New to this site and to genealogy

[Rose]

Hello everyone,

I am here to try to find my husband's grandfather - we have a name and that's it! We can only guess at his age and place of birth.

Any ideas as to how I can get started without spending a fortune?

Thank you!

Rose

[Ladkyis]

You could tell us the name - you never know there could be someone else researching the same name. You could put all you know about him onto the place forum that he spent most of his life. If you have your husband's birth certificate you can search for his parents marriage. This will give you his grandfather's occupation.
Just a few thoughts.
Ann

[Rose]

The name is Bert Cord - I do not know whether he is an Albert, Robert...!

He knew a Barbara Clements, who grew up in Ware, Herts - same age - who had a son, John Baker, in 1947, also in Herts. We do not know why this surname was chosen or who the father of the child was. She never married. John is my husband's late father.

We don't have any certificates (births, marriages, deaths).

Regards,
Rose

[Geoffers]

[I am here to try to find my husband's grandfather - we have a name and that's it! We can only guess at his age and place of birth.......The name is Bert Cord - I do not know whether he is an Albert, Robert!.......He knew a Barbara Clements, who grew up in Ware, Herts - same age - who had a son, John Baker, in 1947, also in Herts. We do not know why this surname was chosen or who the father of the child was. She never married. John is my husband's late father.We don't have any certificates (births, marriages, deaths).]

Not too clear from what you say as to whether you believe Bert Cord was your husband's grandfather or not.

There is some cost involved (there always is in any hobby, but with family history it is mostly time you need) and the documents you need to obtain to begin with, are:

1) The marriage certificate for your husband's father to see if any mention is made of his father and occupation.

2) From there, obtain the birth certificate for this chap. Was John Baker/Clements adopted? Could his name have been John Baker Clements and he later in life assumed the surname Baker because he was told this was his father's surname?

If you are not sure where to look for these certificates, please ask.

Was your husband's father an only child? Is there any mention of any other family in his will?

Has Barbara Clements died? Is she still alive? If she has died have you tried searching for a will to see if any mention of family is made?

If you are not sure how to look for wills, again, please ask.

After that, you might try looking for Barbara Clements birth certifcate, to find out the names of her parents. Then look for the parents' will(s) to see if any mention is made of your husband's grandmother and/or grandfather.

Geoffers
Charlbury, Oxfordshire

[Rose]

Neither John nor Barbara left wills. John never knew his father and Barbara never enlightened anyone. She had no more children. Apparently, Bert Cord was around for a short while - dating Barbara - after John was born, but this relationship did not last long. No more was ever heard of him. We suspect he is John's father, but how could we ever know for sure? Sadly, no doubt due to the stigma attached to unmarried mothers in the 50s, John went to Barnardo's when he was about 8.

I'd like to know how I could see John and Bert's birth certs. Perhaps John's would say 'father unknown' but it's worth a go.

John and his wife divorced so apparently the marriage cert was returned.

Again, thank you for your advice.

Regards,
Rose

[Geoffers]

I'd like to know how I could see John and Bert's birth certs. Perhaps John's would say 'father unknown' but it's worth a go.
John and his wife divorced so apparently the marriage cert was returned.
If you know the date and place where someone was born, the simplest way to get a copy of the certificate is to apply via the Local Registrar.

If you don't know the date and place, then you will need to check the General Register Office (GRO) index. An index was produced every Quarter for events registered during the previous three months. There are separate indexes for births, and marriages, and deaths. Within each index names are arranged alphabetically by surname and then forename. The GRo indexes can be found at the Family Records Centre (FRC) in London - it has been copied onto fiches and can be seen at many local studies' centres/county record offices. Using the full reference you can apply for a certificate online via the GRO website http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/

You can also obtain a copy of the marriage certificate this way.

Geoffers
Charlbury, Oxfordshire

[Rose]

We will try Barnardo's and also have a go at following up Geoffers' advice - thanks again. I think this will keep me busy for some time!