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Hello,
Can someone please tell me how I would search for children of an ancestor?
Basically, I believe a relative may have had more children than we know about - possibly one adopted. So is there a way I can see exactly how many children she had? Please answer me in an ‘Idiot’s Guide’ manner
Thanks - Jackie
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Depends when you are looking at
Try freebmd using the surname combinations
Try to locate one who you do know for the registration areas for a base
But be aware that there will be births with the same surname combinations that will be for different families as most surnames aren’t unique
Plus to one aware of the time factor ie a known birth in one qtr is highly unlikely that another one in the same year will be the same family
Before 1911 you would have to use the gro site with the surnames again but will be a slower process as that can only be done in two years searches and you have to do each one twice looking for male and then female births
If you are really keen then it may mean buying actual certs to see if it’s the right parents ,could work out expensive
Don’t forget the 1911 census will give how many children born and how many still alive to that point
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To add to what Shirley said:
FreeBMD has births from Sept quarter of 1837 until approx 1983-ish.
Mothers' maiden names are shown on FreeBMD from Sept quarter 1911 onwards.
Before that, as Shirley says, you need the GRO site:
www.gro.gov.uk
It's free to use, but you need to register.
It's easiest to find a likely birth on FreeBMD first, then check it on the GRO site, as alternative spellings are easier to find on FreeBMD.
For births from 1984 onwards, you probably won't find them on FreeBMD, but the GRO site has births from 1984 to 2004.
But be aware that both those sites only show births registered in England and Wales.
For births before 1837, try FamilySearch, another free site.
However, these will be church records of baptisms, and may not give enough info to enable you to be sure you've got the right parents.
Also be aware that before 1837 many births were not recorded, or the records may not have survived.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/
You need to register, but it's free to use.
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And if you still can't find what you're looking for, just ask us - we'll be happy to help if possible.
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Also, many counties now have Online Parish Clerks (OPC) records being transcribed by volunteers. It's a slow job, and some counties are better than others, but it is one way to find baptisms, and birth dates are also often written in the register
Start off on this site to see if your county is included
https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/online_parish_clerk
Be aware that you may well not find any information as to whether a child was adopted or not. Records are not open except to immediate family members of the adopted person.
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Parish baptosmal regos sometimes give birth order info.
The first is actually from an unindexed collection, but as it was for my wife's g grandad, I knew where to find it.
England, Durham Diocese B...'s Transcripts, 1639-1919 > Durham > Kelloe 1762-1852 > 1762-1852 > Image 509 of 723
Emtry 949 Bp Nov 16 1845 by W Stone - Curate
William, 2nd son of William & iabella (late Douglas) Benson of Long Row, Coxhoe. Wm was a Pitman
http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/
Baptism: 1 Jan 1813 All Saints, Wigan, Lancs.
William Langshaw - 2d Son of George Langshaw & Dorothy
Abode: Wallgate
Occupation: Warper
Baptised by: Revd. Thos. Pigot A. M. Curate of Wigan
Register: Baptisms 1813 - 1816, Page 1, Entry 1
Source: LDS Film 1885676
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My gg grandad died in Jan 1855 in Aberdour psh, Aberdeen.
His d.rego lists all his children in birth order with ages, including one who died aged 16.
Scottish BMDs from 1855 (and only 1855) were special.
Birth regos listed things like 2 boys and 3 girls living & 1 boy died
Marr regos gave the same sort of info as births for previous marrs.
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The Adoption of Children Act 1926 came into effect 1/1/1927.
It did not apply to Scotland nor Northern Ireland where similar laws were later enacted.
It allowed for the adoption of children under the age of 21 who had never been married.
It would not have applied to my dad's Aunty Nell.
I never knew she was adopted until I saw my g grandad's 1901 census which showed Ellen a=5 as an adopted daur in his h/h.
Thinking back, I've seen a number of adopted children similarly identified in censuses, plus a number of children identified as a child of the head when I knew they were, in fact, the child of some other relative.
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