Genealogy Chat

Oh dear--I'v not had that problem yet--although th lady this morning did say that there are 2 counties laying claim to the village that my body was born in--but lucky for me they have th erecords there in Yarmouth!!

If only it was always that easy, Carol!! I have a lot of ancestors from Keynsham..... KEYNSHAM REGISTRATION DISTRICT Registers now divided between 1) Bath & North East Somerset, 2) South Gloucestershire and 3) Bristol districts Now, when they say ''divided'' they are not joking (the district of Keynsham crosses the Somerset/Gloucestershire County Boundary, which is a BIG problem!)........ First you have to ring one of the three offices and ask which office to apply to.....they then ask which sub-district your event took place........If it's a marriage or death then you may not know (hopefully for a birth you might know from the census). If you don't know which subdistrict the event happened in, then you need to apply to each of the three possible offices in turn and most likely they will all say they don't hold the correct register/have the entry. If you do know where the event happened, then they still cannot decide who has the correct book, but are always certain which of the other two offices has it.......until you phone that office!! Don't get me wrong, the staff are all really nice and do definitely try be helpful, it's just that their systems are soooooo difficult to follow!! They pleaded with me to use the GRO for Keynsham, so I do!! Merry

You can go to your search engine and type in the name of the registry office you want. It will give you the phone number to contact. You need a debit or credit card handy, and some charge up to 50p for postage etc. I ordered one from Norwich this morning and the girl was really helpful, she directed me to the registry office I needed for the second one and gave me the phone number. Both said I will have the certs within the week. Beats the GRO hands down!!

I am soooo sick of waiting weeks from GRO, I've been trying to order from local register offices, luckily for me I live local to both Walsall and West Bromwich which is where a lot of my rellies were born lived and died.However have been unlucky that 2 I really wanted can't be found at local ones, so I am going to have to go through the GRO, am gutted! :( Linda

Can you telephone the local registrar offices for the certificates?

I've started ordering from the local registry offices--loads quicker--and a voice to talk to and explain any discrepancies etc--longest I had to wait was 5 days

I don't bother with ordering certs. from GRO anymore. I just go to the registry office in question and receive the certificates within 2-7 days. It's a much more personal approach.

Mine had better come tomorrow then lol.

I ordered 4 certificates in mid March and was told a despatch date of 8th May. 2 arrived on Friday, 2 arrived on Saturday. Worth the wait but geeeezzz April didn't half drag! Lol.

Wow I ordered mine over 2 weeks ago and they told me today that my dispatch date is the 2nd of June. I have no patience. I wish my family came from Preston it would be so much easier.

There is an article in Family History Monthly that came this morning, They received during January and February the highest ever number of applications, 400 ' 000 and demand rose by over 33% in just two days between Jan 18th & 20th. January saw a 75% increase on the previous month. 97% of all certs were despatched on time during January. They are recruiting extra staff and working overtime to reduce the backlog. I ordered three today and the despatch date is 30th May. Patience is a virtue. Mary

I tend to do that - but a lot of the ones I need are in London and they just forward you to the GRO.

I know what you mean Tom. It is going to take me for ever to get my certificates. If only I could afford them in one go. Can you get your certificates from the local registrar office. It might be faster that way.

One I ordered ages ago had a despatch date of today so hopefully (fingers crossed) it will arrive in the morning. There are about another 20 certs that I would like to get but really need to pace myself getting them. lol. I know, if I order one every week that means I should get one a week through the post. Pity about the cost issue though. lol .

You all probaly already know this but I telephoned Southport today to see when my certificate would arrive. When I first ordered it they said 10 working days (2 weeks) today the tell me it will now take 25 working days. GRRRR I asked them if they had any job vacancies. I was told not at the moment lol