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Born 1844, Topsham, Devon . Came out to Aust (Melbourne) as a young man , married Agnes Kate Bleechmore in South Australia. Had 3 children, Leslie, Elsie and Hilda. Died in 1886. Had a brother Thomas William. Who were his parents?

His birth certificate will certainly tell you (as long as his parents were married and/or his father was stated).

http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/cgi/search.pl

Just search for his full name, which is unusual enough that there's only the one. You may have that info already.

Then order the certificate:

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/

and Bob is your uncle. ;)

Btw -- you were looking for some help in finding your answer? Nobody here is likely to actually know who his parents were ...

The 1851 and 1861 UK censuses don't show a George Harris born c1844 in Topsham specifically - but there are a load of George Harris-s of about that age in Devon.

So the birth cert seems like a necessary first step.

I tried that website but all I got was thousands of George Harrises - I put Ebenezer in but got nowhere. I'm new to all this.
Elizabeth

Well, you're welcome, and I think you just need to try again!

You are looking for:

birth
surname HARRIS
given names GEORGE EBENEZER

Trust me, you can't miss it!

And once you get the hang of FreeBMD (which is why I'm not just giving you the search result) you'll be addicted to it.

Thanks, I've found him but it unfortunately doesn't give his parents names.
Elizabeth

Problem solved! I've just this minute received a letter from a relative with the information I needed- I now know his parents were William Harris and Rebecca Mauditt married 20th July 1837- now to search further back - thanks for your help. Tracing family tree is certainly addictive - I'm not getting much housework done!
Elizabeth

Elizabeth ... the English GRO index does not give parents' names.

That is why I gave you the URL for ordering a birth certificate, which does give the parents' names.

The birth certificate is the only "proof" of the parents' names, so let's hope your contact has it.

Thanks, you've been very helpful. There's so much I need to learn about researching- it's quite daunting in a way but incredibly fascinating - I've said I wanted to do this for years but only stared in April this year.
Kind regards,
Elizabeth (South Australia)

Hi,

I've had a look at the census returns......... you really need to order Georges' birth certificate.

There is a possible family, however George is not with them in 1851. Ordering his birth cert will confirm his parentage ( like Janey states it's the only proof) and confirm hopefully his fathers occupation ( that is more than likely the link that will help!!!)

If William and Rebecca are his parents then you may find the census results a little tricky.......... but help is never far away.


Topsham isn't listed in the 1841 census, it comes under Woodbury.


Dee x

Spoiled Aussies.

Australian certificates give people's entire family trees, practically. Old Canadian records (the original entry books) vary, but most at least give parents' names for marriages and births, cause of death and age at death, and basic things like that.

The English ones, nada. One wonders how they ran an empire.

Thanks, Janey and Denise,
Just got back to checking internet- I have discovered that George's brother Thomas (and presumably George and the family) came out to Australia in 1850 or 1851 so that is probably why they are not in the 1851 census.
Elizabeth