Genealogy Chat

Re record office provinding copies. I have never tried to this by post but have visited quite a few in person and doen copies. A lot cheaper. But...some restrict when you can copy. After 1837 is a no no in some. Yet that is when we want them!!!

Birth certificates are useful for parents names but sometimes its better buying that for a sibling instead of direct ancestor. eg I had a family on the 1861 census. -my direct ancestor was 5 but his sister was 10. Both their certificates would have given the mother's maiden name but the sister's also had the address for 1850, which helped me to pin down the family on the 1851 census where I was able to find older siblings I hadn't previously known about. (alright I own up, I couldn't resist buying the birth certificate for my direct ancestor as well, just to complete the set)

I think all of us have to think of what copies of certificates we need to purchase. I put a list of ones I would like copies of in a notebook then get one a month. Sometimes I do not buy the certificate of the actual person I was interested in but that of a sibling if they were born nearer a census date because I can then find their address they lived at the time of the census and confirm the information that way. I do like to confirm all the information I find. I to have spent a fortune on copies of certificates. I have also been very luckey as a friend has sometimes found the original certificates at LMA and I have not had to purchase the copies. That has been realy nice because it has their signatures on it, not the copies we usually get. Good Luck in your research. Irene

Lil, I can't advise you which ones are best, but I will say be careful, once you start buying it is addictive. The other day my husband saw me sifting through a pile of certs the other day, he asked me how much they cost, when I told him £7 he was horrified as I had 20 in the pile. '£140 on bits of paper' (his words not mine) Trouble is that was only one of my files, I did not tell him I had more certs hidden away in other files. I had honestly never counted them or calculated the total cost in that way. Still, I have gained invaluble info from a lot of them, so it is worth it to my eyes .(Just hide them well as your partner is 'unconverted' to family research!!!)

Hi My hubby is an accountant with no interest in family history so all your comments will be very useful in me building a budget that he will accept without any moaning (I live in hope!!!!!!!!!). Many many thanks

Thanks Annette. I may well put your technique to the test at a future point. Sharon

Sharon, My local archive/records office is the History Shop in Wigan. I have also ordered photo-copies from Bury(Lancs), Sandwell (Staffs) and most recently from Preston. I know that others offer this service but I'm not sure if all do. To order the copy you will need both parties full names, the church they married in and in most cases the actual date of marriage (although some Records Office's will do a limited search eg. within a quarter or year). You can make the initial enquiry via e-mail, post or telephone and once you have confirmed they have the record you need the rest is done by post. Usually the fee includes postage. I have paid 50p, 95p, 1 pound and 2 pound per copy depending on where I have ordered them from. Hope that answers all your questions, if you need any more info let me know. Annette

Annette! please, please tell us the way to go......... that sounds like a really useful road to go down.......... Bob

Annette, please elaborate! This is all new information for me! Do all records offices do this? Can you do it over the phone or does the method of request vary for different offices? Can they do this for more recent marriages as well as pre 1837 ones? Do you have any other gems of knowledge you feel the need to impart? :-) Sharon

I also have to limit myself to one certificate per month (ish). One way I have found to get more records/certificates quicker is to order photo-copies of church marriage registers. All the marriage certificates I have (with exception to Civil or Registry Office Weddings) are photo-copies of the church record. You can order these from the Archive or Records Office for the area of the church in question and the fee ranges from 50p to 2 pounds per copy. You will get all the same info as you would from a marriage certificate. I actually prefer the photo-copies because it is a copy of the actual register your ancestor's signed on the day of their marriage. Let me know if you have any trouble finding the Records Office info and I will try to help. Regards Annette

I also am limited by finances (I 'treat' myself to 2 certificates a month.) I tend to order the ones that will confirm an event for my direct line ie. great grandparents/gg grandparents etc or ones that will give me info re the next generation back i.e mother's maiden name. As a result I have lots of marriage & birth certs but only 2 death certs so far! (Lots more info to play with) To decide which ones ... luckily most of my lines stayed in one area for a few generations so events are registered in one district. If I find a Mr/Miss X birth registered in Stratford on Avon they are probably somehow connected to me! Also a few forenames were used fairly regularly, not just John & Mary either - Louis & Cordelia spring to mind. So if you have any repeated names that might be a good clue that a cert is for one of your ancestors. Also use ref checking points when ordering.

try to sort out which info is most important to you, the marriage cert is helpful as it has usually got both Fathers names on, so can help you go back two ways, also sometimes witnesses were from the family, that is a bonus sometimes. For one particular person then birth cert is best bet, so order in order of the things you want to know most, good luck

Hi I have so many loose ends on my family tree that I want to go forwards with (or backwards, in this instance) that I could quite easily apply for every certificate going, if it wasn't for the finances. Can anyone suggest when it would be appropriate and how they deduce which ones to go for. Many thanks