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Finding a Birth Certificate

Discussion in 'Any questions?' started by SueMay, Jan 22, 2021.

  1. SueMay

    SueMay LostCousins Member

    Could someone please tell me if it is possible to get a birth certificate for someone using just a birth date, possible names and place? Names of parents unknown.

    Basically, do gro.gov have a service which will look into it and, if they do, how much it would cost?
     
  2. peter

    peter Administrator Staff Member

    You can order a certificate without providing the references, but it will cost more and there's no guarantee of a result.

    Make sure you follow the advice in my Masterclass before placing your order.
     
  3. SueMay

    SueMay LostCousins Member

    Thank you Peter. Will take a look. Basically from 1939 register, I have the name of the person and a date of birth (1904), never married but she and 'partner' (married to someone else) took up another surname. According to information passed on to daughter, who ended up in care when mother died in 1940, we have her maiden name. Have looked everywhere but can't find anything.
     
  4. peter

    peter Administrator Staff Member

    Does the daughter's birth certificate not give her maiden name? Have you found her on the 1911 Census? (And if not, have you wondered why not?)
     
  5. SueMay

    SueMay LostCousins Member

    Yes, have a maiden name... But no sign of her on the 1911 census.

    Daughter passed away a couple of months ago, she had been searching for many years without success. Now the grand-daughter has taken on the mission.

    Daughter has a 208 cM DNA match to my husband, as well as a match to his half siblings. Interestingly she also has a 398 cM match to someone whose father was a foundling in 1933.

    You ask if I have wondered why we can't find her on census. My only thought is that she wasn't brought up with the surname of her father and possibly adopted it later.... Perhaps she was illegitimate...

    Would it be possible for me to share more information? I don't need to mention daughter (who passed away recently in USA) or name of other DNA match whose father has also deceased.

    Hopefully you can make sense of all I've said, just jotted down bits as they came to my head. Have been working on this for a few weeks now and need some fresh eyes and thoughts.
     
  6. peter

    peter Administrator Staff Member

    What a shame she didn't join LostCousins - I suspect the mystery would have been solved long ago.
    If you haven't already followed my earlier suggestion to work through my Masterclass (Finding birth certificates), now's the time - it will force you to consider (or reconsider) a wide range of possibilities. Always take advantage of the Masterclasses - they're free, simple to follow, and provide a structured framework for dealing with messy problems.
     
  7. SueMay

    SueMay LostCousins Member

    Yip, I read the Masterclass (Finding birth certificates), looked into all the alternatives. Sadly, we don't have any names for parents or siblings, only a first name, date of birth from 1939 register and surname on children's birth entries. May need to wait for January 1922 to see if she, hopefully, appears on the 1921 census.
     
  8. peter

    peter Administrator Staff Member

    If you've read the Masterclass you'll have a list of possible reasons why you can't find either the birth index entry or the 1911 Census entry. What are they?

    Also, you didn't answer my question about the daughter's birth certificate - do you have it or not?
     
  9. SueMay

    SueMay LostCousins Member

    My apologies. I do not have the daughter's birth certificate. As far as I know, the grand-daughter has it. I was able to find it registered on freebmd. She has the death entry for the mother who died of TB in 1940, which has the father's name as blank. She has been giving me all the information. She has said that she will send me copies but hasn't. I would prefer to see them for myself.

    In the meantime I just continue looking in the hope something comes up.

    1911 census:
    There are 73 girls with the name or close variation of her name, more or less 5 years either side on her birth date living in England.
    I have looked into 8 living within the area the family were either born or living in, as well as the area the family originated from and surrounding counties.
    From there I looked at who her father was and where he was born, married (getting maiden name of mothers) etc., then father’s father (which is where I believe the link is).

    Hopefully I have answered your questions.
     
  10. peter

    peter Administrator Staff Member

    I suggest waiting until you've seen the birth certificate before going any further.
     
  11. SueMay

    SueMay LostCousins Member

    Thanks Peter, yes, that's what I'm thinking. I have reminded the daughter to send it to me. She lives in the USA. Her mother, June (the daughter) was put in care after the grandmother, Ada, died.

    In the 1980's the daughter, June, came over with her husband and tried to get records but was told that they had been burnt in a fire o_O. Also had a problem when trying to find one of June's sister's, they were told she was lost in the system, however after talking to another distant relative, who was the head of a hospital in London, he found her within 1/2 an hour.

    At this rate I will be building a huge tree for someone with the same surname living in London :D

    I've also asked if she has her DNA on Gedmatch in case there is a possible match there which could help. I guess I'm clutching at straws now. ;)
     
  12. peter

    peter Administrator Staff Member

    Have any of your husband's 1st cousins tested? It would be useful to confirm that you're looking at the correct side of his tree.
     
  13. SueMay

    SueMay LostCousins Member

    My husband's half siblings have also been tested and are a match which is why we feel confident that we are looking at the right side.
     
  14. SueMay

    SueMay LostCousins Member

    Update: Found birth certificate
     

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