Finding my ancestors

[Kimbles20]

Hi,

I am looking into my family tree and have hit a brick wall on my dads side of the family. His father left them when my dad was young and we recently found out he died in 1999. His mother dies 3 years ago but was not one for keeping hold of things like birth, marriage & death certificates.

What I wanted tro know is, is there any way I can find someone with only their name to guide me. I dont even know their dates of birth. I have only got as far as my fathers parents but I do have the names of my nan and grandads fathers and the first name (but not maiden names) of their mothers, no dates of birth.

Help!

Thanks in advance

[shammydodger]

What kind of dates are we talking about, Kimbles?

[shammydodger]

Presumably, your dad's parents were not old enough to have appeared in the 1901 census?

If so, then I would try a search of the 1901 census for your great grandparents. For example, try looking for your paternal paternal great grandparents. You have the great grandfather's given name and surname and his wife's first name. There are sites that allow you to search both names simultaneously in the same household, thereby reducing the numbers of possible matches.

[loulou80]

www.ancestry.co.uk

[Kimbles20]

The dates that my great grandparents would have been born would be around 1897 ish I guess.

Thanks for all your answers by the way!

Shammydodger - what sight can I look on that will let me search for 2 names in 1 household? Is it ancestry and if so how?

[shammydodger]

I believe you can do it on this website:

http://www.1901census.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

I have to say that I've not tried such a search myself, but have seen it written in various family history publications that it is possible. If so, it should be detailed in the help section. Of course, it won't be free of charge!

If you haven't already done so, it's a good idea to locate and purchase all the relevant birth and marriage certificates (death certificates tend to be of lesser use to one's research.) After circa 1909, the index of birth registrations also included the mother's maiden name, making it easier to narrow down the possibles, assuming you know the mother's maiden name. The witnesses on marriage certificates can often be useful, particularly if they were siblings of either the bride or groom. They are further names to use when searching the census records.

[Kimbles20]

Thanks Shammy, you have been most helpful. I will try that site when I get home!

[shammydodger]

It may also be possible to do it on ancestry.co.uk

I'm subscribed to that site and will try a search for you if you would like to give me the details?

[Kimbles20]

That is most kind Shammy however I myself are currently on a free trial on ancestry and will upgrade when my free trial expires. Thanks again!

[shammydodger]

No problem. Best of luck

[stoo_pid]

Just to add to the suggestions so far - if you get hold of your grandparents' wedding certificate it should give the ages of your grandfather & grandmother. Depending on how long ago they were married it should also give the names & occupations of their respective fathers (i.e. your great-grandfathers). Hopefully that will help you narrow your search down if you're searching the 1901 census. Click here for more info.

Also, if you haven't done so already, get yourself registered on Genes Reunited There's always a chance someone else has the info you're looking for. It's free to join with a small membership fee if you want to contact people to look at their trees.

Once you've got a bit more info it's also always worth Googling for your ancestors. Just stick their name in speech marks with perhaps the town they lived in (e.g. "John Smith" Anytown) and see what you get. I've been lucky enough to find a few ancestors (& useful clues) from other people's websites.

Good luck!

[agnabeya]

Kimbles -

you could also try the Free BMD site (births, marriages and deaths) -and the 1837 online site.

I've had some great hits with these.

There is also the Genuki site - if you know the area you are looking in. It has tons of links.

If a person has died fairly recently - it's more difficult to find them. There are legal reasons for not publishing details of people who may still be alive.

In this case - the 1837 has details of births from 1837 - 1984 in it's records.
They may be more helpful.

[Kimbles20]

Thanks Stoo_pid & Agnabeya, I will try to get hold of their marriage certificate and look at the sites you gave me! Cheers