Genealogy Chat

I have been searching for my father-in-laws half-brother and it's driving me daft. Known as Fred Pearson most likely place of birth Southwark/St Olave any time between 1903 & 1917. Mother's name Eliza Minetta Pearson (nee Garrard), father George Henry Pearson. They married in 1903 - she remarried as a widow in 1917. We believe Fred was navy based in Chatham - I have a wedding photo by a Chatham photographer circa 1950? which might be him. On ancestry have just found a death for a Fred Pearson b. may 1914 -death in 2000 in Maidstone. Have looked for a corresponding birth and there's a possible in the jun quarter of 1914 in St Olave - but mother's maiden name is Clewley, not Garrard. Really clutching at straws now! Have also trawled for a marriage between 1945 & 1954 and again there's a couple of possibles - but which if any! I'm cross-eyed & penniless on this one. Previous searches on 1837 etc. turn up loads of Fred Pearsons born between 1903 & 1917 but I can't match the mother's maiden name & of course pre 1910 it isn't there. Have tried to order a birth certificate of one born 1910 but the reference checks didn't pan out. Sorry to be so long winded & I'm now off to bed so any ideas all you clever people come up with I'll reply to tomorrow evening. thanks everyone! Bridie

can i just discombobulate the jumble that the GR sytem makes , for easier reading have been searching for my father-in-laws half-brother and it's driving me daft. Known as Fred Pearson most likely place of birth Southwark/St Olave any time between 1903 & 1917. Mother's name Eliza Minetta Pearson (nee Garrard), father George Henry Pearson. They married in 1903 - she remarried as a widow in 1917. We believe Fred was navy based in Chatham - I have a wedding photo by a Chatham photographer circa 1950? which might be him. On ancestry have just found a death for a Fred Pearson b. may 1914 -death in 2000 in Maidstone. Have looked for a corresponding birth and there's a possible in the jun quarter of 1914 in St Olave - but mother's maiden name is Clewley, not Garrard. Really clutching at straws now! Have also trawled for a marriage between 1945 & 1954 and again there's a couple of possibles - but which if any! I'm cross-eyed & penniless on this one. Previous searches on 1837 etc. turn up loads of Fred Pearsons born between 1903 & 1917 but I can't match the mother's maiden name & of course pre 1910 it isn't there. Have tried to order a birth certificate of one born 1910 but the reference checks didn't pan out. Sorry to be so long winded & I'm now off to bed so any ideas all you clever people come up with I'll reply to tomorrow evening. thanks everyone! Bridie

Try familyrelatives.org - for the period 1866-1920 its name and place searchable. You can get 10 units free by going to the familyrelatives.org site, register free, click on puchase units, enter the code LC2005 in the top promo code box, click and 10 units come up free for you. Should be more than enough to find him.

its free to search the index 1837 1983 on ancestry the sam,e index that is on 1837 site http://www(.)ancestry(.)co(.)uk/search/rectype/vital/freebmd/bmd.aspx remove brackets Jeanette

How determined do you feel??? Chatham parish registers are largely online (haven't checked how recent) http://cityark.medway.gov.uk/ follow the Parish Registers link on the left of the home page. If you have trouble using the site, I have got a pre-set-out list of instructions for navigating it. Whatever else, make sure you note which image numbers you've looked at - and that the pages are double-width. Christine

There are NO Pearson - Garrard Births 1911Q3 to 1920 inc. So this suggests he was born before 1911 Q3 Do you have the 1903 marriage cert? (To be certain that Garrard is her MAIDEN name and that she wasn't married three times.....) Merry

Are you sure that Fred was his real name and not just his nickname? Only one of my rellies is Fred or Frederick on nearly all the censuses, but that wasn't his name at all, not even a middle name! Kate.

Who creates registers? Human beings. To err is human. Therefore mistakes are possible. I have found mistakes in censuses, Wills, birth, marriage and death certificates, parish registers, electoral rolls....

Sorry everyone for the delay in replying. Thanks Jess. Yes Heather I've done that also. Christine that looks like a good idea and possibly the next step - but will the registers show what details you could get on a certificate - like a father's name as a cross reference? Merry - I have all 3 of her marriage certs - one in 1926 also, along with her birth cert. And yes Kate - I'm beginning to think Fred wasn't his real name either. My own grandad was called Fred - real name William James Frederick! Helen - you're also thinking like me. Maybe I'll try ordering a certificate with some reference points to check. In the meantime I'll also cross my fingers that one day someone reads my 'trying to find' post and knows who I'm on about! thank you everyone. Bridie

Mistakes are possible. There is an entry in the GRO for the marriage of Elizabeth Carver. It was actually Carter.

Grace - I can only say that the Garrards have caused me a lot of trouble. One family was mistranscribed on every census - Jarrard, Garrod etc. so you have my sympathies! Brian - ok! That answers my original query although I can see how Carter and Carver could be misinterpreted. Think I may have to look for male Pearson births in St Olave pre 1910 and ask for reference checks. But where to start with first names if it really wasn't Fred! Thanks again everyone for your input into this one! Bridie

The church registers would give: Baptism - baptism date, child's name, parents' names, address. If you're lucky it might give a DoB Marriage - it's the source document for the certificate - not only does it have everything you'd get on the cert, but the signatures are in the original handwriting of the bride, groom, clergyman and witnesses Burial - date of burial, name, (believed) age, address Christine

Well! Christine asked how determined I felt! I'm about half way through trawling all the possible relevant Chatham registers which is certainly keeping me quiet and is fascinating, even though I haven't yet found what I'm looking for! Will update this thread as and when (and if!) I find what I need. I've a feeling the one I want is one of those images where nothing but the ministers signature is even faintly distinguishable.... Night everyone & thanks again Christine for this lead! Bridie

I'm impressed, Bridie! I don't find the site terribly user-friendly, but I'm just so delighted it's there at all, that I wouldn't dream of complaining about it. I did find a Baptism record there, for a friend who lives in Norfolk. It gave me such a kick to find it! But I should have missed it if I hadn't realised about the pages being double-spread. It was only when I realised that the entry numbers weren't continuous that I noticed it! Christine

Yvonne - I am sure that would be impossible! Kate.