Author Topic: no light at end of my tunnel - won't you come home bill bailey?  (Read 624 times)

Offline familysearcher

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no light at end of my tunnel - won't you come home bill bailey?
« on: Tuesday 05 April 05 22:58 BST (UK) »
help!!

i am trying to track the birth of my grandfather.  Trouble is - his name was William Bailey, and his father's name was also William Bailey.

Now have you any idea how many william baileys there are? ???  I know he was 23 when he married on 1 may 1929 - so he was born between 1 may 1905 and 30 April 1906.

So that gives me about 180 births of William Baileys in that time frame. :'(

His father is shown as a colliery fireman, so presumably they came from an area with coal mines.  Unfortunately i can't really afford to buy 180 certificates - or even write 180 query letters to the various registry offices!, to try and identify him that way.

I am not even sure where or when he died.  I do know that his wife died in Sussex in the 80s and there is a William Bailey who also died in Sussex around that time.

He and my grandmother were both Salvation Army Officers so i have tried their email address for tracing officers but have had no response yet.

the big question

What do i do next?   ???

hopefully

Sue
Geen - Glamorgan/Devon/Birmingham
Lewis - Glamorgan/Monmouthshire
Cutter - Co Durham/Northumberland/Yorkshire
Hunter - Co Durham/Northumberland/Yorkshire
Siveter/Siviter - Birmingham




Census infromation is  Crown Copyright, from "http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk"

Offline casalguidi

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Re: no light at end of my tunnel - won't you come home bill bailey?
« Reply #1 on: Tuesday 05 April 05 23:08 BST (UK) »
Hi Sue

A suggestion..............

If you can locate Sarah's address on death or know where they lived ............... is it an option to try the electoral registers to see when William was no longer listed (hopefully they remained in the same place for a while)?

At least a death certificate will give you a date and place of birth if after 1969.

Do you know where Sarah was buried (if not cremated) .............. perhaps they were buried together?

Best wishes

Casalguidi
Census information is Crown Copyright http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline familysearcher

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Re: no light at end of my tunnel - won't you come home bill bailey?
« Reply #2 on: Tuesday 05 April 05 23:16 BST (UK) »
thanks  Casalguidi.

Unfortunately they seem to have moved around quite a bit - they were both in Somerset in Bridgwater in the 1960s (he ran a fish and chippie), and after that i lost touch when my parents divorced.

so thats bit of a non starter too.

i don't mind taking a chance on the death cert but i have obviously no way of proving 'provenance'  - how do i know its my grandfather!

sue
Geen - Glamorgan/Devon/Birmingham
Lewis - Glamorgan/Monmouthshire
Cutter - Co Durham/Northumberland/Yorkshire
Hunter - Co Durham/Northumberland/Yorkshire
Siveter/Siviter - Birmingham




Census infromation is  Crown Copyright, from "http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk"

Offline Clincher

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Re: no light at end of my tunnel - won't you come home bill bailey?
« Reply #3 on: Tuesday 05 April 05 23:43 BST (UK) »
If the index to wills gives -as I believe it does- occupations and other clues in respect of post 1858 wills then given the things you do know about your bloke and his wife wouldn't that enable you to track him/her down