complete beginner, any help?

[CatOne]

Sorry I cant give any more info, you will need to order the above certificate/s from either the GRO or the local register office to view the information on them. (I found this info in the BMD indexes on ancestry.com)

Good Luck,
Catherine 

[ROGibson]

Thanks anyway. I just found them too..

[ROGibson]

OK so I'm almost certain I've found my great grandparents marriage registered in the BMD. Will obtaining the marriage certificate be of any use to me? Will it give me the dates and locations of birth etc. to find more information on my great grandparents and their families?

Any help would be great, thanks...

[Burrow Digger]

Marriage certs are ALWAYS best to get - as well as birth certs. Marriage certs will have the parents (or at least the fathers) name and usually their occupation as well.   Also gives the ages of the couple - which give you a rough idea of when they were born.

However Marriage certs will not give you birth details - thats what birth certs are for.   

Joseph Gibson & Maria Ainsworth married in 1906 - you cant use the census records yet.  You need to get marriage certs to go back any further. 

Just remember this will get harder the further back you go. Please don't expect everything to be this easy.

BD

[molar]

Hi
The marriage cert will give you names of both the bride and grooms fathers and their occupations also their address at the time of marriage (but beware, they often gave false addresses so they could marry in a certain parish or avoid paying twice for bans). If you are lucky it will give the age at marriage and not just say "of full age" or "minor". Don't forget to look at the names of witnesses, they could be family members.
I am afraid it can get expensive ordering certs but take it slowly and don't rush too much, check as many things as you can.
Good luck
regards
Linda
 ps I presume you are the ROGibson from the UCLAN course, glad you are enjoying RootsChat.

[ROGibson]

Hi, yes it's me from the UCLan course. Thanks for recommending this site, the people here are so helpful!

How can I get the birth certs if there are no details of birth on the marriage certs? if you follow lol

I have my grandfathers birth cert, which led me to finding his parents marriage on the BMD. I now want to find out more details about his parents...

[Burrow Digger]

That is why we use the GRO index. 

From a marriage cert you have their names, their age, an address and  their parents names.

Then the hard work starts - searching through the GRO index for the possible right name in the right place at the right time. 

But if you get the marriage cert for the Gibson/Ainsworth marriage - it should show both their parents. Then you can check the 1901 census (at ancestry) and get the entire family - ages, parents, address etc. 

Use that info with the GRO index to find the birth registration and order birth certs. 

Like I said earlier - this is where the REAL search begins. Do NOT expect everything to come easily.


Hope this helps

BD

[ROGibson]

Yes, thankyou very much. I have just received a bucket load of information from my auntie about my ancestors so I am better prepared. I relish the challenge lol

oh by the way I can't search the GRO index myself can I?

[trish251]

Hi RO

The GRO index is the one you have been searching  at ancestry - the two versions - FreeBDM not 100% but easier to search & the Full 1837-1983 index that you search by quarters.

A note for BD re this comment
However Marriage certs will not give you birth details - thats what birth certs are for

If you can find family married in the Eastern Australian states, the marriage certificate tells you the place of birth/name of BOTH parents on both sides(incl mothers maiden name) and if it has an age as well (sadly it sometimes uses the FULL age option) it almost gives all the birth details       - Sad part is you can't go back much more than 200 years for European Australian records.

Trish