Finding the women - married names

[Burrow Digger]

How does one even begin to find out who the women married?

I have several generations of my Burrow family (from Devon/Somerset) - with a number of sisters in each generation, and I have no idea on who they could have married.

So how does one go about finding the girls who got married?

If I can have suggestions of the steps to take to find the married name - that would be great, thanks.

Burrow Digger
Canada

[Geoffers]

How does one even begin to find out who the women married? I have several generations of my Burrow family (from Devon/Somerset) - with a number of sisters in each generation, and I have no idea on who they could have married.
It depends to some extent on the period in time. Pre-1837 it is mostly a case of simply trawling parish registers and wills (if the family left wills).

From 1837 there is the added help provided by census returns - though these are of most help in villages where the population was static; searching say Exeter or Taunton for a forename and place of birth is not very practical.

It is a case of using as many sources as possible, parish registers - if your family was from a smallish area or had unusual forenames, then search the GRO index. The transcribed index on the freebmd site helps make things easier as you can click on the page number and get a list of other names mentioned on the same page.

Marriage certificates - look at the witnesses names - could there be a brother-in-law or married sister there? Wills - when grandad died, did he name any grandchildren? There isn't a quick fix, it is a case of having to plough through many records. If you can post a 'for instance' of one where you are particularly stuck along with father's name, occupation, date, place etc - this might help someone to explain the process so that it has some context for you.

Geoffers

[Pam Downes]

Hi BD,

With genealogists it's not location location, location, it's dates, dates, dates! The important date is 1st July 1837 when civil registration came into being.
Prior to that date it's a case of just grabbing a parish register and working your way through it in the hope that you'll find a marriage. Obviously start with the parish in which a person was baptised, or which another family event took place, and then just work your way outwards through the PRs of the surrounding villages.
However don't forget to check the burial registers too as some of them could have died before they were married.
Between 1837 and c1872-1875 you stand a chance of finding their name on the GRO Index. After the later date in the 1870s it became compulsory for an event to be registered by the interested parties - previously the onus had been on the registrar to make sure events were registered. In theory, you should definitely find them listed after that 1870s date.
So you have the laborious and distinctly boring task of working your way through the GRO Index to find the woman's name. Then you have to go through the Index to find a fellow's name with the same volume and page references. But as there is usually more than one marriage on a page you do have to go through the WHOLE index. :)
A slightly easier way is to use FreeBMD.
http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/
But as it is not yet complete you will have to have patience. Find a person on FreeBMD. If you click on the underlined page number you get the names of the other people CURRENTLY TRANSCRIBED whose names are on the same page. One of the men on the page definitely married one of the women on the page. Some of the early pages had 4 marriages i.e. 8 names per page. Later ones have 2 marriages per page. Problems occur when you have 2 Thomases marrying two Elizabeths.
Once you have a possible groom then you can try to trace them on census records and see if John married Mary or Christiana. This system is not infallible however as the first wife could die between marriage in say 1872 and then the widower remarries before the census in 1881.
If the people are around in 1881 and you either have access to the 1881 census CDs yourself or have a local LDS FHC which will have them, then you can search for a first name, born in a certain place, in a certain year, which might also help. (On familysearch you can only search born in county.)
After 1912 the spouse's surname is given on the GRO Index, and from September 1911 the mother's maiden name is given in the birth registrations.
The short answer to how you find who the girls married is - with a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck. :)

(Meanwhile I bet speed typist [akaGeoffers] has already freebmd.rootsweb.com/[/url]
But as it is not yet complete you will have to have patience. Find a person on FreeBMD. If you click on the underlined page number you get the names of the other people CURRENTLY TRANSCRIBED whose names are on the same page. One of the men on the page definitely married one of the women on the page. Some of the early pages had 4 marriages i.e. 8 names per page. Later ones have 2 marriages per page. Problems occur when you have 2 Thomases marrying two Elizabeths.
Once you have a possible groom then you can try to trace them on census records and see if John married Mary or Christiana. This system is not infallible however as the first wife could die between marriage in say 1872 and then the widower remarries before the census in 1881.
If the people are around in 1881 and you either have access to the 1881 census CDs yourself or have a local LDS FHC which will have them, then you can search for a first name, born in a certain place, in a certain year, which might also help. (On familysearch you can only search born in county.)
After 1912 the spouse's surname is given on the GRO Index, and from September 1911 the mother's maiden name is given in the birth registrations.
The short answer to how you find who the girls married is - with a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck. :)

(Meanwhile I bet speed typist [akaGeoffers] has already posted a reply with a much better way than mine.)

Pam Downes

p.s. re Geoffers - told you so!

[Geoffers]

How does one even begin to find out who the women married?
I've just seen your other message posted in which you mention:

1851 census
William Burrow head 35 Shephard b. Milverton-Som
Sarah Burrow Wife 45 -------- b. East Ansley-Dev
John Burrow Son 8 Scholar b. Clist Honiton-Dev
Elizabeth Burrow Dau 6 Scholar b. Clist ----------
Henry Burrow son 4 Shephards son b. Clist------
Address- No 1 Treasleas Cottage. Honiton Clist
Census Place-Honiton Clist Devonshire.

So, I'll use Elizabeth, aged 6 as an example - this won't go into great detail, it's just to give you an idea of things to begin with........The 1881 census has been conveniently transcribed and published on CD-rom and can also be searched on the mormon site so is a good starting point.

