Genealogy Chat

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Am I the only one finding it hard to think logically at the moment? I've got two brick walls, well, actually I've got a few more than that, but these are the two I'm trying to climb over at the moment! I cannot find the registered births of two of my great great grandparents anywhere… the names of Frederick George BERRETT and Ethelinda FREEMAN will be familiar to many of you as they’ve appeared on these boards too many times already! I’ve now come to be the conclusion that despite the majority of Frederick’s sibling’s births being registered, and a couple of Freemans who I think are Ethelinda’s siblings, these two were missed out for some reason. Although I know who Frederick’s parents were, I don’t know where to start with Ethelinda’s family… I’ve got their marriage certificate and have found them on various censuses post marriage – but pre-1881 they just don’t exist! The reason for my addled brain is that I’m trying to work out, when these brick walls arise, whether we can ever manage to go back further with that line? Without proof of their birth etc. are we safe in trying to go back a generation – or will we ever only be doing that on guess work? Do we just have to just accept that we’ve come to a dead end – for however long it takes to break through the wall? Or am I missing something?

I have plenty of people who magically materialise as full-grown adults, kids in tow, in 1881! Brickwalls usually come down, you just need a bigger mallet. I live in hope that, one day, the fairy godmother of censuses will deliver unto us a complete, fully searchable by name, UK-wide 1871 and 1861 census.

I have just found out that my great great grandfather only registered one childand only christened another, apparently he thought he could wait until they were all born and register them all in one go, therefore my greatgrandfather never did get a birth certificate. Also I cannot trace his father's marriage so perhaps he applied the same logics there too, he was born before 1837 so his birth is not registered so I think he wanted to be elusive too ...... happy hunting! KIM

I would hate to think that they were really dead ends. Sometimes I just call them 'backburners'. I've been looking for a connection between a 'Cousine Berthe' for 3 years. I have her address in 1892 sharing a house with my g g grandfather's brother. I have her photograph. I have a family tree stretching back to 1400s for her maiden name that does not attach to mine. She's been on my backburner so long she must be nearly fully cooked by now. Yesterday some kind french lady found a record of her death in 1956 (at age 91!). Now I know her real name was Marie - grrrrr. Back to the drawing board. Nil desperandum my friend. You never know where the next link might come from. xx A xx

Hi, I am new to thisgame myself but have found so many discrepancies with names. I did a little checking but need more details such as places and dates. Have you tried Ethel Linda or just plain Ethel. Have you tried Barrett. georgina

Hi Georgina Yes, yes and yes... in fact yes, to just about every question you could ever think of! On the 1881 census Ethelinda is listed simply as 'E'!! Trying to find Frederick is just as bad... and Joseph DUTTON, another great grandparent on the other side of the family, not to mention his wife, Sarah BEADLE... Time for bed I think!

The other thing of course is that if you put one branch aside for a while, when you come back to it you sometimes find you look from a different angle, or that extra resources have become available on the net etc. If you are doing more than one branch, then its a good idea to work on another bit for a while then come back to it fresh and fired up!! Good luck! Maz. XX

Hi How often comes the shout "Oh for a living relative", I too have come up against a brick wall researching my grandfather Robert Tucker, GRO could not find me a Robert with the father named Edwin [father is named as Edwin on Robert's marriage certificate]. Admittedly GRO did not do a full search owing to the large amount of Tucker's listed. I have downloaded four years of them. Totally frustrated, I looked for his death and found it, however it only gave age at death, which took me back to the years I had downloaded. I had noticed on some sheets whilst looking for another name that the death gave the date of birth. More frustrated I e-mailed GRO and asked them if this information was available. The reply I received told me the date of birth will be on the death certificate. I have ordered this and am eagerly waiting, I will post a message if the information I received from GRO is correct. Then if you can find the death you may locate the birth. Regards Christina