Incorrect name on Marriage Certificate

[sue adams]

Some years ago I needed a copy of my first marriage certificate. I applied to Southport with full details and was told their records had a different married surname and therefore could not be issued. In panic I went to the church where I married (it was a Methodist church). The current incumbent checked the original register and found all the details were correct.

She issued a new certificate to me and it was accepted for the purposes I needed.

My question is - should I try to have the records at Southport corrected and, if so, how to go about it?

Sue

[Carrie Meerten]

If you are close to Southport, I would go in with the copies of the transcipts from your church were you married, any other relevant docs that you still might have from your first marriage with both names on. If it was a divorce, then take those as well, Death then his death cert etc etc.......

You can only see what they will say. If you have problems or can't get a 'decent' reply from the counter person, then go higher, etc etc......

I would try my hardest to have it corrected. As it is a legal document and again someday in the future you might need it.

plus, someday way ahead in the future when some person might be tracing your roots, they will start hitting their head against that dreded brickwall like us....|banghead| |laugh1|

[Pam Downes]

Hi Sue,
As the progression of the marriage notification is church, local registrar's office, Southport, and it's been verified that church-held register is correct, I think that you would first need to contact the local registrar's office.
http://www.fhsc.org.uk/genuki/reg/regoff.html#A
is a list of addresses where registers are now held (e.g. all Lincolnshire registers are now held in one place in Lincoln) so may or may not be helpful.
Otherwise you might have to google for the county council, and then look under 'community and living', and then 'registration services', where you should find a link to the individual register offices in a town.
Pam Downes

[Peter Goodey]

What is shown in the GRO index for your first marriage?

[Guy Etchells]

If I understood your post the original Methodist Church register contains the correct details but the GRO transcription contains errors.

If that is the case contact the Superintendent Registrar and have the details changed as they have not been transcribed accurately.

The transcript is only a transcript and not a historic document no matter what the GRO like to think.
The historic document is the original register.
Cheers
Guy

[sue adams]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all your replies, advice and links. The impeteus for doing this now came about after a conversation at the weekend along the lines Carrie suggested. Unfortunately I don't live near Southport, I am currently in Victoria Australia!

Guy, you have summed the problem up correctly. I will take the advice you and Pam and Mythology have given me and contact the Superintendent Registrar. I hope to visit the UK later this year so could take the documents then. I'm reluctant to trust the overseas post in this case!

Thank you
Sue

[Carrie Meerten]

Unfortunately I don't live near Southport, I am currently in Victoria Australia!Hi Sue,
I knew that you were in Australia, as per your user info, but I thought you were talking about our Southport here in Aus!!! didn't realise that there was one over in the UK. |blush|

Good luck then with trying to fix it from abroad.

[Peter Goodey]

If I've understood the story correctly, you haven't actually seen the GRO certificate and don't actually know exactly what, if anything, is wrong.

Reading between the lines, I don't think you've checked the GRO index either.
I would suggest that you use your new found knowledge to order a certificate and see for yourself what's wrong, if anything, before taking it further.

[Pam Downes]

If I've understood the story correctly, you haven't actually seen the GRO certificate and don't actually know exactly what, if anything, is wrong.

Reading between the lines, I don't think you've checked the GRO index either.
I would suggest that you use your new found knowledge to order a certificate and see for yourself what's wrong, if anything, before taking it further.Southport told Sue that the married surname that she gave didn't agree with the details on their certificate, and I would have thought that Sue would know her own marriage details. They would not have specifically said for example 'our records says McCartney and you spelt the name MacCartney'.
And I certainly wouldn't waste seven quid (and would seriously resent having to pay) on a Southport-issued certificate with what I regard as incorrect details on it when it should only cost the price of a postage stamp (or two) to the local registrar to sort out the problem.
Pam Downes

[Peter Goodey]

The first rule of genealogy is often reckoned to be 'don't take someone else's word for it'.
But in line with your admirable sense of economy, it costs nothing to look up the GRO index. I suggested this several messages ago with no reaction.

