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Muggins in Sussex
29-08-09, 15:00
LOL!!! - So I don't mind if no one answers!!! :d:d:d

I have spent years trying to discover someone's identity.

I know the person's forename, his D.O.B. (in 1919), and his baptism date (I think).

But what I don't know is his surname!

Any ideas where I should start?

Thanks

kiterunner
29-08-09, 15:06
Do you know where he was born? And where he was baptised?

Olde Crone
29-08-09, 15:06
Not an impossible question, but a nearly impossible task!

You could go through the GRO index for 1919, noting every instance of the forename you have. You could then try to marry or kill them off one by one from the indexes.

In theory, the last one left will be yours but as we all know in this game, theory and practice rarely match.

OC

Nell
29-08-09, 15:07
Erm - so what do you know about this person? I suppose you could trawl through all the birth indexes now they are transcribed for the quarter(s) he was born - I assume you could narrow it down by county if not registration district?

Or you'd need to check the baptism registers, though I suppose if his name was William or John you wouldn't know if you'd found the right chap.

Or - if he is dead, you could check 1984-2005 death indexes on Ancestry using his dob as a check?

Muggins in Sussex
29-08-09, 15:12
Do you know where he was born? And where he was baptised?

Sadly I don't have any idea where he was born, Kite - not even sure which country!

I had a clue as to the church where the baptism took place, but someone kindly checked the records for me and found nothing.

I just have a dated photo of the person in what apppears to be a christening robe ....it could really have been anywhere ( although quite possibly in the Manchester area.) The photo has a forename but no surname!

Thank you

Muggins in Sussex
29-08-09, 15:18
Not an impossible question, but a nearly impossible task!

You could go through the GRO index for 1919, noting every instance of the forename you have. You could then try to marry or kill them off one by one from the indexes.

In theory, the last one left will be yours but as we all know in this game, theory and practice rarely match.

OC

Erm - so what do you know about this person? I suppose you could trawl through all the birth indexes now they are transcribed for the quarter(s) he was born - I assume you could narrow it down by county if not registration district?

Or you'd need to check the baptism registers, though I suppose if his name was William or John you wouldn't know if you'd found the right chap.

Or - if he is dead, you could check 1984-2005 death indexes on Ancestry using his dob as a check?

Thanks OC and Nell.

I started trawling, but it seemed, as OC says, impossible!! LOL - it felt as though as was doing the family tree of everyone in the country!!

I then narrowed it done a bit by finding all the people born with that forename in that quarter by using Family Relatives... but even then, there were several I couldn't eliminate.

Nell, he is still alive ! And I know quite a lot about him, but as he is still alive, I can't say

Margaret in Burton
29-08-09, 15:23
Joan

Have you tried FreeBMD just putting in the first name?

Muggins in Sussex
29-08-09, 15:35
Joan

Have you tried FreeBMD just putting in the first name?



Thanks Margaret :d

Yes, I have tried that.

This person is a very close relative, and the whole thing drives me to distraction sometimes...particularly as I am sure the person knows the answers but won't tell me - LOL

Kit
30-08-09, 04:02
Joan how many are there with the first name in the time frame you are looking at?

If there aren't many, or aren't many you can't rule out, maybe you could apply to the GRO specifying the DOB as a way to rule out those who aren't yours.

I think I know who you are after. Good luck.

HarrysMum
30-08-09, 06:13
Muggins..................I know it sounds dumb..........lol......but sometimes I need to just sit and do something really mind numbing.

If you want to pm the first name and dob, I'll trawl for you.

Muggins in Sussex
30-08-09, 09:12
Joan how many are there with the first name in the time frame you are looking at?

If there aren't many, or aren't many you can't rule out, maybe you could apply to the GRO specifying the DOB as a way to rule out those who aren't yours.

I think I know who you are after. Good luck.

Ooh that's a good idea, Toni - I'll try that

Thank you:)

Muggins in Sussex
30-08-09, 09:14
:)Muggins..................I know it sounds dumb..........lol......but sometimes I need to just sit and do something really mind numbing.

If you want to pm the first name and dob, I'll trawl for you.

Blimey, Libby :d - and thank you :)

I'll PM you

vallee
31-08-09, 13:39
is the man starting with E Joan ??? am I allowed to say that ??? delete me if not .
I dont mind having a look too

Muggins in Sussex
31-08-09, 14:34
Yes he is Val :d:d:d:d

And many thanks

vallee
31-08-09, 16:49
unless I am missing something here Joan?? there are only 9 men with the first name, you know what ,registered in 1919 in the UK have you discounted those?

Muggins in Sussex
31-08-09, 17:23
unless I am missing something here Joan?? there are only 9 men with the first name, you know what ,registered in 1919 in the UK have you discounted those?

