Town Parish?

[majm]

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/70008601 Williamstown Chronicle 1 Dec 1883. (Victoria, Aust)  A missing man named as William Searby. 

Would he be Mary Ellen SEARBY's Dad?  Her birth was registered in 1881, with the BDM online index showing her parents as William Searby and Maria Manning, at Hotham.  (Vic # 24218)

Does that birth cert confirm that Mary Ellen has older siblings, if so, does it give their names and ages?  I am asking this simply so that RChatters can help you find clues to your elusive William Searby.   

Is this the death for William in 1916?

The ONLINE  index shows Wm Searby, at Northcote, Victoria at age of 82 with his parents recorded as Wm Searby and Mary Bruchmann.  (#15691)     ....  1916 - 82 gives a slightly early birth year .... sadly it takes it back BEFORE civil registration, so perhaps a different search needs to be done .... a search for a possible baptism  .     


Cheers,  JM

[majm]

I can see a William SEAR aged 40 as a passenger arriving January 1876 ex the Somersetshire, into Victoria... on the PROV indexes

 http://prov.vic.gov.au/provguide-50

Cheers,  JM

[Catrina]

The death certificate 1916 was issued from the Victorian Registrars Office.

I don't know about the missing William Searby, could have been anybody but the Death at Northcote is certainly William's.
I am taking William's age from the passenger list when he arrived in Australia, the Manifest was drawn up July 1876, ship arrived Oct. His age was 35 so, born 1841, if he had a birthday after July the he would have been b 1840.
I'm supposing he would have a better knowledge of his age than the Undertaker's Agent 40 years later.
The extract I put online with my first post is Mary Ellen's Birth and as William was her father that's why we are trying to understand the writing of the name place where William was born.
The full certificate is on
http://s1235.photobucket.com/user/Catrina39/library/?sort=3&page=1

You are spending a lot of time on this and I appreciate it but I have already done all the normal things one does, looked at all the websites one searches, I've been doing this for years that' why it's so frustrating.
This is the "only" certificate with full information supplied by one of the parents.
I don't yet know what information is supplied on USA Marriage certificates, I have to suss that out.

Regards, Kate
(Sydney, Australia)

[majm]

Did you notice that on that Victoria Australia birth cert that Maria did NOT know when she married William Searby, (not even a year) but she did advise the registrar that she was married in Pennsylvania 

Fingers crossed that will help a tad     (I cannot decipher the tiny writing at bottom right outside the margin as my current video card in this puter is not quite up to scratch  at the mo    Shhh.... my OH updated a driver and now it is .... errr .... not as good as previously  )

I have seven generations of ancestors in NSW records, so I know how difficult it can be to find the tiny detail to unlock the hurdle to get past the brickwall too 

Cheers, JM

[majm]

There's been lots of discussion over the years about the 'accuracy' of the age of the passengers on those manifest lists....  General consensus seems to be "not as accurate as ought to be" .... so I would not be placing too much reliance on the age on the manifest.

Cheers,  JM

[Catrina]

Yes, OH's can do that, not that I have one but have lots of siblings with one (or more)

One would have thought Maria could have had a stab at the Marriage date, I mean if one married a year prior to or after birth of first child.
I have gone right back to the early 18th century with three of my ancestors and with lots of personal information about some of them. Always easier to trace if they had money.

The Searby's have been the bane of my life.

Thanks for your help.

Kate
 

[BumbleB]

Just wondering whether you have any of the other children's birth certificates?  US ones may be more difficult to obtain, but how about one of the other two born in Australia.  Did William register their births?  If so then we might have a second chance at finding where he came from.

[Catrina]

Unfortunately the other two were born in South Australia they had terrible records, only give parents names, father's occupation.

Kate

[BumbleB]

Not a lot we can do then