Finding parents

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I was wondering if anyone could advise me on the following matter. I am currently working on the "Venn" part of my family tree and have got back to 1815. From www.familysearch.org website I have found a James Venn born in 1815 in Clapham and that his father is called James Venn and his mother is called Elizabeth Taylor. I have found 4 of his siblings too. I know that iIcannot get a birth certificate for him. How do I find information about his parents? I live in Germany and will happily do the searching when I can next get to London in the summer. But I do not know where his parents are from? When I do start my search back in the uk, where do I start? Alot of the Venn's came from Somerset/ Gloustershire so I could be wasting my time.


Any help would be appreciated

[Pam Downes]

Hi Bracken,
Welcome to the forum.
First of all I'd check the baptism entry in the parish register to see if the entry read 'son of James and Elizabeth Venn late/nee Taylor' which would indicate that the parents were (allegedly!) married. If the entry read 'son of James Venn and Elizabeth Taylor', that would make me think that the parents were possibly not married - and therefore perhaps slightly more difficult to find.
If you have an LDS FHC near you then they can order in the film for you to check prior to your visit to London. Check out FHC locations via
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHC/frameset_fhc.asp
I would also look on the 1841, 1851, 1861 and 1871 census for possible James and Elizabeths. Check out the siblings of James junior to see if the parents are with one of them. The 1851 onwards census would hopefully be able to give you a clue about the birthplaces - though don't believe everything your ancestors said. :)
Based on the birth years of the siblings you should be able to narrow down likely James and/or Elizabeths on the census. e.g. if James junior was the eldest then Elizabeth could have been born 1800. If he was the youngest, then the earliest she is likely to have been born is 1765. (so possibly not around for the 1851 census, but worth a try!)
Especially when I'm dealing with a fairly unusual surname I always try the process of elimination. It's a bit long-winded, and I'm sure that a lot of people would pooh-pooh the idea, but I'm happy that I've done everything I can to avoid following the wrong line.
If you do find the elder James and an Elizabeth on the census do be aware that Elizabeth Taylor could have died and James then married another Elizabeth.
Pam

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Thank for the advice. I have found James Venn in all the cenus from 1851 and not once was his surname spelt correctly! I found James venn siblings in the census but yet no parents, when I have the time i will then search parish records