Elizabeth would have been about 36 in 1881 - there is no trace of her in SW England under the name Burrow(s). So she had either died, moved away from the area and/or married.

Now go to freebmd http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/cgi/search.pl - if your Elizabeth married she was probably at least 18, so the search period should start at 1861 and end with 1881.

continued......

[Geoffers]

It comes back with two hits for people of this name married in Devon:
Mar 1873, Elizabeth BURROW, Honiton, vol5b pg49
Sep 1878, Elizabeth BURROW, Wellington Som, vol5c pg473
(you'll need to search under Elizabeth, Eliza and Bessie and also allow for variant spellings of surname)

On the freebmd site, click on the page number and see what other records they have on the same page - one of them might be the husband.

Now with the male names from this, go back to the 1881 census and see if you can find corresponding entries in that census. The SW CD-rom only shows 2 Elizabeth/Eliza/Bessie entries aged 36 +/- 3 who were born Clist and a further 26 born in Honiton who were married or widowed. Do any of them at all match up? If not etxend the search - she may have migrated to London or up north.

Both the above entries from freebmd site were post-1871 - can you loacte Elizabeth in this census or in 1861? Look at other entries in the place she was living, do any of the male names match up with those you obtained from the frebmd site?

continued.....

[Geoffers]

Elizabeth would have been in her mid-50's in the 1901 census - can you find her in 1901? Is she shown alone, with her husband or living with a son or daughter?

Elizabeth's dad was 35 in 1851 - can he be found in the 1901 census? If not he had probably died. Go back int ime and see if you can find him in earlier census returns. Once you've found him, start searching the wills index forward in time to see if he left a will or if admon was granted. If you find him, to whom was probate/letters of administration granted? Are any family named.
Keep notes on everything you do - it's easy to lose where you are in the search.

Check the parish registers was Elizabeth's dad buried locally? Was she buried by her family under her married name? Is there a record of the MIs for the Honiton area to help you search?

As I said at the start, this isn't meant to be a comprehensive reply, just a brief outline which I hipe will get you started. If it's all as clear as mud, ask again and I'll try to explain it better
Geoffers

[Burrow Digger]

Thank you Pam and Geoff - all your posts were very helpful.
Now I have some idea of the process for each girl.
Much appreciated.

BD

[Burrow Digger]

Thanks again Geoff - I found Elizabeth.

FreeBMD showed this marriage

Surname First name(s) District Vol Page
Marriages Mar 1873
BURROW Elizabeth Honiton 5b 49
MATTHEWS Robert Henry Honiton 5b 49

1881 census shows the family.

Household:

Name Relation Marital Status Gender Age Birthplace Occupation Disability
Robert H. MATTHEWS Head M Male 34 Colyton, Devon, England Ironmonger Employing 4 Men & 6 Boys
Elizabeth MATTHEWS Wife M Female 35 Tipton, Devon, England
Robert Bertram MATTHEWS Son Male 7 Axminster, Devon, England
Sidney Burrow MATTHEWS Son Male 6 Axminster, Devon, England
Edwin Hunt MATTHEWS Son Male 4 Honiton, Devon, England
Lydia TRENCHARD Assistant U Female 25 Luppitt, Devon, England Assistant Domestic
George LESTER Apprentice U Male 18 Dong 4 Men & 6 Boys
Elizabeth MATTHEWS Wife M Female 35 Tipton, Devon, England
Robert Bertram MATTHEWS Son Male 7 Axminster, Devon, England
Sidney Burrow MATTHEWS Son Male 6 Axminster, Devon, England
Edwin Hunt MATTHEWS Son Male 4 Honiton, Devon, England
Lydia TRENCHARD Assistant U Female 25 Luppitt, Devon, England Assistant Domestic
George LESTER Apprentice U Male 18 Dover, Kent, England Ironmongers Assistant
George HOLT Apprentice U Male 20 London Wandsworth, London, Middlesex, England Ironmongers Assistant
Charles Henry BARCHAM Apprentice U Male 19 Paston, Norfolk, England Ironmongers Assistant
Minnie BOYLAND Servant U Female 13 Stockland, Devon, England General Servant (Domestic)


Living in Honiton, Devonshire.

[Geoffers]

Thanks again Geoff - I found Elizabeth.
Surname First name(s) District Vol Page
Marriages Mar 1873
BURROW Elizabeth Honiton 5b 49
MATTHEWS Robert Henry Honiton 5b 49

1881 census shows the family.
Name Relation Marital Status Gender Age Birthplace Occupation Disability
Robert H. MATTHEWS Head M Male 34 Colyton, Devon, England Ironmonger Employing 4 Men & 6 Boys
Elizabeth MATTHEWS Wife M Female 35 Tipton, Devon, England.Good, but don't forget - just because you've found one Elizabeth BURROW who married, doesn't mean that there wasn't another Elizabeth BURROW of roughly the same age who may also have married around this time. You presumably have access to the 1851 census transcript - it may be worth searching to see just how many Elizabeth BURROW/BURROWS/BURROUGH/BURROUGHS etc there were then. The ultimate way to confirm this was your lass is to obtain the marriage certificate. You might want to do a little work on it first - but eventually you may just have to take a chance.

Geoffers

[Er Indoorz]

Having just joined this site, I'm intrigued already!

I have got back to c1750's .. having found my 3rd g grandmother.
Her parents names are listed on familysearch site but not her mothers surname... how do i find that out?