Help please with family member William Holmes

[JeanJones23]

i have been unable to find any parent information for William.  He was born c1876 in Oldham.  Moved to NSW Australia when he was 4 and then to WA when he about 21.  Married Martha Ladhams in1905 and died in WA in 1928.  His birth certificate names his mother as Harriet Bradshaw.  I am unable to find a birth certificate or baptism re Orc for William.   What records should I be searching?

[avm228]

His birth certificate names his mother as Harriet Bradshaw. I am unable to find a birth certificate

Hi - this is rather confusing.  Do you mean you have his death certificate? Does it name his father?

[JeanJones23]

Sorry for the confusion.  Yes I have his death certificate and there is no father's name only the mother's name which is shown as Harriet Bradshaw.  There is a death certificate for a Harriet Holmes née Bradshaw in NSW in 1884 and husband's name is Joseph Holmes but the names of the 2 surviving children are not listed.

[avm228]

Have you been able to trace the c1880 immigration details for the family?

[california dreamin]

Hi Jean,
How certain are you that William was born in Oldham?  I have found a birth registration for a William Holmes (mother's maiden names Bradshaw) in 1875 - Subdistrict: Formby 

The other possibility is that he was registered as a 'Bradshaw' and assumed the name 'Holmes' at a later date.

[JeanJones23]

Hello
I am taking Oldham as his birth place from his death certificate.  May I ask what records you searched to find this entry?
Thank hou

[rolnora]

Hi Jean
The William Holmes birth reg 1875 with mothers maiden name Bradshaw can be found on this website.

http://www.lancashirebmd.org.uk

[california dreamin]

Hello
I am taking Oldham as his birth place from his death certificate.  May I ask what records you searched to find this entry?
Thank hou

Hi Jean

Yes, it is on Lancsbmd ( a much more useful site than Freebmd when searching for Lancs ancestors!) However, there is a caveat here... there is a couple married about 14 years earlier in 1861 who could be the parents of the William Holmes b. 1875. However as this birth is 14 years AFTER this marriage you need to weight up whether you think this couple could be the parents of  William Holmes born in Formby.

HOLMES   Thomas   BRADSHAW   Alice   Sefton, St Helen   South Sefton

Do you have Harriet's marriage cert?  This could give you a better idea of whether he was born a Bradshaw or a Holmes.

[JeanJones23]

Hello
I have no immigration records for William Holmes apart from what is stated on his death certificate that he arrived in NSW when he was 4 years old.