Can't find Granny!!

[Carran]

Hello everyone

Does anyone have any ideas as to why a birth about 1906 would not be on the BMD. I have been trying to find my grandmothers birth which states on her death cert as 1906 which was generally accepted. I have located her marriage entries (x2) but no birth entry. Have searched from 1902 to 1912 with variations in spelling with no luck. Her first marriage was in 1928. Would she have had to provide a birth cert to get married? Have found her parents marriage circ 1903 and her mother shows up on the 1901 census.

It is not crucial to have this cert but has got me wondering why it is not there. Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks in advance
Carran

[peter nicholl]

Hi Carran

When you say BMD do you mean FreeBMD? If you do then the answer may be that as not ALL registrations are recorded there they may not have included your Granny yet. In which case it might be worth trying a paytoview site and going from say Jan 1905 to Dec 1907. If you've already done that, then welcome to the club . I'm still trying to find my Grand dad's death.
God Luck
Peter

[Geoffers]

Does anyone have any ideas as to why a birth about 1906 would not be on the BMD. I have been trying to find my grandmothers birth which states on her death cert as 1906 Have found her parents marriage circ 1903 and her mother shows up on the 1901 census.

All Peter wrote, plus:

Have you tried searching under the mother's maiden name, just before they married?

Depending on the date of marriage, you may also have to check under the mum's maiden name for the quarter immediately after marriage.

Geoffers

[ClaireDigs]

Hi, Not all BMD records have been transcribed, but ancestry have copies of all BMD records online now (not transcribed), it can be quite tiresome searching through the lists, but I have found a huge amount of info from it. And its free to use!! Here is the link -

[Edit - Link to Ancestry, a comemrcial site - removed, Geoffers, moderator]

Good luck, Claire.

[ElaineMaul]

Hi Caran,

Is there any possibility that you actually know the area where she was born? Being only your granny, I wondered whether your mum/dad knew where she was born?
I had a similar problem with my grandfather who I thought was born sometime around 1900. At the time, I was unable to get to the Family Record Centre because of having a 'twig' on the family tree to look after ..... so I was using a record agent. Although I asked them to search a reasonably wide timespan plus try variations on surname spelling (the name wa LAWRENCE ..... so I suggested LAWRENCE, LAURENCE, LAWRANCE etc) ..... they said they couldn't find it.
However, my family were pretty sure he was born in Edmonton, North London and so my local family history society suggested directly contacting the registry office ...... I knew where this was because I lived in the area. I phoned and they found it ..... the name wasn't spelt as I expected .... on 1st April [typical!] in 1899. I never have checked to see if the record agent made a mistake of whether it just wasn't there ...... after all, have it now!

So ..... if you know or have a hunch on where she was born, try the registry office for the area. I have no idea what they charge for searching, mind you. At the time, they did it for free ...... maybe because I only wanted 1899 and 1900 searched.

Good Luck,
Elaine

[Carran]

Hi everyone

Thanks for your replies.

I have searched the Ancestry BMD (have sub) from 1902 to 1912 under mothers surname Bosher and married name Hickey born in Lambeth, but with no luck. Did find a younger brother in 1912 registered, but nan was born before that. I know her birthday was the day before mine, in June and she even told me she was born in 1906, but sadly she is no longer with us, so cannot find out what happend to her registration. Will have to send for her first marriage certificate and see if she has a different age on that, it wouldnt surprise me!

Thanks once again.
Carran

[Ladkyis]

My husbands Grandfather told everyone he was born in 1904 and celebrated the birthdays every year but when we tried to find his birth registration we discovered that not only was he NOT born in Frome Somerset but he was born in Allbrook hampshire in 1902!!

ANd it wasn't until an uncle died that we discovered that his "real" surname was not the one he had been using all his life and that he was actually born 12 months before his mother got married.

So take everything you have been told and accept it as the truth as they want you to know it and then extend the search back another 5 years.

And if you give us her name we can also search - there are several people on here who can do wonders with a name.

[Carran]

Hi Ladkyis

Thank you for your reply. I know that my nan was very, how shall we say, vague with her past and wasnt very forthcoming with dates. However I have searched under her maiden name of Ellen Caroline Hickey born June in Lambeth from 1902 to 1912. I havent been able to find any Ellen Hickey or Ellen Caroline born during that time (in Lambeth or anywhere else). I have also searched under her mother's maiden name (Sarah Bosher) before and after her marriage in 1903. Have found a younger brother born 1912 who was registered under the name of Hickey with mother's maiden surname of Bosher in Lambeth. The only one I can find.

I have found her first marriage to my grandfather in 1928 under the name of Ellen Caroline Hickey. She died in 1995 aged 89 according to her death certificate, which puts her birth around 1906. I have located her mother Sarah Bosher in the 1901 census living with her widowed mother and family including a twin brother in Vauxhall Walk, Lambeth. There is no baby, so I am working on the theory that nan must have been born from 1902 to 1911 which would put her between 17 to 26 when she married in 1928.

As I said earlier it is not important that I have this certificate, however it would be good to get it, but I just cant figure out why I cant find her anywhere. By the way would she have needed her birth cert to get married? If so I wonder where she got it!!

Thanks to everyone
Carran

[Wirral]

Have you checked the "Births Overseas" records? I don't think they are available on Ancestry, but there is a box of them at libraries.

[Ladkyis]

She would not have needed her birth certificate to get married so that wouldn't have been a problem. It might be one of those births that never made it to the GRO index and the only way to find the certificate is to get it from the local Register Office - but first you have to know where she was born. Did her mother move very far when she had the next baby? or was it still in the same area that she was living at the time of the 1901 census.

This is really intriguing, yet another grandmother that didn't want to be found - I have a great grandma who evades capture.

Ann