Genealogy Chat

After trawelling through the 1837 for birth refs, it crossed my mind just how much we all spend on certificates, not forgetting all the sites that also cost so I thought I'd pose the question: How often do you buy a certificate and do you get one (or three!) for everyone you research to be absolutely sure of the facts? So far I've been really lucky with the ones I've ordered since starting this tree lark 2 years ago having had no 'red herrings' to date . I've acquired about 15 in total (just counted them!) which probably isn't many compared to some who have spent years addicted to this hobby. Aileenx

Hi Aileen I've been doing it for about 18mths now and have about 20 certs, along with 7 that are not mine (I ordered the wrong ones!). I would like to get birth marriage and death certs for all my direct ancestors and I try to limit myself to a maximum of 2 certs per month. I have saved a fortune in the last few months by looking up all the marriages I can in the parish records and taking a copy. At 55p per copy its much cheaper and the details are exactly the same! Of course it helps that I live 1/2 mile away from the Archives and that 1/2 my relatives stayed in this area their whole lives! Sam x

I wont tell you how many I have bought as I cannot resist sending for them, love to see the details on them, luckily my husband is not into this and he thinks they are free mostly , hope he never gets too interested .

Val, I bet you are like me, really excited when the big brown envelope drops through the door Aileenx

Sam, I have never been to the RO so tend to go on Ancestry first, followed by a check on the 1837 to be sure.

Aileen they dont get a chance to drop through the door I pounce on the Postman sometimes I forget I am only in my Nightie. poor man , lucky he is friendly and thinks I am mad anyway, I have to hide them quick from hubby, in case he gets wise.

usually about four at a time. I get the refs for ones I might be interested in ,then I go thro my list from time to time & prioritise those ones I REALLY want. Went on a roll tho a couple of months ago with a new side to the family & ordered several in a three week period. Got brought down to earth when I got my CC had £84 on it for them . Whoops, havent brought amymore as Yet. Shirley

I got about 30 in the first 3 months! Most of my direct line has been straightforward so that little lot got me pre-1837. I did have a pair of my grandparents original birth/marriage certs to start me off too. I get about 4/5 a month now (doing hubby's side too) but I'm also going sideways looking at sibs. I don't usually bother with death certs in most cases, like when its been straightforward birth - marriage - birth with no remarriages & wives dying in childbirth etc (aren't I lucky!) One of my gt. grandparents appears not to have been registered at birth (1841) nor is his marriage at the GRO, which has so far saved me buying another couple of certs but is extremely frustrating!

I'm glad I started this ' confession' thread now because I feel quite frugal compared to you lot ...LOL

Dont assume that getting a death cert isnt important. I very nearly didnt buy the death cert of my 2x great grandmother as I had seen her gravestone with date of death on it. Then I thought it would spoil 'the set', so I sent for it. The informant was a brother in law I had never heard of and that lead me the a 3rd marriage for her husbands dad. I finally found 3x great grandad on the 1841 and 1851 census and his death cert after almost 20 years of searching for him. He had retired from the army in India and I hadnt got a clue where to start looking. Margaret

Hubby and I are both addicted, so our certs are for both sides of the family.........I have just counted.........302 certs!! Ouch.....but, some we had already...maybe 25, and some are copies we have been sent by other researchers....maybe another 25, but that still adds up to a lot: say 250 at £7 (Ouch!)......... Still, over about 10 or 12 years that isn't so much is it?? and they used to be a lot less than £7!! I wanted to buy all the certs for my direct line, but have not even got that far yet, as I didn't consider how many people that might be when you include all the ones in the 1700's who lived past 1837!! Also rather a lot of second and third marriages which pushes up the cost. Otherwise, I only get a cert to solve a problem or to confirm something where there is no other way. Or if I'm really nosy about something!!!!!!!!!! It's still cheaper than a foottie season ticket! Merry

Am I allowed to show off on this site???? Pity I cannot type in a tiny little font.........but.................... I have never bought a wrong certficate!! There. A Confession! Merry

Merry, I don;t know how you have managed it with no wrong ones! Although saying that, I have my 'wrong' certs in a file and at least 2 of them have turned out to be relevant at a later date. Although they were not for the person I expected, they still belonged to a brother/sister/cousin of my direct ancestors. I'm saving all the rest...just in case! Sam x

Wrong certs? Only the one, but it turned out interesting. One birth certificate - I knew the father's name but forgot to ask for a check. The cert they sent was for an illegitimate birth, the mother turned out to be the sister of the man in question. So not entirely wasted. (A couple of interesting hours on Ancestry looking at census info to sort that one!) Luckily a small village where there was only the one family with that name. You can usually avoid wrong ones by asking for checks. You don't even have to pay most of the time if you go via the local register office not the GRO. (With GRO you forfeit some of the fee if its wrong) margaret - point taken about death certs: perhaps when I start to fill in a few more gaps with the sibs...

I think death certificates are far more interesting than the others.....B's and M's usually just confirm facts or answer a question for us (OK, sometimes they are better than that!!), but you never know what is going to be on a death cert!! Merry

Merry, I look at it this way, a take-away would cost much more and although tasty, it pretty soon becomes history-if you get my meaning LOL. So a little indulgence like buying a certificate every once in a while is worth every pound! My husband on the other hand, would prefer the take-aways as he has no interest in unearthing his ancestors (not literally)LOL!...........did you realise that your hobby would have bought you £1750 worth of Lamb Baltis over the years? Aileenx

Yes, and how FAT would I be then???!! Mind you, if I have boght several certs then I need to buy a takeaway AS WELL, because there's no time to cook!!!!! And if we make an exciting discovery (to us, anyway!) then we have a takeaway to celebrate!!!! Merry

18 birth, 37 marriage and 68 death...that's 123 in just under three years! Yes, I do try to limit them, but it's so difficult; nothing quite like the anticipation of the big white envelope. Still haven't certified all the direct line because I end up buying certs for far more distant rellies just because, like Merry, I'm nosy!

I *have* had a couple of death certs, and I can honestly say on the whole they have been a pretty boring bunch! The only 'new' info I've had on any is the actual cause of death - this is why I stopped sending for them. e.g. my gt grandfather - I sent for out of morbid curiousity as he was only 49 (cancer). Apart from which, I had a twinge when I realised he'd died on his daughter's 15th birthday, she was 'present at death' and registered it. I've had far more 'fun' out of the wills I've found. Buying certs is only the start!

I also worked that we had collected a couple of thousand pounds worth of certs over a 20 year period. In case of a fire we would never get any insurance company to compensate. Well, they wouldn't believe you would they? We have bought a fireproof safe that is big enough to get 2 x A4 ring binders in for mine and hubbys side. Room for other essentials as well, deeds, jewellrey, passports etc. That was another £350!!! LOL Margaret