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Welcome to the
Genes Reunited web chat, where you can get help and advice from our resident genealogist and expert family historian, Anthony Adolph.
To find out more about Anthony click here.
Thanks again to Anthony and everyone who joined in on the sessions so far.
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Questions already answered
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| Victoria Welch | 22/01/2013 22:03:48 |
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thank you anthony i will do that. |
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I hope it was a success! |
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| Sandra Welch | 23/08/2005 21:21:29 |
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I need some advice on where to get info. to help me over my brickwall. I am trying to trace my grandfather CHARLES HENRY WELCH b. circa 1882/3. I managed to find his marriage certificate after a relative said he had gone to S.Wales from Camberwell to work and married whilst there. I also have his death certificate dated Oct. 1952, aged 69. The info. from mar. cert. is: Age 25, Occ. labourer, fathers name WILLIAM WELCH, fathers occ. lighterman. I have looked for birth reg., but can't find one. I have looked for his fathers registration as lighterman, can't find one - although I appreciate this could be an 'exaggerated' occupation. I did however find a Charles Welch of the correct age in 1891 with brothers bearing the same chris. names as 'my' charles' later sons. This boy was a step son to a WILLIAM ARNOLD, a lighterman. I checked for birth in area on census, but only Charles born 1883 Bermondsey is a Charles WILLIAM Welch. The family say this can't be our man because of the wrong middle name, but I can't find another. Any suggestions Please. Sandie |
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You do not mention having sought Charles in the 1901 census. This should not only say where he was born (thus confirming or denying your theories) but also identify him in the context of his family. I can see the appeal of the William Arnold. I wonder, however, if your problems stem from Charles appearing in the censuses and birth records under another spelling - Welsh would be the most obvious. |
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| Nigel Weeden | 25/09/2007 21:01:37 |
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Several other people and myself are tracking the history of the Weeden family line in Kent and Surrey. We all have hit the same brick wall. We have got back as far as George Weeden born c1780, married in Malling, Kent to Mary Upton b1775 Aylesford, but the parish records for the some of the crucial Kent area around this time and earlier are badly damaged and or illegible.Apart from that, we know that during the 19th Century the family trade was papermaking. Do you have any suggestions of other places to search to move forward please? |
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As the parish registers are damaged, you could try Bishop's Transcripts instead - these were copies sent annually to the bishop, and in your case the relevant records would be at Maidstone. Other sources that may help you overcome problems in the parish registers include manorial records and wills. Mind you, families in that part of Kent tended to be quite mobile due to gavelkind - dividing the land up between all sons, with the hearth going to the youngest. The records you want may simply be in another nearby but as yet unexplored parish. |
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| Ann Webster | 13/12/2011 21:40:19 |
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Hi, I was adopted, and for years, I have been trying to find my relatives. I have some information but I keep coming to a standstill on this. I was born in manchester in 1965. My birth name is Ann Webster. My birth mother's name is Jean Bryan and she is married to Frederick Webster. My half sister's name is Valerie Constance Webster who was born in 1961. And my half brother's name is John Henry born in 1963. Can anyone help me find their where abouts? Many Thanks. |
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I hope someone seeing this question will be able to help. You can try tracing this family of yours forward - seeking Valerie's marriage and children's births, for example, using the indexes on this site, seeing if either of your parents has died (sorry!) or remarried, or tracing their births and then seeing if their parents have passed away - other relatives may appear as informants on the death certificates. www.findmypast.co.uk has an easily searchable database of names in telephone directories and electoral registers. And try the Adoption Contact Register at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Registeringlifeevents/Birthandadoptionrecords/Adoptionrecords/index.htm |
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| Ann Webster | 13/12/2011 21:58:55 |
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I dont think any of the websites will be helpful to me as I dont feel I should pay for various of these websites and for everything i go into. If anyone has any information, please send me a message. Many Thanks |
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My advice would be to allocate to this pursuit a research budget you can afford - you will find out a lot if you do invest some funds in it. The Adoption Contact Register is free. Good luck!. |
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| Daniel Webb | 16/11/2010 21:54:40 |
