WILLIAM CRESSWELL

[crezzer]

Thanks for the welcome, yes I am indeed, the william cresswell in this thread was my gt gt gt gt gt grandad, I think...

[olliecat]

This is also the point I got stuck at...

Which specific point are you stuck on Ian? Have you read through the thread and seen anything that will resolve that part you are stuck on?

Note: If you use the "Reply With Quote" link beneath a post then you can more clearly respond to a specific point within a post and this also tells us which post you are responding to within a thread. Or you can just refer to the username of the person who made the post, so that we know who or what point you are responding to. You are new however, so don't worry too much about it right now.

[crezzer]

Which specific point are you stuck on Ian? Have you read through the thread and seen anything that will resolve that part you are stuck on?

Note: If you use the "Reply With Quote" link beneath a post then you can more clearly respond to a specific point within a post and this also tells us which post you are responding to within a thread. Or you can just refer to the username of the person who made the post, so that we know who or what point you are responding to. You are new however, so don't worry too much about it right now.

I'll get the hang of it....

After tracing my family tree back to the same point I found the tree information about the american connection but I didint think it was correct, I have seen a variation of cresswell with one "s" but I never saw the crusswell variation before. How would I go about getting a marriage certificate for william and mary??

[olliecat]

I never saw the crusswell variation before. How would I go about getting a marriage certificate for william and mary??

I would recommend that you obtain a birth certificate for one of the children first, in order to ascertain Mary's maiden name. Whichever child is in your direct line would a good one to go for. Then I would order the marriage certificate, unless the maiden name from the birth certificate indicated otherwise.

You can order certificates online from the GRO (General Register Office.) The cost is currently £9.25 per certificate for a standard service. You will need to create an account and will need a credit or debit card. There is also a postal option for ordering if you prefer, although that way is slower.

I'll post the GRO index reference number for the marriage in a moment. In the meantime, have a look at the GRO site and come back to us if you have questions.

[olliecat]

Here are the details from the GRO index for the marriage...

Marriages Jun 1844 Chelmsford 12 81
CRUSSELL, William
WISBY, Mary

The information above includes the names of the individuals, the quarter (Jun), year (1844), registration district (Chelmsford), volume number (12), page number (81). This is everything you need to order a certificate from the GRO. Make sure you enter everything exactly as given in the index, including the spelling of the names. You can double-check the information in the index for yourself using FreeBMD.

www.
freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl

Note: We may presume that because that are only two people listed that they definitely married each other, however please be aware that sometimes there are errors in the indexes - missing spouses, mis-matched vol/page numbers for example - so going purely by the index, there is no guarantee that William married Mary.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Also, if you give me the name of a child of William & Mary who is in your direct line, I'll see if I can find a birth in the index for the child.

[crezzer]

They had a son William cresswell born 1846 in woodham ferrers..

[olliecat]

They had a son William cresswell born 1846 in woodham ferrers..

I just knew you were going to be awkward.

Of the three children born before the 1851 census - William, Alfred and Emma - there is an entry for Emma in 1851 that is a good match but I can't find anything for Alfred in the Chelmsford registration district (which covers Woodham Ferrers) and the nearest match for William is this...

Birth Jun 1848 Chelmsford 12 49
CRUSSWELL, William

Unfortunately, I can see a William CRESWELL in the 1851 census born abt. 1848 in Margaretting, which is also in the Chelmsford district. So I have my doubts about this entry in the index being your William.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

One option for you is to see if the GRO can find the birth for you. In other words, let them do the searching. To do this, go to the certificate ordering page, select birth, type in a year such as 1847 and select NO for the question "Is the GRO Index Reference Number Known?"

Then a couple of forms further on, you will be able to specify the parents’ names as William and Mary and a location such as Woodham Ferrers, (or you can just enter 'Chelmsford reg. district' in the location box.) The GRO will search for a certificate for the year you specify plus a year either side. So if you specify 1847, then they will search for a certificate for that year as well as 1846 and 1848.

Your one problem will be in specifying the surname. The GRO can sometimes be sticklers and will only issue something that matches exactly and so if you specify CRUSSWELL, they may ignore CRESSWELL or CRUSSELL I don't think they will in this case, as there appears to be only one certificate to look at. Whatever the case, if they can't find a match for the criteria you specify you will receive a full refund.

Another option would be to ask the local registrar office to check for a birth certificate as they may be more flexible in their search and they are often much quicker. The contact details for Chelmsford registration office can be found here.

I see that your location is Chelmsford. There doesn't appears to be an email address for them on the contacts page but if you phone, they may give you an email. You can explain that you are looking to purchase a birth certificate - can they find one - etc. Please check with them that they will not charge you for a standard year +/-1 search, but will only charge for a certificate; if they find one that is.

Personally, I tend to go through a local office rather than the GRO for tricky birth or death certificates, but it depends on how friendly and helpful the office is. I have never dealt with Chelmsford so I can't say. If a birth certificate for William cannot be found, then you may have to opt for a birth certificate of one of his siblings in order to find out Mary's maiden name.

[silverender]

Hi Coromandel Ive been in touch with the person concerning the American Tree she replied that it was 99% guess work with no evidence to back it up. Ive made some headway this end so will carry on looking.

[silverender]

Like you Olliecat Ive not been able to find a birth for WILLIAM CRESSWELL born 1848 Woodham Ferrers Essex. So im going to apply for the Birth Certificate for his sister EMMA CRESSWELL born 1851. I will let you know how I get on.

[silverender]

Hi everyone just an update on how im getting on with William Cresswell. Today ive received the birth certificate for one of William and Mary's children. The mother's name is MARY WISBY (not GARD as previously thought). I will now send for the marriage certificate for William and Mary. Will keep you informed how I get on.