I found about 40 I think, Val :d - on Family Relatives ...and have discounted the likliest :eek:

LOL!

vallee
31-08-09, 17:31
I only found 9 you know whos in 1919 ??? ummmmmmmmmmmm maybe I have the wrong E
let me have the details again will you pm or email me thanks

Muggins in Sussex
31-08-09, 17:33
LOL Val - will do ....you must be a glutton for punishment!! :d

vallee
31-08-09, 17:34
cannot bear mysteries lol

Muggins in Sussex
31-08-09, 17:43
LOL Val - you & me !!!

Kit
01-09-09, 08:15
If you know the exact date of birth the search period could be narrowed down to 2 quarters, couldn't it? The one the birth occurred in and the one after.

MargaretMarch
01-09-09, 12:32
If you know the exact date of birth the search period could be narrowed down to 2 quarters, couldn't it? The one the birth occurred in and the one after.

Good thinking Kit !

vallee
01-09-09, 21:44
Joan you never sent me that pm ???

Muggins in Sussex
02-09-09, 00:52
If you know the exact date of birth the search period could be narrowed down to 2 quarters, couldn't it? The one the birth occurred in and the one after.

Good thinking Kit !


I've been thinking it can be narrowed down to one quarter, because the birth was in early Feb :confused:

Muggins in Sussex
02-09-09, 00:53
Joan you never sent me that pm ???

Sorry, Val - I thought I had :o - but it seems I didn't!

Will do

MargaretMarch
02-09-09, 17:15
I've been thinking it can be narrowed down to one quarter, because the birth was in early Feb :confused:

If you PM me I don't mind helping with the search.
Margaret

Muggins in Sussex
02-09-09, 18:50
If you PM me I don't mind helping with the search.
Margaret

Ooh thanks Maggie :) ...will do

maggie_4_7
02-09-09, 19:04
I don't mind helping if you explain what/who we are looking for in a PM.

Muggins in Sussex
02-09-09, 19:08
Gosh Maggie:) thank you :)

Will pm you

kiterunner
02-09-09, 19:11
You aren't trawling through all the birth indexes for a quarter looking for people with a particular first name, are you? Surely ancestry's birth index search will find them all in one go?

Muggins in Sussex
02-09-09, 19:17
You aren't trawling through all the birth indexes for a quarter looking for people with a particular first name, are you? Surely ancestry's birth index search will find them all in one go?

I hope not, Kite! :d I thinking I'm just thinking that maybe might be able to think of a new angle on this :confused:

HarrysMum
02-09-09, 20:28
You aren't trawling through all the birth indexes for a quarter looking for people with a particular first name, are you? Surely ancestry's birth index search will find them all in one go?



I'm just checking that.............I thought all of them would come up, but there doesn't seem as many as I thought there would be.

MargaretMarch
03-09-09, 15:26
I was trying to think of other ways of finding info about your EW and wondered if you knew what schools he went to and whether you could contact anyone through friendsreunited who are registered at those schools for the years concerned. Regardless of the birth cert name you might find someone who remembers EW with parents FW and BW.
It might also be worth joining the Cheshire FHS to see if there are any school records available locally to search.
Maybe someone on here or another forum might live in the area and can look for you if the records are not online.
Is the address where they lived still there? could there be anything we could look at (other than the 1921 census:)) that might give some clues.
Margaret

MargaretMarch
03-09-09, 15:28
Another thought - have you found FW's WW1 record? that might have some info as they did look at BC's for children who were declared.
Margaret

MargaretMarch
03-09-09, 16:52
I found the marriage for Frank and Beatrice in Bucklow 1905 so looked for births with their surname W soon after and there are 2 that look interesting. I wonder if you have any siblings for your E.
On the 1911 they have 1 daughter and B is 35 which would make her 44 when E was born. F would have been 46 in 1919 so perhaps not in WW1.
Margaret

Muggins in Sussex
03-09-09, 20:21
I'm just checking that.............I thought all of them would come up, but there doesn't seem as many as I thought there would be.

Thank you -that's just what I thought, Libby! :d

Margaret - thank you...I really like the idea of school records :)- I don't have any idea which schools he went to, but know the address he lived at...I hadn't thought of that line and will look into it.

I found what I thought was FW's WW1 record card.....it didn't say much - would there be any more detailed records anywhere?

The marriage you found for FW & BR is the same as I have and I only know of one other sibling...I met her once

Thank you again :)

vallee
03-09-09, 20:24
Joan did FW get a war pension ?? that might give you a clue

Muggins in Sussex
03-09-09, 20:29
Joan did FW get a war pension ?? that might give you a clue

Ooh - I don't know Val -any idea how I would find out?

vallee
03-09-09, 20:56
you could start with ancestry ?? I'll have a nosey shall I ?? what year was he born ?

vallee
03-09-09, 20:59
do you have his army reg number anywhere??

Muggins in Sussex
03-09-09, 21:16
Hi Val - if you have time that would be lovely, thanks :)

My sub has expired -

He was born in 1875 and I found his medal during one of my rummages!

The number on the back is 255747 and it says he was a private in the Cheshire Regiment

Thanks again :)

vallee
03-09-09, 21:25
okay but I just looked and there are lots of FWs so dont worry if you dont see me for a week

Merry
03-09-09, 21:28
He was born in 1875 and I found his medal during one of my rummages!