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Hi again, I have tried looking through bmd indexes for benjamin & james webb, but as their names are quite common, I don't know which certificates to order. I have also searched baptism records but no luck. is there a way I can find out using local record offices? many thanks, Daniel. |
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I see that you have found some possibilities. You can try looking all boys concerned up in the later censuses, to try to eliminate the false possibilities (ie, find them with their fathers, and see which names match up with your Benjamin's father's name. That way, you can minimise the number of certificates you will need to buy - but you will, ultimately, have to buy some. That is how to succeed in tracing family trees. |
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| Daniel Webb | 16/11/2010 21:17:05 |
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Hi Anthony, I am having trouble finding a birth record for my gt gt gt grandfather Benjamin Webb. he was born abt 1854 in westminster, he married his wife Harriet in 1875 and I know from his marriage certificate that his father was also called Benjamin, I also found from the 1881 census that he had a brother James Webb born abt 1865 also from westminster. but again I can't find a birth certificate for james either. any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. many thanks, Daniel. |
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Make a search in the General Registration records around these years, looking under Webb, Web and Webbe. If stuck, try the 1861 census for young Benjamin in Westminster, or even try looking for his father (you know his occupation from the marriage certificate), without without any children, in the censuses. That should 'unstick' you. |
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| Daniel Webb | 16/11/2010 21:01:32 |
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You have done very well so far, but you cannot rely on all the records you want being on line. Most aren't. The place to research a Hastings family is the East Sussex Record Office in Lewes. |
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| Peter Webb | 18/07/2006 21:34:44 |
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Hello Anthony. Wonder if you can help. I know that I have a grandfather born in 1894, appears in the 1901 census, died in 1927 but I can find no trace of his death in the BMD index for that year. What other records could I be researching, and what reasons might there be for him not appearing in the deaths index? |
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Perhaps you should question whether he actually did die in 1927, or whether that is a mistake. You could check wills and newspaper obituaries, and local burials, for further co-ordinates - or just search in General Registration for surrounding years. |
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| Louise Webb | 18/07/2006 21:47:36 |
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hi there...I am looking for charles bromley he stayed in southampton, i can trace alot of his families whereabouts plus children were born but he was never there, I beleive he was a baker (on a ship) but havn't gota clue where to begin to look for which ship etc etc...could you help in giving me a clue where to begin. thank you Louise ps i can trace as far back as his birth 1847 but reckon he died before 1881 |
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If he was a baker on ships out of Southampton, then they were probably merchant ships and liners - you can follow people through muster lists for these ships, ince you have found him on one, but you may find it a long struggle to find him on a ship in the first place - the musters are at the National Archives. |
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| Michael Weaving | 14/11/2006 21:24:48 |
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Hi, I am having problems finding information on my Grandmother Ethel Florence Bull born 1894 Whitechapel. Her father died when she was 4. She and her family are not showing up on the 1901 census, but an Ethel Bull is showing up as an inmate in Mile End New Town. How can I find out if this was my Grandmother? Many thanks, Angela |
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Do you mean the Mile End workhouse? Probably: the workhouse admission registers should tell you more. See the Institutions website, as link to which is off my own, www.anthonyadolph.co.uk |
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| Jackie Watts | 19/05/2009 21:11:44 |
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hi anthony,i hit a brick wall i can find the marriage of my great great grandmother but thats all we can fin d because of the surname..the surname is caysher i wonder if you have any ideas to help resolve this..i have tried census with no results..many thanks...jackie |
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My first reaction here is that your ancestors might have been recorded under a different spelling. Caysher is certainly a surname that would seem to lend itself to variant spellings. I suggest making a list of all the spellings you can imagine, and then simply undertake your searches under them all, until - and I trust you will - you come upon the right people. Here's a start - Caisher; Casher; Caiser, Cayzer, Kayser, Kaisher, Kasher, Kaiser, Kayzer, Kaysher, Gaysher, Gaisher........................... |
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| Jackie Watts | 20/05/2008 21:06:31 |
