes
4answers
246 views
What is a Marriage Bann and how can I use it in my research?
There are three dates listed on my third great grandfather's 1825 Church of England Parish Register of marriages:
Oct 23, Oct 30, and Nov 6
All Saints, Tower Hamlets, London, England
Source ...
10
votes
8answers
267 views
Locating an elusive UK birth record (Mary Ann Harper born circa 1865 possibly Dudley, England)?
I have a female great grand-mother in England for whom I have her marriage certificate and her death certificate, plus census records from marriage until death. From these I know her unmarried name, ...
