John Thomas Tait

[Carly287]

Hi,  I was wondering if anyone can find out about a man called; John Thomas Tait, who was born in Melrose,Scotland in 1858? He was my great great granddad and married my g g grandma in 1887 at Durham registry office. They had three children together, the youngest being my great grandma born 1889 in Wolsingham,Durham. He then disappeared and I can't find him on any census. Hope someone can help!

Thanks

Carly

[terianne]

Did a census check in 1861 he was 3 living with his father John aged 32 A Butler born in England and Mother Eliza aged 31 born in England and his sister Mary F. aged  1 born Melrose, they were living at Darnick, in Melrose parish

As he was born in 1858, try Scotlandspeople and you'll get a copy of his Birth Certificate, it'll have more details about his Parents, etc records start 1855.

Also checked IGI - JOhn Thomas was born 31 March 1858 - his mothers maiden name was Andrews

[Carly287]

Thanks,

I've ordered his parents marriage certificate. They married in London in 1857, but I won't get the certificate for 3 weeks! Just wish I knew where he died, I know the year,1911, but I don't know where to start looking!

Can anyone help?!

Thanks,

Carly

[terianne]

Try the Durham City Library, Durham records office or registrar office -  they might be able to point you in the right direction.

Or maybe try the Durham Family History Society - they may have some MI records if you now where he has living in 1911.

[Carly287]

Thanks

I know by the 1911 census in April,he had died. But i've looked on free bmd and Scotlands people, and I can't find a death record anywhere!

[terianne]

If he deid in Durham, England his death will not be on Scotlandspeople, but his borth will be.

As you say he died in 1911ish, the record may not appear on FreeBMD yet may be too recent, but should be on ancestry, but you need to know wroughly which quarter he died in.  what's why asking directly in Durham, England may help

Also check for just John Tait, sometimes the middle names are not recorded on the indexes, but are on the actual certificate.

[Carly287]

Hi everyone!

Was just wondering if anyone knew,how much a scottish death certificate is and what information you get on it? As ive tried all other options,and I can't get any further back!

Thanks,

Carly

[MonicaL]

Hi Carly

These are the help notes from Scotlands People for death certs. There are some examples of what they look like if you click on the relevant links. www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/Content/Help/index.aspx?r=554&404

You can view online images for deaths up to currently 1961 (50 year privacy rule). This makes viewing/downloading images of certs (and censuses) for the relevant periods really cost effective. It currently costs £7GB to buy 30 units on SP. On average, it will cost you one unit to search and view search results and then 5 more units to view the image online. If you knew exactly what certs you were looking for with 100% accuracy, it would cost you £7 to view 5 certs... However, most of us are often looking around and you get to view a number of wrong ones! Nevertheless, it is really cost effective. Think only of having to order a single cert via the GRO for England and Wales at a cost of £9.25 each 

There are lots of tips on using SP across the Scottish pages here. In particular, have a look at www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,562668.0.html

With the surname you have, take advantage of the wildcard of ' * ' for your spelling variants. You could search Tait as Ta*t*.

One main word of caution for you though. If John went AWOL, he may not have wanted to be traced in later years. The information on death certs is only as good as that known by the informant and person reporting the death.

Monica

[lyn22]

What was his wifes name there are a few wills I could look at for you Take Care Lynette