Genealogy Chat

Im sorry if i appear thick but have only just started doing my family tree, but how would i know if one of my relatives married twice,

Did you try FreeBMD?

http://www.freebmd.org.uk/

on the latest marriage certificate it would give a different surname for her father and usually says something like ' Jane Jones formerly Smith' (I can't remember the exact wording.) I think a birth certificate would also give 2 previous names for the mother.

I think my brain has gone to sleep thisafternoon but I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong

Thanks for your help, i seem to be muddling along at the moment, im sure i can find more information than im getting.

If you want to give the name of the person whose records you are looking for and an area of where they live/lived I will have a look for you.

If these people are still living then click on my name and send a private message with the details rather than putting them on here.

Kath. x

Please don't think that you are 'thick' for asking an honest question because you are just starting out.Take up Kathleens offer and when you get to where the people you are looking at are not living, post and we will all try to help.

When I first joined GR I spent some time reading all the threads, learning how to use all the resources mentioned by others. I applied what I was learning to find my own family. Eventually I found the confidence to join in the threads. You will be the same very soon I'm sure.J

Don't worry about asking questions - we were all beginners once!

If your original question was a general one, the answer is: by getting bits of information from different sources and gradually putting them together to build up a picture of the family you're researching.

For example - my great grandfather was married twice, but at first I didn't know this. I had my great grandmother's name from my grandfather's birth certificate. Then I found them on the 1881 census. She was a lot younger than him and included on the census were several older children who could not have been hers.

Back to the 1871 census, where I found the older children with great grandfather and a different wife! Bingo!! A bit more research and I found first wife's death and second wife's marriage.

Later I was reading a newspaper report of my grandfather's wedding and his mother was referred to by a different name - great grandfather had died in 1886, so his second wife had obviously remarried. More research followed.......

The above took a lot longer to find than it did to type, but that is what makes family history so interesting.

As Andysmum says - do ask questions. That is one of the purposes of this board - to help people learn how to find info

It has taken me many years to discover someone in my tree married, had a child, wife died, remarried - all between the 1851 & 1861 censuses! And he rejoiced in the name of William Jones!

If the marriage you are looking for is round the 1940's era, both names for the wife will show on freebmd.org.uk

Some specific county sites also show that information on their index

Do ask for more help about a particular person or family if you wish giving as much information as you know about them

Ask away, it's the best way to learn.

One of my gt gt grandmothers married 4 times in all. The way I found out was because I was having difficulty in finding her in some of the census and also couldn't find a death record for her. I then found her by searching for the children in the census instead and found mum had a different name. Sometimes it's harder to find out this way this out as the children sometimes took on mums new name.

If you can't find a woman in a census or find a death record try looking for another marriage. I confirmed it was the right woman by buying the four marriage certificates.

These boards are very friendly, members enjoy helping each other out. Just provide as much info as you know and stick around for a while after posting as very often someone asks a question very soon after the request has been made.

Chris

thankyou to everyone who has replied, your answers have been helpful and i have learnt some good advice, expect more questions in the future.there is only me and 3 of my children alive so i have no family to go to and ask. :-(