The number on the back is 255747 and it says he was a private in the Cheshire Regiment

Thanks again :)

Are you sure that number is correct?

vallee
03-09-09, 21:42
I was going to ask that Merry ??

HarrysMum
03-09-09, 23:22
Well..............I can't find that number in the first 150 FWs.

If there's a few of us searching, maybe we could get together and do a few each.

Was there ever any hint of a middle name?????

kiterunner
03-09-09, 23:30
Libby, you can just type the number into the search box, can't you?

Merry
03-09-09, 23:33
Libby, you can just type the number into the search box, can't you?

That's what I did Kite. I don't know who we are looking for, but there was no one with those initials and that number didn't match anyone in a Cheshire regiment.

vallee
03-09-09, 23:48
I think its the wrong number

HarrysMum
04-09-09, 00:36
I think it's the wrong number as well, although there were a few people with a couple of numbers and some were similar.

I was working on the name and hoping something would jump at me.....lol

Muggins in Sussex
04-09-09, 06:26
I am so sorry everyone ...and seriously embarrassed :o:o:o:o

I had added a seven to the end of the number. It should have been 25574. - I've no idea how that happened

*Crawls into hole*

HarrysMum
04-09-09, 08:19
Don't worry about it.....................still can't find him.....lol

I've rellies coming for the weekend, but if I get a chance I'll come back to it.......I can't stand not being able to suss it out.....

HarrysMum
04-09-09, 08:23
Got his medal card...................I swear it was not there a minute ago....lol

Merry
04-09-09, 08:27
I've found a medal card too, with those initials. Didn't know that was the name you were looking for!

HarrysMum
04-09-09, 08:30
I've sent a pm, Merry.

MargaretMarch
04-09-09, 08:54
I'm having to travel today back to the UK from Spain so won't be able to help until tomorrow at the earliest.
Margaret

vallee
04-09-09, 11:27
grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

vallee
04-09-09, 11:47
Joan as you have his reg number why dont you send for his Records might give you some ideas ??
I did try looking for pension records on Ancestry but none with his reg number unless I missed them , but according to the medal card if I read it right he was discharged the 12/1/1918 ? so plenty of time for him to be you know whos Father ?

Merry
04-09-09, 12:06
Joan as you have his reg number why dont you send for his Records might give you some ideas ??


If they survived!

vallee
04-09-09, 12:29
yes Merry I realise that but you never know ?

Muggins in Sussex
04-09-09, 21:18
Thanks everyone :)

I guess it must be worth sending for FW's WW1 Records - there could be a clue!!

Might I be able to look for them at Kew tomorrow? I am not used to going so far back in my research! :d - I am used to being rooted in the 1930s and
40s !:d

Uncle John
04-09-09, 21:22
Tie a piece of string to your wrist and the other end to the chair so you can find your way back.

vallee
04-09-09, 21:31
good luck Joan hope you find something

Lynn the Forest Fan
04-09-09, 21:47
Joan, Kew would certainly be the place to look for his war records, although many have been lost. Good luck :)

Muggins in Sussex
04-09-09, 21:58
Thanks all ..I will try - and take my ball of string as per UJ's advice!!:d

Merry
04-09-09, 22:53
Fingers crossed for you that the record is there!

Muggins in Sussex
05-09-09, 07:28
Thank you Merry:)

vallee
05-09-09, 15:02
is she back yet ????????JOAN

Muggins in Sussex
05-09-09, 20:05
is she back yet ????????JOAN

Yes she is!!! LOL!! But no news :( - will require another visit!

vallee
05-09-09, 22:01
oh shame does that mean his war records were destroyed

Muggins in Sussex
05-09-09, 22:15
oh shame does that mean his war records were destroyed

It's all a bit embarrassing TBH, Val - I got to Kew very late due to having to circle Gatwick airport ( in a car!!) several times in search of non-delivered new PC - it's a long story!

When I got to Kew, I found out what I needed to look for (WO363) and it was on microfiche!!

Now the really embarrassing bit :o:o:o:o - I have never used a microfiche (or is it microfilm?) reader before, and by the time I found someone to show me how it all worked, it was nearly time to go home!!!!!

So I will have to go back...if I ever emerge from my hole!

Merry
05-09-09, 22:25
What letter are Ancestry up to?

Mary from Italy
05-09-09, 23:47
N for service records, I think, but their database doesn't include officers or men who were killed in action.

MargaretMarch
16-09-09, 11:55
The medal card shows he was a private so hopefully the records have survived and Joan will have some luck.
Margaret

annswabey
16-09-09, 15:33
Just to say that Ancestry DOES have service records for those killed in action (if their records have survived, of course)

Muggins in Sussex
17-09-09, 06:35
Thank you for all your replies.

I don't think that the person was killed in action, but have heard a rumour that he was badly injured.

Will have to go back to Kew very soon