Advice please on date of birth

[Chubbler]

Hi, can anyone advise as to whether a date of birth can be traced from any other source other than the birth certificate? Unfortunately, the surviving relative cannot remember his fathers date of birth, and I've sent for a few birth certs, and am stumped as to how to confirm I may have the correct one. Place of birth is a bit foggy as well but I'm working in that area so one thing at a time.
Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
Teresa

[Geoffers]

Your relative's birth ceritificate should give the father's name and surname and mother's name and maiden name. Search for their marriage certificate which will give their respective ages on marriage and so make seaching for a birth certiificate easier.

If the relative's father has died, when was this? Search the GRO index of deaths, if the death was fairly recently, then a date of birth is included in the death index; if the death was earlier, then it should still include an age at death and also help to tie down roughly when someone was born.

Was the person (or his parents) alive in the 1901 census, which give ages and place of birth.

Was the father/grandfather in the armed forces?

If you can give a few details about the father, there are lots of people on these forums who like a challenge at locating records and may be able to help.

Geoffers

[Chubbler]

Thanks for replying, I have copy of the death cert, he died in 1968 so I have age, he was born in 1890. I dont have exact place of birth, only an area in or near Snowdonia, my problem is he has a rather common or should I say popular name and there are quite a few "Thomas Owens" born in that year in that surrounding area. I have his marriage cert and his fathers name is also Thomas Owens so have tried to pin it down by that, but again there are more than one. I dont suppose I can confirm exactly which cert is his in this instance. I have been given help concerning the above chap from this forum previously and am grateful because I've reached this stage, but now how do I confirm it is him. Or maybe I can't.

[Wirral]

Hi Teresa

This won't help you with the date of birth, but might help with identifying the right chap:

Who were the witnesses on the marriage certificate? Were any of them relatives?
Where was the marriage? Was it in the area Thomas came from? Did his wife come from the same area? Have you been able to trace her family?
Do you know the occupations of any family members? Have you tried to track them using trade directories?
Are there any unusual names passed down in the family?
Where did Thomas Owens jnr live? Did he move out of the area, wander around the country, emigrate (either permanently or temporarily), settle elsewhere for the rest of his life?

[Chubbler]

Hi Wirral,
Thomas came to Suffolk at end of WW1 where he met his future wife and settled here until his death in1968. The marriage certificate shows witnesses as his wife's brother and sister n law. It does show his fathers occupation as a platelayer, it also says father deceased, but they did not marry until 1941.
I have not looked at any Trade Directories I'm not really sure about what they are or what information I'd find in them.He never returned to his birthplace and never really discussed it either hence the vague details.
As far as I'm aware no other name seems to have been used, the surviving son is also called Thomas and his son also!
Thankyou for your time.

[Wirral]

He really didn't make things easy, did he?|shakehead

What was Thomas jnr's occupation when he married & subsequently? (don't tell me - probably a labourer!).
Did the family claim Poor Relief? I'm not sure what it was called in the 20thC. Did any other family members move to Suffolk?
Did Thomas jnr serve in the 1st WW? If he was born in 1890, he might have scraped in.
Trade directories have lists of the heads of households, plus their occupations. Usually there is a name index, a street index & a trades & occupations index. Have a look at Rod's Archive CD Books site.

[Chubbler]

He certainly did not!
He came to Suffolk having been posted with his regiment into barracks, either South Welsh Borderers or The Welsh Regiment around 1918c, he was a sergant. He then came out of the army and worked as a pavier, yes a labourer! No other members of his family came to Suffolk, although there has been mention of a brother but no other information regarding him. I am not aware of any Poor Relief being paid. I am trying to trace any information through the Military connection, but am not getting very far!
Many thanks for your help.
Teresa