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From Mrs Elizabeth Thomas's marriage record, you will learn her father's name and occupation, and from the census you have learned the age and place of birth, and the mother's forename, so now you need to look for possible births: with a common surname in Ebbw Vale, you may need top buy a number of certificates until you find the right one - and from that record, you will learn the mother's maiden name.

You could try Moffatt.... ultimately, it was each person's own decision what they called themselves, and especially with women, you should expect the unexpected. If you cannot find this lady's death record, and she was 'last known' to have been in London, unmarried, then maybe she did, in fact , re-marry, and you should be looking for a marriage re cord under one of those names.

I note that, regarding Ancestry, you say 'they have stated...'. The only sources that are worth taking any notice of are original sources, made at the time. You ask an interesting question: which age is correct. Which is likelier to be? Men could lie about their ages to get into the army when too young: they could lie about their ages when they married, so as not to appear much older, or much younger, than their wives. You may be best off looking across a wide-ish period at Albert Clay births in the Wookey area, and check them for the right father's name (as stated on the marriage certificate), and then once you have the birth, you'll know how accurate he really was about his age.

Assuming the crossing was from Ireland to England (or Wales) you can't find shipping details: these were short domestic voyages, so passenger lists were not recorded.

Before General Registration records were introduced in July 1837, church marriages did not record father's names - and life becomes harder! I see that you know James was alive in 1854, so he should appear in the 1851 census. This will tell you where he was born, and thus where to seek his baptism. Some baptisms are indexed on this site, and many more are indexed on www.familysearch.org, but failing these, your next stop should be the relevant county record office, and you can enjoy exploring all the original records that are not yet on-line.

Blue Coat Schools and workhouses generally have very good records. Workhouse records will be in the Rotherham Archives (or they'll know where the records are) - http://www.rotherham.gov.uk/info/448/records_and_archives-information_and_advice They will probably have the local Blue Coat Schools too.You can look him up in the 1911 census, but thereafter I would not expect to find much recorded about him until he married and settled down.

She probably died in Belgium, then. It is lucky that you know she went to Antwerp - I suggest looking for her marriage and death records there. If she was middle or upper class then you could look for a newspaper announcement of her Belgian marriage in the paper local to where she used to live in England, or even in the Times.

Yes, but the point of the censuses is that they say where people came from, so you want to look him up in 1901, and 1911, and the earlier ones if applicable: the amount of information he may have given may vary from census to census. Let's hope you find a naturalisation for either brother. Yes, each town and city in Germany has archives.

The deaths on Genes Reunited only go up to 2005. Thereafter, the indexes are only available in a few archives: the National Archives' set is in the London Metropolitan Archives, and other sets are at Westminster City Archives, and the British Library. This is a reminder of how all research used to be, pre-Internet!

Yes, it really does say, in very nice, clear handwritiing, 'Reluther'. I see there is another one in the 1841 census, too, born about 1828. You could see if he presented a settlement certificate to the churchwardens when he arrived in Swanscombe, and see if his baptism appears elsewhere - have a look in www.familysearch.org. The vast majority of people on the north coast of Kent, who were not Kentish, were from London or Essex - there was lots of to-ing and fro-ing, but of course some were incomers, off ships from practically anywhere, so you may have your work cut out.. Following up the family of the Russells next door is a perfectly sensible and viable option.

You say you cannot find these things in West Ham- you may need to widen the parameters of your search a little, as of course they may have moved elsewhere. Not being able to find the births at all is odd - presumably you are relying on family knowledge for the existence of these children. If born before the 1935 marriage they would of course be under Gould, not Bowen. As to this lady's death, one reason for not being able to find a woman's death if she married, and changed her name, again (or several times!). You could seek Arthur's death, and then see if Mary remarried.

My ancestors come from near Cologne as well. You can look for Frederick and his brother in the censuses (1891, 1901 and 1911 ), see if they were naturalised (records at The National Archives and searchable under reference HO1 on their on-line catalogue), see if either left wills mentioning relatives back home (my family did), and even see where they lived here, as sometimes immigrants named their houses after their places of origin. Failing that, using modern telephone directories to see where Kohlers live now in the Cologne area, and start searching those parishes, one by one.

I haven't had an earlier question about a Charles Minter this evening - if it was from a previous session you'd need to remind me of the salient facts. For this question, you can look him up in the published army, navy and air force lists if he was an officer, and for any serviceman you can ask the relevant MOD archive: you'd need to prove you are the next of kin, and that Mr Minter is deceased. Best start with the army - Ministry of Defence, Historical Disclosure, Mail Point 400, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow, G2 8EX 0141 224 3030.

If the marriage record states that Edwin Woolley was dead, then it would be rather extraordinary - though not of course impossible - if he was in fact alive. Your problem stems from not knowing very much about him. Obtain his daughter's birth record, and then his own marriage record, and seek him in each census. Then you will have a good idea of his age. You can then check deaths of Edwin Woolleys in the area where he lived, first before 1902, and then, if no joy, after, or you could check the burial record of the parish where he lived - often a useful short-cut in the case of common names (but Edwin should not be too common).

You are right to be cautious. I'd advise checking the line back to Thomas very thoroughly in the original parish registers (in Lancashire Record Office) and do bear in mind that www.familysearch.org is only an index, and an incomplete one at that. To go back further with Thomas, you should spend some time learning about him and his immediate family - what he did for a living, when he was buried and how old he was then, whether he left a will, whether he is in the parish chest material (as a pauper, or parish official, or whatever), and of course what names he gave his children. The more you lean about him the better you will be able to work out which of several possible baptisms might be his.

Yes, he would have received a pension. Pension records are one of the main categories of service records at The National Archives, and you could seek his papers there and learn a lot more about him: it will give you at least the dates for when he served in the Boer and Anglo-Burmese Wars.

The surname is from the Middle English spigurnel, meaning 'sealer of writs'. That is what an ancestor of yours is likely to have done in the early Middle Ages. It implies no connections with kings or Normans, I'm afraid, but it should be a lovely family to research and trace back, as it is such an unusual and distinctive surname. .

The questions are coming to me in a jumbled order, so this, the earlier one of your pair, has only just appeared! The ages given in later life may have been wrong: how many such men appear in the 1911 census? Can you find an alternative fate for the 1901 Charles? Maybe your 1901 Charles was actually born elsewhere, such as in Scotland or Ireland - or India - or is in the Army Births, and was then brought to London as a young child - but in that case the 1911 census should still pick him up. If in great doubt, you could trace a close relative of the 1905 Charles, such as a nephew, or niece, and have a comparative DNA test with them (a Family Finder test at www.familytreedna.com)

How interesting: it is possible. You will want to use the many publications of the Huguenot Society - these people should be listed.

They are at The National Archives and are searchable on the Ancestry.co.uk website, or you can hire me privately to search for you (www.anthonyadolph.co.uk). Be warned that about half of the records have been destroyed, but in such cases you can look for a medal card (also at The National Archives), which gives a few scant details.