Desperate for help please!

[4evahappy]

I am looking for information on my Grandfather John William Kinsman (possibly William John Kinsman). I have searched everywhere but have had no luck as I know very little about him.

I don't know where he was born but my Grandmother said he was Scottish,
I don't know what year but maybe sometime around 1910-1917.
He was at Thornaby Aerodrome about 1938-39.
He married my Grandmother about 1940, I dont know where or when, possibly a district in or around Stockton on Tees or Dewsbury. My Grandmothers name was Sarah Elizabeth Burns and she was born in Stockton on Tees in 1917, her parents names were Thomas & Sarah Burns(Kildale)
They moved to 26 Ship Inn Terrace, Dewsbury about 1940, they had a daughter in Feb 1943 named Muriel.
John William Kinsman died at the address above about 1944.

Is it at all possible to find any records with such little information about him?
If you could help or advise me, I would be very grateful......Thank you 

[Shropshire Lass]

I've searched for a marriage between Kinsman and Burns in 1939/40/41 without success.  Was your grandmother married under her maiden name or a previous married name?

Monica

[Shropshire Lass]

Success!  Couldn't give up that easily - found them in 1942.

Marriage:  John Kinsman, Sarah E Burns, Dewsbury, Jun qr, Vol 9b Page 1491.

Ordering the marriage certificate should give you enough information to search further back.

Good luck,
Monica

[4evahappy]

Wow Monica!, I am new to this researching stuff, I couldnt find anything. You have made me very happy with what you have found. I truly was overjoyed. Which website did you go to to find that information.....I must be doing something wrong.
 I am very grateful for your help Monica

[Shropshire Lass]

Glad to have made 4evahappy even happier!

I doubt you're doing anything wrong.  It just takes time to get used to knowing where to look.  I'm still limited in the records I use but I'm glad they were of use to you.  I looked through the records of marriages, searching each quarter under Kinsman to find one with a spouse named Burns.  These records aren't indexed so you have to look through the actual pages.  I'm a subscriber to Ancestry and joining them was the best (genealogy-related ) thing I ever did.  I spent quite a bit on pay-to-view sites before taking the plunge but I'm a convert now.

Monica

[4evahappy]

Monica, thanks for your reply.

I not long subscribed to ancestry, I have looked and looked there.
Sorry but what do you mean by you had to look through the pages coz their not indexed? sorry Im  a dummy!   

[Shropshire Lass]

sorry Im  a dummy!   

Honestly, you're not!

When you open the ancestry home page, click on
     Go directly to UK Birth, Marriage and Death records.

Then you have three choices:
     Complete BMD Index ranges & Images 1837-1983
     Partial FreeBMD Indexes & Images 1837-1983
     Complete BMD Indexes 1984-2005.

The middle box takes you to the Births, Marriages and Deaths which are being put together by FreeBmd but only go up to about 1910 at the moment.  Here you can search by names, years and districts.  For anything before 1910 this is an easy way to find who you're looking for, bearing in mind that names are not always transcribed correctly!

The top box gives you the option of first and second names, quarters and years from 1837 to 1983.  You can fill in only last name and year if you don't know the other information, eg Marriages: Kinsman, 1942.  This takes you to all the pages for that year - in this case 5.  When you click on the image icon it opens the actual page and you have to search for the name you're looking for.  In this case, John is on the top of the second page for the June quarter.

It's a more longwinded way of searching but, until the later years are indexed, that's what we've got to do.  If you can get to the local research offices you can also search the parish records for the information.

For more recent bmd records - 1984 onwards - you have to search using the third box.

Hope that helps.
Monica

[4evahappy]

Hi Monica,

Thank you for showing me how to do that search....I finally worked it out and found their marriage, which was VERY exciting for me, thank you.

Next I will order a marriage certificate then go from there, I will let you know how I get on.

Your a very special person for helping me out 

Jackie

[4evahappy]

Hi Monica,

As I mentioned above my Grandfather was in the R.A.F could you lead me to the best place to search for him.

Thank you,
Jackie