Genealogy Chat

I have dound a marriage for Thomas Enderby and a Mary (which was the name of his wife) Talbot, on freeBMD Dec 1842, vol 13, pg 205, but on 1837online , it is the same info for him but vol 13 pg. 206, i found mary on there, as vol 13 pg 205. Which pag number should i go with as i really want to order this certificate to go further back? Thanks, Nicola

Hi, When you order the cert say that the last digit is "unclear". Gwynne

I was going to order it online, so will I be able to add that? I've never ordered a certificate before, so i'm hazy on the procedures. Thanks, Nicola

HI I just had a look for you and I see what you mean. The figures are realy clear to read aren't they! Is there a possibility of ordering it from a local register office? I know that I managed to buy one from Southwark and was able to email my query. Did you notice that there is an Elizabeth Talbot who married in the same quarter and district and recorded on page 204? I think Gwyneth is right, you need to act slightly dumb on it. After all there is only a page difference between the two so its not to hard to be checked Good luck!

on freebmd there can be transcription errors, so if it is really clear as to what it is on 1837 I would go with that for ordering. regards, Siobhan

I had a similar problem but you can ask for a second check to be made by the GRO when you order the certificate. I think they charge an extra £3 for this service (can't remember without going back to their site). Anyway it worked for me and I got the correct certificate for the marriage I was looking for. John

The thing is, its the husband and wife that are on different pages!! I'm going into town tomorrow, so i'll go to the local register office. Can i order records here? Also, it has the same address as the Record Office in my town, is this the same thing? what do they hold? Thanks for your advice and for double checking for me Barbara! Nicola (I'm still relatively new to this! I'm 16 and my dad doesn't know much about where to go and what the places hold either!)

Nicola My husband and wife were on different pages too. His wife is not recorded on FreeBMD but I found her with a different page number on 1837online. There were also 2 men with the same name married in the same year & place (or the same one recorded twice in different qtrs) to complicate it further. I gave the records office the two sets of information and they checked both and gave me the correct certificate. As I said I think it cost me an extra £3. Ordering a certificate online is a cheaper option than buying direct from records offices and is very easy if you have the location, volume and page number. You get the certificate posted to you within just a few days. I would go for the 1837online page number for Thomas. John

John and Ros, I think i'll order online then, sounds like i'll have more success! Thank you, Nicola

Don't discount the local or district registration offices if you know the event was in that district. They do vary but most are very good they only cost seven pounds (and a SAE by post). They also hold the original certificates and often you will get a photocopy of the original with signatures etc. They are also more complete and accurate. GRO/1837/Free BMD are all actually transcriptions (or index of transcription). They don't use the GRO index (which are full of errors). The golden rule of genealogy is go to the source. Bob

I live in Yorkshire, and the birth was in Norfolk, so should i find the Norfolk Records office and write to them or ring them? Thanks, Nicola

Bob The Government's General Records Office copies are scans of the original entries. They include the original handwriting of the registrar and signatures of the bride and groom (or their marks) and their witnesses. The Local Registry office copies for the same years are usually copies of information and are typed (even though they refer to registrations made in the middle of the 19th Century). I have 2 for my great great grandfather - one of each - and the one from the GRO is a scan of the original handwritten certificate. John

No Nicola. You need the Local Registry Office in Downham or you can get them online for all locations at www(.)col(.)statistics(.)gov(.)uk - take away the brackets - which is the General Records Office. You will need the name Thomas Enderby the place name DOWNHAM the volume number and page number. You complete some details about yourself, or your father, and send the information. Within a few days you will get a copy of the certificate. If you use the LRO the address is Downham Market Register Office 15 Paradise Road, Downham Market, Norfolk PE38 9HS Registrar (Births & Deaths) Telephone: 01366 387104 Fax: 01366 387105 Monday: 9.30am to 1.30pm Wednesday: 12.00pm to 4.00pm Friday: 9.30am to 1.30pm BY APPOINTMENT Best of luck. I don't think you will have any problems. I think it costs £7 (maybe £11 for a marriage) for a certificate. I would order online from GRO. John

Hi Nicola. No. You can only get a cert from the local registry office for the area it pertains to as they hold the original records. So I had to write to Southwark for my Bermonsey relatives, and Birkenhead for my Wirral relatives and so on. A records office holds all kinds of records but not the actual registry so they are two distinct places. I'm a bit fuzzy about it myself, but I suppose a records office is a bit like a library. the registrars office holds the births death and marriages. There are fewer records offices than there are registrys. Babs

Thanks for both of your replies, now i know clearly what i have to do :) thanks, Nicola

Sorry, John but I am not wrong, The system worked like this. Events were recorded with the local registrar who past on the details to the Superintendent Registrar for the district .Every three months he was required the copy out the details and send them to the Registrar General. These were then recorded and indexed (the GRO indexes) the originals were retained locally. With the advent of photocopying this was used as opposed to copying by hand. So some of the GROs are photocopies but not all . Sometimes local offices do not give you a photocopy and copy out the details, but the originals are held locally. Local BMDs like Yorkshire BMD are not using the GRO records but the original local ones for greater accuracy. The net effect of this was that some records never got through, were copied wrongly or were indexed incorrectly. This is not in dispute, the GRO acknowledge that their records are not as complete or accurate as the local ones. There are statutory standards laid down for local authorities to store these original records ( fireproof storage etc). Michael Whitfield Foster has written a book about it all “A Comedy of errors” Bob

Nicola. Don't do anything yet because I might be able to help. I am going to the Family Records Centre tomorrow and could order the cert. for you. Give me all the details that you have including full names and dates and I will do my best.

I'm going into town tomorow, so i'll see if i can find out more about Charles there (registry office, LDS centre) , but if you could look up his birth, then i could order it online, that'd be great! Charles Enderby brn 1854, Downham Norfolk (i think his parents may be Thomas and Mary, need birth certificate to find out!!) Thanks, Nicola

Nicola I had a similar situation a few months ago. I sent an email to [email protected] and they were really helpful. They checked the two references and emailed me back within a day with the correct reference. I was then able to order online without difficulty.

Maybe i should try that before i spend :) Nicola