Genealogy Chat

I know this has probably been asked and answered many times but I have searched the boards and not found anything relatting to it so here goes. Would a 1931 death certificate give a persons date of birth or would it just be age at death. The reason I ask is I have been trying for several months to find my g grandad. I have the details of his marriage, he is on 1901 census and I have his death in the GRO and I also know where he is buried but I can't find his BIRTH. If you take the details of his age from marriage and 1901 he should have been born in 1875 or 1876 in Birmingham. Today I spent all moring at B'ham Library checking his surname from 1870 to 1880 and no one of his name is listed. I have also checked any alternative spellings! If the death certificate gives the date of birth I will get it but I know how he died as I have the newspaper clipping of the coroners report but it just gives his age. Any help appreciated. Karen

Hi I've got an original death cert from 1962 and it doesn't show date of birth. It shows Col 1 Date and Place of death Col 2 Full Name Col 3 Sex Col 4 Age Col 5 Occupation (on mine this shows address and late husbands name) Col 6 Cause of Death Col 7 Name, Relationship & adress of informant Col 8 When death registered Col 9 Name of registrar Hope this helps you Kay

COULD BE THAT HE WAS NOT BORN IN ENGLAND

Kay Thank you, yes that does answer my question. Isabel I have thought of that as the surname was originally German but from all the little bits that family have given me and the 1901 census and the fact that he was eligible to vote - I have seen the early voting records - I would say he was born in UK but will keep it in mind in case all else fails. Best wishes Karen

Births didn't have to be registered until the mid 1870's. Chances are that his parents couldn't afford the fee for registration so didn't bother.

My g- grandfather born 1887 wasn't registered even though he was supposed to be. It caused him problems when applying for pensions and stuff,so some slip through the net and you have to guestimate. His siblings either side were registered though. Have you got any later siblings you could trace to give you a better reference / date? Kim

The only clue I have to any siblings is one of the witnesses on his marriage has the same surname as him, so maybe if I can find some info on that man then it might lead me to g grandad. Thanks for all your suggestions. Karen

Post-1969 certs will have the DOB on them.

I too had a problem with my ggrandfathers brother. The 1861 census gave his age as 2 and I could not trace his birth which I calculated must be 1859. I eventually trawled through 1837 online, quarter by quarter, starting with a date 9 months after the birth of his older brother (my ggrandfather). I eventually found him in the Jan to March quarter of 1861 The census was taken in April so he must have been only 2 months old and not 2 years. 1837 online is a boon. My initial £5 sub enabled me to look up this and several other dates. Have since gone for a £25 bite. E-mail his name and probable dob to me and I will have a look -- providing his name was not a common one

Hi Kathryn Many thanks for your info. It looks like it wont be any use me getting the certificate. Will have to keep searching. Leonard Since I last posted, I have followed a few suggestions that people have sent me and come up with this. In 1901 Walter Skelcher lived at Balsall Heath, Birmingham. I have searched 1901 and found that a William Skelcher also lived at Balsall Heath at that time. The are the only 2 male Skelchers living in that area. Checked the info and found that William's wife is Ellen. I have a William George Skelcher marrying Ellen Atkins in Droiwitch which is listed as Worcester which is also what Balsall Heath comes under. Do you think it is too much of a reach to think that this is the same William George who witnessed Walter's marriage? The name fits and so does the area. If it is the same man, I have a christening in Kineton for him and by luck his fathers name is George which is the same a Walters as listed on marriage certificate. Any thoughts. Best wishes Karen

Do you have William George's mother's name from the christening? Kineton was in Stratford district, and IGI has a marriage of a George Skelcher and Mary Prichard at Stratford in 1861 But so far as I can see there's no sign of William or Walter and family in the 1881 and 1891 census either. Makes me think there could be a common factor, eg they were going under a different name In fact there is a George in Droitwich in the 1881 census with a wife Mary, and kids including William G age 18 born Kineton, and Walter D age 5. Only thing is, the surname is Dumbleton. I know, this seems horribly far-fetched, but these things happened sometimes. The 1881 census does show another son, John H, born at Kineton. Obviously if there are Dumbleton baptisms in the Kineton register, that blows me out of the water, but if there happened to be a John H Skelcher around 1865, that would be pushing coincidence too far

couldn't resist following this up -- the GRO index does have a John H Skelcher birth registered in Stratford district Mar quarter 1866 The name Skelcher wasn't that common anywhere and wasn't established at all in Stratford district, so I think this John H has pretty much got to be William G's brother Given that, the match between the Skelchers and these Dumbletons in the census is looking spooky

A big thank you to all who have helped me, it is really appreciated as I have been stuck for nearly 12 months on this family. I think Robin may have found the family and I will be following up his information. Best wishes to you all Karen