Genealogy Chat

can anyone advise please , i have reason to believe ( waiting for birth cert to , hopefully verify ) my 2 x great grandfather was illegitemitte . he was born 1840 march qu . i think he married around 1860 - 1865 but i can't find a marriage for him here or abroad , his wife was spanish . would he need his original birth cert to marry ?i don't know if he was officially adopted or just took his stepfather's name. hope some of this makes sense ! thankyou , angela

He wouldn't have needed his birth certificate to marry. I certainly didn't in 1969. Many people born in 1840 wouldn't have even had a birth certificate as registration wasn't compulsory until 1875.

Kath. x

thankyou kath, i was hoping i might have another surname to search for his marriage , angela

What was his name and what area did he come from?

Kath. x

i think he was born john pocock march qu 1840 in barnes surrey , his mother was sarah pocock , she married william southall about 4 yrs later and in 1851 census john is called southall ,living in hampton wick , middlesex . john married mary ann espinosa early 1860's poss . thanks angela

I think I might have found it.

Mary Ann's name is actually a very long Spanish name that I can't quite make out, but the marriage is:

Dec. qtr. 1865, Marylebone, 1a, 118.

I'll see if I can find a corresponding entry for John.

UPDATE - I can't find a corresponding entry for John under either Southall or Pocock,

Mary Ann's name (if it is her) is given as Maria Susanna Christina Jimenez (these are first names) Espinosa-y-Cantero (or something like that) - these are surnames.

Kath. x

hi kath , thankyou for taking the time and having the patience to look , much appreciated , angela

You could order the certificate and as a reference checking point say that the groom's name should be John (don't give a surname). That way if it's not them you will only have to pay £3 for them to check. The time of this marriage would correspond with the age of the eldest child on the 1871 census.

Kath. x

hi kath , again ,many thanks , i will do ,i'm not very experienced at this yet , and it helps to know how to ask for searches etc . very grateful for any advice , angela

If you order the certificate online from the GRO make sure that when the form asks "Is the full GRO reference known?" that you tick the "yes" box otherwise they will ask for more information and charge you more than the normal £7.

Don't put the groom's name on the first page where you put the bride's name and GRO reference.

Further on you will get a button that says "reference checks" (or something like that). This is where you need to put simply "John" for the groom's name - that's if you are certain that he only has the one forename. I would wait until you get his birth certificate if you are not certain.

Kath. x

dear kath , have done as you suggested , let's hope it's them , many thanks , angela