How can I be sure?? Help plz

[rachelwilliams]

I got info from freebmd.rootsweb.com.

BUT how can I be sure that these are my g.g.grandparents?

Is there anyway to confirm before I pay for certificates???

thank you
Rachel

[Boongie Pam]

It is a tough one that and can be costly if you are wrong.  You have to use circumstantial evidence and I don't think you can be sure.

If this is a birth record then when you order the cert do a contingency check.  This is where you say only send me the cert if "so and so" is the father or mother.

That way you won't get the cert and won't pay if it is compltetely wrong.  What is the cert and what info do you have?  What year is it can it be backed up by the family being in the area for the nearest census?  Are there siblings you would expect to be found in the same area are they there (if it is births you are looking for?)

If it is a marriage then make sure both names are on it.  If you have the details for FreeBMD is the expected spouse also on the page?

Cheers,
Pam

[kevan]

Hi,
   I have only bought one or two  certificates so far, and it did not show any new info that was not shown in the census and IGI, and parish records.
   My advice is to collect as much info as possible about a person / family in the first instance before wasting money on these. I guess it depends on what resources you have available, and your proximity to the Record Ofiice, too.
  My granfathers details  were different for every place that I checked, including his birth and death certificates, and the only place that had he correct detail was the 1891 census. althogh this is not always correct.
  So, it is a matter of comparing all the resources available until the right information becomes available, and in this context, the certificates are not always right.
Best
Kevan

[rachelwilliams]

Pam & Kevin

Thank you both 4 replying.
Its not as simple as I thought! But I am enjoying the search!

I am having real difficullty with the marriage searches, but I think thats because its being updated.

I have found in the 1901 g.g.gr.fath (head)
                                        g.g.gr.moth(wife)
                                           g.gr.fath (son age 2)
                                           g.gr.uncl (son age 1)

BUT I know there are 2 other brothers!

From what Youve told me and all the advise youve both given me.  There is no ONE place that has all the answers!
Which is what I probably expected!!  LOL

ps. have you both completed your own family tree, or is it an ongoing project?

Rachel

[Boongie Pam]

I've been interested in doing mine since I was a little kid.  It's only with the release of the 1901 census that saw me start.

I've been doing it in earnest for just under a year and I have most lines back to 1750s.  I started with 3 names - my great grandad in Scotland, John Fallon on my maternal grandfather's side and I knew my Great Grandmother Violet Hughes who died in 1984 her husband was Albert Palmer.  I knew where the first 2 were born and that was it.  I had no other information at all.  Once you get going it's addictive!

When you are working with english/welsh records it can be slow going but in Scotland it's great you get loads of info and women don't legally change their name on marriage so you always find maiden names on graves etc.

You have to enjoy the jigsaw!

Good luck.

Pam