Genealogy Chat

I am still trying to find my James Dearlove born c.1805. My research and some wonderful assistance on GR has found him and his own family from 1840 onwards. If he says he was born in Reading for every census, as does his wife Mary, why can I not find a record of his christening OR marriage? (I went through all the relevent church registers for the period last week) This is really frustrating me now. What other sources would a labouring family be recorded in in the 1800's? All sugestions will be followed up diligantly.

Im in same situation with one of mine - it drives you crazy doesnt it. I can only think he either got his place of birth wrong cos of moving when he was young or married his wife in her home town. But, Im sure the more experienced hands will help but I was a bit fortunate to find, thanks to kind advice on here, a Settlement Certificate for the couple which took me back a further 6 years and also indicated their marriage date (no kids on the certificate). So I suppose you could try that.

Is it possible they were non-conformists? I spent months trying to trace one family - finally found their marriage and baptisms of all the children in the appropriate Primitive Methodist registers!!! We always assume everyone was C of E. Jay

Thanks for the sympathy and suggestions, Heather and Janet. I'll try both of those as a starting point. While I have no reason to think my Dearloves were Catholic, there are prominent Catholic Dearloves in history books relating to the area. Please feel free to add any more suggestions and ideas.

Try looking at A2A (Google to find the site). This is one entry: 'READING ST GILES PARISH RECORDS Catalogue Ref. D/P 96 Creator(s): Church of England: Reading St Giles Parish, Berkshire INCUMBENT Service of the Church: miscellaneous Marriage bonds [probably retained by Archdeacon's surrogate issuing licences.] FILE - William Shilton of Bradfield, farmer, and Elizabeth Dearlove of Bradfield, spinster - ref. D/P 96/1C/23/33 - date: 1808' Is your ancestor living in Reading when he gives it as a birth place? It is possible that he came from a village close by, and just said Reading for convenience. Also try this website: http://www.berksfhs.org.uk/ as this is the family history society for the county.

Abbess, and the other ladies of good intentions, So which route would you suggest next? Should I try and find out more about the one James I know was christened in Reading, four years before mine was supposedly born, or start looking in the surrounding villages? Is this the point where I have to leap into the unknown and say 'I think this is the family, but I can't prove it?'

If you can't find his christening or marriage, but just have him on the censuses, is it possible that his real name was something other than James, but he called himself James? If you can find a somebody Dearlove christened in the right year who marries a Mary it could be him. For example, one of my rellies (not an ancestor, thank goodness) is called Fred or Frederick Bristow on all the censuses but his real name was Owen Ferrier Besant Bristow! Kate.

IGI Individual Record FamilySearch™ International Genealogical Index v5.0 British Isles Search Results | Download | Pedigree -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JAMES DEARLOVE Male -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Event(s): Birth: Christening: 22 MAY 1801 Saint Mary, Reading, Berkshire, England Death: Burial: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Parents: Father: GILES DEARLOVE Mother: HARRIET Is this one any good June

IGI Individual Record FamilySearch™ International Genealogical Index v5.0 British Isles Search Results | Download | Pedigree -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JAMES DEARLOVE Male -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Event(s): Birth: Christening: Death: Burial: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marriages: Spouse: MARY MAYNARD Marriage: 20 MAR 1821 Finchampstead, Berkshire, England What about this marriage June

Hmm... The christening in 1801 is the one I wondered about. Along with James, Charles has been used in every known generation of this family and I suspect Giles of the christening may have been aka Charles on others in the same register. However there is no inconsistency about my James' age on any census. It always comes back to c.1805. The 1821 Finchampstead marriage would be a possibility if he were born before 1805. There is a child from that union born the same year. Perhaps I should look for any births in the surrounding area pre 1840 when the first child I know of was born. So, still nothing conclusive. Glad you are all thinking on the same wavelength. Thanks. Any more ideas?

Does James bp Reading 1801 also appear in census? Jay

Hi Rugby Widow. If you start by following the wrong line, you will get very cross later on. If you have access to the local records office, look at every name index on their shelves for references to the surname. If you subscribe to Ancestry, look at the birthplaces on the 1851 census for all the adult males over 50. Even if described as labourers, your ancestors may have made wills or paid taxes. If they were nonconformist, they may have married by licence. Have a look at familyhistoryonline to see if there are any Dearloves recorded there. You can search the indexes for free and only pay if you actually need a reference. If they were poor, they may appear in all sorts of records. A settlement certificate is pure gold. If they held copyhold land, the changes that occur at a death are recorded in the manorial records. There are all sorts of records out there, most of them in the local record office. It is just(!) a matter of finding the time to look at them - and asking the staff there if you don't understand how to search the records.

Jay/Janet - Good question! I should have thought of that! I will see if I can trace James Dearlove christened 1801 and his family. If I can exclude him then that would be something. :) Abbesss, I was in Berks Record office last week to double check through all the original fiches and spools for the marriages and christenings in Reading. It does sound like another trip is required to exclude (?) the other Dearlove family and follow up your suggestions, which are exactly the pointers I require. Grumble, Grumble, fidgit - It'll have to wait a few months. At least this time I will go well prepared with new angles to approach this. A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has helped refocus this quest.