Although I have no personal experience of getting a certificate corrected, I would have thought the process would be a little difficult if one cannot say exactly what the error is.

What would be the appropriate course of action if the local office's response is 'our records are precisely the same as those of the church'?

It's either "Um..err...well... GRO said there was something wrong but I don't know precisely what" or "Here is the certificate from GRO - this needs to be changed to that".

[Pam Downes]

What would be the appropriate course of action if the local office's response is 'our records are precisely the same as those of the church'?
It's either "Um..err...well... GRO said there was something wrong but I don't know precisely what" or "Here is the certificate from GRO - this needs to be changed to that".Peter, If the local register records match exactly those of the church, then it's the registrar's job to liaise with the GRO to find out where the discrepancy - whatever it is - occurs. My point is that if the GRO are at fault, why should Sue have to spend *her* money correcting *their* errors.
An even more pertinent point is, if this was your problem are you trying to tell me that you would spend money ordering a certificate that you didn't want?
However, you'll be pleased to know that after having given the matter careful thought, I would agree that it would be worth checking the GRO Index to check the names quoted, *but* if that is where the error has occurred then the matter still needs to go via the local registrar because you don't know why the GRO Index name is incorrect. And with their 'we won't tell you' policy you'd end up going mental trying to persuade them that they were wrong. Let the local registrar have the hassle.
Pam Downes

[Peter Goodey]

It is the registrar's responsibility but if you're going to ask him do something, he has to know what it is he's being asked to do.

As a taxpayer, I rather hope that the local registrar is not in the habit of wasting staff effort in trying to correct something in circumstances where the customer can't actually produce any evidence that there is something wrong.

A copy of the GRO index showing an incorrect surname would at least be some evidence.

[sue adams]

Thank you all for your further posts. Peter, I apologise for not responding to your earlier message. I didn't like to clog up the forum with my specific details having received excellent advice. You are right, I don't have a copy of the GRO certificate because I didn't see the purpose at the time of buying something that I already knew to be useless. I needed the certificate to prove my various name changes from first marriage to divorce to second marriage to obtain an immigration visa for Australia.

However, the problem was specified by Southport (home of the GRO, Carrie). My husband's surname was Howard-Jones. In their records, they said, it was Howard-Smith. Maybe I should not have just taken their word for it with that phone call, but this apparent set back, having given up my job and sold my house, caused considerable stress until I found a correct certificate at the church.

The next time I go to Melbourne I will visit the State Library and look up the GRO Index (I don't have any online subscriptions). If it is indeed incorrect as I was told, I will proceed as suggested by Pam.

Thank you all for your interest.
Sue

[Pam Downes]

Hi Sue,
If the marriage was 1983 or earlier then you can look up the GRO Index online for free.
Ancestry.co.uk and under main search box 'more collections'.
Select 'England and Wales, BMD Index (beta)'.
Next page select the top box 'search the complete images'.
If it was after 1983, I have a sub to 1837online which has the details up to about 2004, and would be happy to do a look-up for you. Contact me off-forum.
Pam Downes

[Peter Goodey]

GRO index: Far be it from to try and guess the date but if it was before or up to 1983, you should be able to see the indexes without charge here -

http://www.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=5963&o_xid=0039101601&o_lid=0039101601&o_xt=40165505

You may have to register with an email address but not a credit card number!!!

I assume you have to pay for later dates.

Otherwise you can do it for a nominal fee at 1837online. That's if you simply can't wait until you get to the library;)

It's a pity you hadn't mentioned before that you had actually received such a specific description of the discrepancy. It might have saved some pointless speculation and debate.

[sue adams]

Thank you all for your directions to ancestry.co.uk. I was unaware you could access the bmd indexes for free on that site, and I shall make use of them.

Thank you also, Pam, for your offer, however the dates I require mean I don't need to trespass on your kindness.

I'm sorry my lack of clarity caused unnecessary involvement, but I thank everyone for trying to help me.

Sue