General Chat

I have a marriage cert from records office, which could be right. Is it possible to get a photocopy of the original, so I can check the signature of the groom?

The GRO which provides you with a copy of birth, marriage and death certificates. They have scans of the original document which is what they use to make copies to send out to us. the current cost is £9.25

If they married in Church, track down the original PR book, if it was a Reg Office marriage, contact the office involved and see if they can help.

If the marriage was fairly recent, there may be a few problems. You'd probably have to have a compelling reason to persuade them.

edit - the gro copies are transcripts of the originals, whether they were Church or Reg office ceremonies.

I have two certs for my great grandfather, one from the Register Office one from the GRO.

The one from the Huddersfield Register Office reads:-
"Certified to be a true copy of an entry in a register in my custody"

The one from the GRO reads:-
"Certified to be a true copy of an entry in the certified copy of a register of Marriages in the Registration District of Huddersfield"

My great grandfather's surname is spelled incorrectly on both, so it would be quite interesting to see the original entry

Inspector - you may well find that the original entry was incorrectly spelt. As a junior shorthand typist many years ago before photocopiers, one had to type copies of legal documents etc and on seeing a spellling error I corrected it and was told off as that was not a true copy.

Linda if you got a photocopy from Parish Records in local Records Office that will be your relatives signatures. I have never received a copy from Register Office with an original signature on it.

Linda, did they by any chance marry in London.
If so, you might be lucky enough to find the entry in London Marriages & Banns on Ancestry, and there you will see your ancestors real signatures.....unless they couldn't write and the bad news is that someone will have written "the mark of" and your ancestor will have put a X.
Just a thought, as it would save you the expense of buying a cert.

K

There was a thread on this last year and people were asked to provide details of their own experiences.

Whether or not you will ever be able to get a copy of the original depends on so many things. Where and when the marriage took place, and most importantly of all, whether or not the whereabouts of the original signed register is known and if it is possible to get to view it.

If I remember correctly, in only a very tiny number of cases, was anyone able to get a copy of the original.

Even when it came to those who were given their cert at the time of their marriage there were wide discrepancies. Ours is signed by us and our witnesses, but many members said theirs was a copy made out by the celebrant, and is some cases, posted to them some time afterward.

Tracking down Parish Registers is likely to be the best bet.

Thanks for replies, the copy from the records office is all done in the same hand, so not original signatures.
The marriage took place at the Parish Church of St Bartholomews, Charlton - by - Dover in Kent
August 25th 1945. I do not live near Kent! How would I go about getting a photocopy sent to me from the Parish Records?

Hi
If you contact Kent's record office they will be able to tell you if they hold the parish records and how much they would charge for a copy.
Centre for Kentish Studies, Sessions House, County Hall, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1XQ
Telephone (01622) 694363
E-Mail [email protected]
Von

Hi
Thanks Von for the contact details, I will get straight on to it on Monday.
Many thanks.

Charlton-by-Dover registers are likely to be in Canterbury Cathedral Archives.
They hold the actual old registers for the Diocese and filmed copies.
This is where researchers for the area go, - like a mini Record Office within the Cathedral grounds.

I don't know if they offer a service of making copies for you...or if they cover that date.

EDIT
Ah...copied from their website

.....Canterbury Cathedral Archives - The research service is currently in abeyance owing to staffing shortages in this area of our work

If you can find out if it's there and whether public can make copies, I can visit sometime.
Send a pm if you want me to do that.
Gwyn