Herschell Thompson

[Abbyrose]

I am fairly new to RootsChat and am not sure whether it is possible to have births looked up in the UK.

If it is possible, I am trying to find out when Herschell Thompson was born in Durham.  I believe it was around 1905 and his parents were Walter and Charlotte.  Herschell died at sea on 2 Jul 1941 when the "Arandora Star" was sunk during WWII.

Any information anybody can provide would be most appreciated.

Thanks.
Abbyrose

[janmoore]

Looking at the records for 1903-1907, the nearest I can find is

Hermann Henry R Thompson Sep Q 1903

You can search the GRO indexes at

www.freebmd.rootsweb.com

but not all have been transcribed as yet. Also at

http://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/rectype/vital/freebmd/bmd.aspx

where you can search page images.

Hope you find him.

Jan

[SooCatt]

Hi Abbyrose

Freebmd has two births for Herschell Thompson.  The first is most likey to be yours:

Walter Herschell Thompson  June 1/4 1907 Lanchester (10a 408)

but it's also likely that this one is connected too:

Herschell Thompson  March 1/4 1884  Durham (10a 388)

Hope this helps

Susan

[Valda]

1891 census RG12 4104 folio 15
14 Edward Street St Giles  Durham   
William Thompson 42 Barnard Castle, Durham, Head  Married Carpet weaver
Elizabeth Thompson 46 Durham,  Wife Married
Charles Thompson 19 Durham, Son  Power loom carpet weaver     
Albert Thompson 14 Durham,  Son  Carpet weaver
Blanche Thompson 12 Durham, Daughter 
Walter Thompson 9 Durham, Son 
Herschell Thompson 8 Durham,  Son   
Bertha Thompson 2 Durham, Daughter 

1901 census RG13 4682 folio 76
14 Edward Street Durham St Giles  Durham   
William Thompson 52  Barnard Castle, Durham,  Head  Married Power loom carpet weaver
Elizabeth Thompson 50  Durham, Wife  Married
Walter Thompson 19 Durham, Son Tailor
Hershell Thompson 17  Durham, Son House painter
Bertha Thompson 12  St Giles, Durham, Daughter
Emily Thompson 9  St Giles, Durham, Daughter   
Lavinia Crampton 26  St Giles, Durham, Daughter  Married
James Crampton 28  Durham,  Son-in-law  Married Plasterers labourer
Amy Crampton 1 Durham,  Granddaughter 

Regards

Valda

[SooCatt]

Whoah now that's spooky!

See that James and Lavinia Crampton on the 1901 cencus that Valda has given you.  They were my Great Uncle and Aunt - James' brother George was my Grandfather!

We could be related!
Susan

[Abbyrose]

Thanks Valda and Susan

I would think the Walter Thompson that appears in the 1891 and 1901 cencus was the father of the Herschell Thompson I am looking for, who was born in around 1905.  He was probably named after his father's brother Herschell.

Do either of you know how I can check the exact birthdate for Walter Herschell Thompson who was born in the June 1/4 of 1907 and confirm who his parents were -  or is this information not readily available in the UK (I am in Australia).

I'd be grateful for your advice in this regard.

Thanks a lot
Abbyrose

[SooCatt]

Really the only thing to do is send for the certificate.  You can order online

www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content

It's taking a bit of a risk because you don't know for sure it's the right one, but with a name like Herschell I'd say it's a fairly safe bet.

If you had a vague idea where he might have been born then it's possible that someone could check parish records.  Do you know where and when Walter and Charlotte were married?

Susan

[Abbyrose]

Hi Susan

Thanks for your message.  I am a bit wary about ordering a certificate for somebody until I know it is the right person, especially as Herschell seems to be a name which may have been handed down through each generation of this line and could well have been handed down another line of the Thompson family.  I've been bitten before by doing that too - and ended up with certificates for people who are not related at all.

In Australia we have CSs which are available through local libraries and genealogy societies that list all of the births, deaths and marriages, going back beyond about 100 years.  I guess, by your message, that this is not an option in the UK.  If I can find out more information about where Herschell was born (other than Durham) and/or where his parents were married, do you think the parish records might provide anything more definite?

Thanks for your help on this.  Maybe we will eventually find out how James and Lavinia fit into the picture too!!

Kind regards
Abbyrose

[Valda]

The city of Durham which was where the Thompsons lived, had a population of about 70,000 in 1901 so it would have quite a few churches both Anglican and non-conformist not all of which will have deposited their records in the county record office. Most Anglican parish records will probably be deposited for this period - none are likely to be indexed and/or transcribed. Most indexes are for earlier periods.

The birth and probably the marriage took place in Lanchester registration district which at some point covered all these areas

Registration County : Durham.
Created : 1.4.1875 (previously part of Durham district).
Abolished : 1.7.1938 (succeeded by Durham Central, Durham Northern and Durham Western distrcts).
Sub-districts : Annfield Plain; Consett; Lanchester; Stanley; Tanfield.
GRO volumes : 10a (1875-1938).

Benfieldside, Billingside, Collierley, Consett, Conside & Knitsley, Cornsay ,Craghead, Ebchester, Esh, Greencroft, Greencroft Within, Healeyfield, Hedleyhope, Iveston, Knitsley, Kyo, Lanchester, Langley
Medomsley, Muggleswick, Oxhill, Satley, South Cornsay, South Moor, Stanley, Tanfield

So you would really need to know where they were living to know which parish records it might be best to try to search in the county record office for a possible baptism. You would need to employ a researcher to do the search for you.

This seems the most likely marriage

Marriages Jun 1906
CHARLTON  Mary Elizabeth    Lanchester  10a 615   
Thompson  Walter     Lanchester  10a 615

Regards

Valda