Joseph Jeffrey

[boxted boy]

Hi
I am trying to find the details of the birth of my great,great,grandfather Joseph Jeffrey (sometimes down as Jeffress )I know from several census that he was born in the Clacton area of Essex in abt.1820 and that in 1839 he married a Martha Purdy in the Clacton area but I have been unable to trace details of his birth certificate ,Can anybody help.

[louisa maud]

Birth registrations didn't start till 1837 and even then, to my knowledge, it wasn't compulsory till 1875 ish

What you really need is a baptism, that is possibly the only way you will find him prior to 1837

Louisa Maud

[boxted boy]

Hi
Many thanks for your reply ,it explains why I have not been able to find any records of his birth and I have learned another very important piece of information about the record system.
Many thanks again
Roy

[louisa maud]

Pity you can't  pin him down as Clacton is quite a large area for anyone to search for his baptims, if of course he was baptised

I have always been led to believe that people thought that baptising a child was a form of registration, I think they leant better after it became compulsary

Louisa Maud

[boxted boy]

I can in fact pin him down to Gt Clacton so St John the Baptist church could be the place to start
Thanks for the info
Roy