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hi anthony I have my grandmother, Cecily Farrant, marriage certificate to Charles Henry Simmonds but when I look at her death certificate her name has changed to Florence Ann Simmonds. They are definitely the same person but I cannot find a birth certificate or any details regarding her birth. Any suggestions? Thanks |
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You say 'definitely' the same, but the evidence suggests otherwise - Charles could always have married twice, and Simmonds is a popular name so this could have given rise to mistakes - I would suggest digging more deeply so as to find more evidence. |
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| Jackie Watts | 25/04/2006 21:58:14 |
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hi thnkyou for answered my question . i know my grandfathers names .i can find him. we can not find my granmother at all. thankyou jackie |
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Good luck |
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| Jackie Watts | 25/04/2006 21:08:52 |
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hi anthony i have my mother's birth certificate, giving us the name of my grandmother. However, I do not know what to do as I cannot find her in any records whatsoever, after trying more than one site and type of record. Can you help? thanks jackie |
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Does it just name the mother, suggesting illegitimacy? If so, you may need to search the General Registration records for a wide period looking for possible births and (subsequent) marriages of this woman, carefully eliminating all red herrings. Yes, this can be very hard work, but if you persist you may well succeed. |
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| Jackie Watts | 19/09/2006 21:07:02 |
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Hi Anthony i recently received my grandparents marriage cetificate it says her name was ceceily farrant..we are stuck because her death certificate says her name was florence anne i cant find the birth for ceceily but we can for florence is it poossible for her to drop her first name Kind Regards jackie |
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Are you sure you really have the right documents? Farrant is a popular name, so there is scope for error. You may need to do a more thorough search. Cecely, incidentally, is not the usual spelling - try looking under Cecily or Cicely. |
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| Christine Watson | 15/12/2009 21:05:39 |
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i'm having trouble searching for my mother in laws greatgrandparents i have traced there 2 daughters births but cant see them on any census records . what else can i do to trace them we belive they may be from ireland orgininally |
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The next thing to do here would be to seek the girls' parents' marriage, either here or in Ireland. Also, try seeking the daughters themselves in the censuses: their entries may lead you to those of the parents. |
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| Susannah Watson | 18/05/2010 22:03:12 |
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Thanks Anthony. I will re-enter my question. I have searched in vain over many years for the birth/baptism/1861/1871 census, his parentage and possible siblings of my Great Grandfather, Edward GRAHAM. No success. I ha |
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If no success in England, try Scotland, as the surname is Scottish. |
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| Susannah Watson | 18/05/2010 21:55:28 |
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Hello Anthony, I have submitted a question to you earlier tonight - can you please confirm whether you received it please. It was regarding a possible "name change" Many thanks |
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I've answered several questions about name changes. Weirdly, the system is set up in such a way that I cannot see your name until after I have answered the question - so I don't know, as I type this, who you are! |
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| Jane Watson | 19/08/2008 21:24:17 |
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Hello Anthony I have come against a brick wall with my great grand father. It would appear that my great grandfather never married my great grandmother and so all the children took the mother's maiden name. On the birth certificate of my grand dad is the real father's name. When my grand dad married my nan he married with the maiden surname of his mother although his birth certificate clearly shows the father's and mother's different surnames. I think my great grand father was Italian - can you suggest the best ancestry website which might help me in my search. The surname in question is Mayocco (which I think was spelt wrong and should be Maiocco). There are no Mayoccos or Maioccos being born or buried in the UK apart from the ones I know about (my grand father who was born in 1903). Many thanks Jane |
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Italian records are held very locally in Italy, by mayors and churches. To work out where, consider censuses and naturalisation records here: Catholic registers may give the names more accurately than civil records. Then use Italian telephone directories to see where the surname is now, and, ergo, where it is likely to have been then. |
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