Author Topic: Belford and surrounding area records?  (Read 1306 times)

Offline MaryThorn

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Belford and surrounding area records?
« on: Wednesday 08 August 18 21:04 BST (UK) »
I'm wondering where the best place is to find birth, marriages and deaths for Belford and the surrounding area.

I'm relooking at my Ray family from the Belford/Bamburgh/Detchant/Warenford area and not managing to find many family records.

Freereg only has a total of 6 records for Belford with the the Ray family, all burials.

I'm drawing a blank on the GRO index too, but I am coming up with Berwick (is this a possibility) for Belford.

Also not many Ray's to be found on Findmypast too.

This Ray family is a long standing mystery, I'd be grateful for any pointers on where to source records.

Offline Tickettyboo

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Re: Belford and surrounding area records?
« Reply #1 on: Wednesday 08 August 18 21:08 BST (UK) »
Belford was a registration district in its own right from 1837 to 1937

https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/belford.html

You didn't say what time period you are looking for, that would help others to give you more info about where to look.

Boo

Offline Tickettyboo

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Re: Belford and surrounding area records?
« Reply #2 on: Wednesday 08 August 18 21:10 BST (UK) »
Sorry, meant to include this link too
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/NBL/Belford

Boo

Offline MaryThorn

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Re: Belford and surrounding area records?
« Reply #3 on: Wednesday 08 August 18 21:12 BST (UK) »
Sorry, I meant to post that I was trying to find records from late 1700s to late 1800s when my family moved further South in Northumberland.


Offline MaryThorn

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Re: Belford and surrounding area records?
« Reply #4 on: Wednesday 08 August 18 21:14 BST (UK) »
Also census records state family members as being born in Bamburgh.  Im taking it that Bamburgh came under Belford too.

Offline Tickettyboo

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Re: Belford and surrounding area records?
« Reply #5 on: Wednesday 08 August 18 21:16 BST (UK) »
Also census records state family members as being born in Bamburgh.  Im taking it that Bamburgh came under Belford too.

Yep - as per the link I just posted. If you look down the list you will see which parishes were included

Boo

Offline Tickettyboo

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Re: Belford and surrounding area records?
« Reply #6 on: Thursday 09 August 18 07:43 BST (UK) »
Have you tried Family Search?
Spelling variations may help and FS is fairly good at that. Rea, Reay, Rae etc may be how they are entered in any register.

If you can give a couple of specifics we can look.

Boo

Offline MaryThorn

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Re: Belford and surrounding area records?
« Reply #7 on: Thursday 09 August 18 11:17 BST (UK) »
Thanks for that Boo

I'm not having much luck with Family search these days.  I can never get it to load on my IPad.  I don't know if my IPad is too old to support it since its updated.

I've been trying for a couple of years to find out more about my 2 X Great Grandmother, Eleanor Ray born approx 1840/41.

I've never been able to pinpoint her birth through the GRO index, not found her in the Belford area at birth but a couple of possibilities of births in Berwick.

I haven't been able to work out her parents either.  At the 1841 census she is living with her Grandfather Thomas and uncles and ? Aunt/mother Ann.  In 1851 she remains living with the wider family in Detchant.  By the 1861 census she is listed as living with her uncle Thomas Ray, Ann Ray, sister of Thomas is also living there.  Eleanor's entry initially states daughter and then it is crossed out and neice is written.  This has always lead my to assume that Ann is her mother and perhaps her birth can't be found because she was illegitimate.

She married my  2 X Great Grandfather Robert in 1861 in Belford.  I haven't yet ordered their marriage certificate which I presume could indicate a fathers name.  However if she was illegitimate then it would give me nothing,

I've hoped that by looking at the wider Ray family I could draw some more firm conclusions, however with a lack of family members to find I've not been able to explore my research on the Rays.

Offline Tickettyboo

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Re: Belford and surrounding area records?
« Reply #8 on: Thursday 09 August 18 11:23 BST (UK) »
What was her married surname?

Boo