Finding lost family, maybe, or more likely an infant death

nearlyrich

candlelight_2013 wrote: »

If it was a still birth the baby wouldn't have been given a name in those days, and the certificates were a bit like tissue paper.

If it was a birth and death, the birth certificate would have been free but they would have to pay for a death certificate. Perhaps they didn't want one, or perhaps they couldn't afford one. They would have been given a form for the funeral director, so wouldn't have needed a death certificatee for that purpose.

HTH

Candlelightx

There would still be a registration of the death though.. I have used Ancestry for years ands some of the people I know existed have not yet made it onto there. If you live in an area with an active family history group it might be worth asking for some help from them.

Grumpelstiltskin

Brighty wrote: »

Been having a play and think i've found the road block re: dads dad, found his death cert, 1957 England and birth 1904 Wales, but the mother line is blank. I'll have to see if i already have the birth cert in my parents document box, if not, order one.
I vaguely remember my mum saying she found out that the mother was an unmarried servant at some big house and that the babys 2nd middle name was the surname of the family in thw big house.
Guess i have some sleuthing to do

Brighty

Brighty The mother's name wasn't shown online until births after 1913.


After that date as you have found with your own birth the mother's name was shown.


A good clue to an illegitimate birth is the names being the same, but to be 100% sure you have to do a bit more research, what I mean is Mary Smith could have married George Smith and the birth of any children would show up as Smith/Smith.

Brighty

Grumpelstiltskin wrote: »

Brighty The mother's name wasn't shown online until births after 1913.


After that date as you have found with your own birth the mother's name was shown.


A good clue to an illegitimate birth is the names being the same, but to be 100% sure you have to do a bit more research, what I mean is Mary Smith could have married George Smith and the birth of any children would show up as Smith/Smith.

Thanks for that, though dads dads birth was the only one on the page with no mothers name, just a -, all the others for same year had names. 3rd Given name, Lenox, was, according to mum, the surname of the big house, which mum took to mean baby was illegitimate child of servant mum and well to do dad.

Brighty

clairec79

it's only blank on the indexes it's still there on the actual certificate

Depending on where the birth was some local sites have put the maiden names up - I know one branch of my families are, which was very handy when discovered my gr, gr great grandmother, Emily, was registered under the name Henry

PasturesNew

For early 19th century stuff, I got a copy of the local Assizes Court covering the year my mother was born in - and there was my granny asking for maintenance, which was granted, and the full father's name.

I got that just from buying/reading the index of the assizes from the local family history group. Although it was just the indexes it gave enough information.

It said [granny's name] claiming from [the father of the child] for a child born on [mum's birthdate]. So it was 100% laid out without having to then read the full case in the bigger books (not that there'd be much there as he didn't even bother to contest it/turn up).

Those indexes also showed me other events in the father's life ... so I could see he was already married and his wife had asked for a separation 5 years before.

AND ... the indexes showed me ANOTHER little b4st4rd he'd fathered.

enthusiasticsaver

I have spent many happy hours on ancestry and the free bmd index, 1901/1911 censuses doing some family sleuthing. While doing some digging around on ancestry I found my mum and (now dead) aunty and grandmother on someone elses family tree. It turned out to be a cousin on my grans side and they always wondered what became of my mum and her sister (my aunty). We are now in touch with cousins all over the world and have exchanged lots of family photos of my gran and her sisters and brothers who she lost touch with over the years and their families. Fascinating subject - family history.