where to start

[sweatinbullets]

Hello, I'm trying to find out if my parents and brother are still alive, I have only basic information eg, name and possible last know c/o address or country, no year dob for one member only, it was not a close family unit so information is thin on the ground I just don't know where to start with so little information. thanks

[Craclyn]

Welcome to Rootschat. Which country do you think is relevant?

[CaroleW]

Welcome to Rootschat

Rootschat has a no living persons policy so you cannot post their names etc which means we can only give you general info on how to find them.

Deaths up to 2007 are online using a subscription site.  Some deaths from 2008  are also online - again via a subscription site.  I see you live in Cheshire so you could check with your local library whether they have Ancestry access - many do.

You could also try electoral registers www.192.com 

If you think they may be in the same area as when you last had contact you could try the Telephone Directory search on www.thephonebook.com

[suzard]

Hello welcome to RootsChat
CaroleW has informed you of RootsChat policy and given you some ideas of where to look

Your birth certificate should give mother's maiden name and address at which you were born

When you have your mother and father's names you could look (on FreeBMD) if in England or Wales for their marriage registration
Purchase of that certificate should give ages at marriage address at marriage and the father's of your parents and occupations Also sometimes witnesses names are a help.
You could look in local newsppapers for a report of the marriage
You could also search FreeBMD for details of your brother's birth.

As Craclyn asked what country are you researching??

Suz

[sweatinbullets]

Thanks for your replies! im pretty sure they might of been living in Northern Ireland or Australia  there is very little info on my birth certificate which is a duplicate as the first one was lost by my father, no address is given for my mother nor father on there, my brother was last known living in Australia but again I have only a name no dob etc, I have tried to look them up on bdm which indicated they have passed ..but I couldn't be 100% it was them so im still in the same place.

[aghadowey]

We can't post details of living, or possibly living, people but some general questions to figure out where you can go from here.

Where were you born? if Northern Ireland then you can apply for the long (full) certificate of your birth (sounds like you might have just a copy of the short one.

Recent vital records for Northern Ireland and probably Australia will not be online (or even indexed online certainly in the case of Northern Ireland). For N.I. GRONI's database covers births 100+ years, marriages 75+ years. deaths 50+ years. I suspect that the information you are looking for may be much more recent?

I live in N.I. and if you want to PM [Personal Message] me with details I'll have a look or suggest what to try next.

[Billyblue]

Legislation in Australia prevents info re DEATHS showing on the BDM indexes unless 30 or more years ago.

If you think they may have died in Australia, have you looked in Ryerson Index (www.ryersonindex.org) to see if a Death/Funeral notice has been published & indexed?
Not foolproof but you might find something.

Any idea of where in Australia they may have lived?  Or when they came out here?

Dawn M

[sweatinbullets]

Thanks billyblue, if they have died it would of been in the last 10 years I guess, I have no idea where abouts in Australia they had lived, my first move is to get a full birth certificate and go from there, thanks again!

[josey]

For your brother have you tried social media? Don't give his name but how old would he be? You say you weren't a close family - when did you last have contact with each of them?

These are probably things aghadowey has already thought of and told you in a pm.....