Free family history

[p.penn]

Not sure but I don't think the 1939 register is included in the subscription deal Karen

[lancashire lass]

Not sure but I don't think the 1939 register is included in the subscription deal Karen

you are right - when I looked for my mother, it gave her date of birth and one other person but to open it up you have to pay in credits (about £6.95p per household) Interestingly the other name listed was my great grandfather ... earlier this week I rang my uncle up (long story but I forgot to send a xmas card ) He told me that the house belonged to the great grandparents before they moved out so it was nice to see the name was like a sort of confirmation

In recent weeks I solved a mystery!

Of all the stops and starts, my great great grandfather William born in Liverpool has been the most difficult. Coincidentally, there are 2 "Williams" of the same surname born in the same year of 1836 in Liverpool (with both fathers also named William!) but for the life of me I just could not find an 1841 or 1851 census record for either anywhere in the country. One father was a merchant married in Bolton and their son William born in Liverpool (I was able to get the mother's name and birth date which helped)

Determined to find the elusive parents of William born in Liverpool, I decided to try searching the wife of the Bolton merchant and an odd 1851 census record came up - a totally different surname in a place near Bolton called Westhoughton ... she was widowed and had remarried, and her son William was the 15 year old stepson to the head of the household. The new husband was an overlooker (superintendent or overseer in textile mills) - it's possible this is how William became a mill mechanic (I found it odd how a son of a merchant would become a mechanic which is why I kept dismissing that link) Back to the 1841 census record in Liverpool, the father (also called William) is described as a "warehouse man" (not merchant) - I've since learned this means owns a warehouse. And after a search I came across the Cotton Traders in Liverpool - it would seem in the early 1800s, cotton from the US (grown and picked by slaves) was bought cheap and stored in warehouses in Liverpool until the price was right to sell on (and fabric to the US). As Bolton was a major textile town during the Industrial Revolution, this could explain the father's occupation as a merchant. So I searched records for the father and learned he was born in Liverpool too, and his father was called John (which might explain how the names John and William kept cropping up in the family tree LOL)

and never seem to come up with birth certificates on FMP. Am I doing something wrong?

I have found that too - I think you have to note the reference numbers and then buy the certificates from a register office but these only go as far back as 1837. Before that will be parish records providing the child was baptised ....

[p.penn]

Yes you do need the reference number. You need year, quarter (jan/feb/mar = Q1 etc) volume and page number. If you are not sure if its the right person, if you have other info (ie mother/father etc) you can tell them and if its not the right one, they don't charge you th full amount. The only thing is, you can overlook the right person this way, as I did with my gt grandfather's birth cert. I specified his name as Frederick Wilmhurst Hunt (which he was on everything) but when I found his grave, he was actually Frederick William Why he changed his middle name I have no idea, other than he was a mason and a Wilmhurst was a masonic poet. Thing is that I have probably found the right one and dismissed it, and would need to start over again. Grrrr. Costly! Luckily I found his baptism, but not the same

My family were in the cotton industry in Lancs too. Cotton dressers etc. The lower end lol

[KarenE]

I think I'll wait for another £1 offer, I'm too cheap! Plus getting frustrated because I got stuck.

My family on dad's side also in the cotton & silk industry in Lancashire! A fair few seamen & labourers too. Perhaps we're all related somewhere down the line

[lancashire lass]

I think I'll wait for another £1 offer, I'm too cheap! Plus getting frustrated because I got stuck.

My family on dad's side also in the cotton & silk industry in Lancashire! A fair few seamen & labourers too. Perhaps we're all related somewhere down the line

have you tried these 2 sites yet? if I was honest, I think the familysearch was very useful and where I managed to find quite a few new names

I also made use of 2 other "free" sites called Family Search and Lancashire On-line Parish Clerks (most of the family barely moved 10 miles from around Bolton so I was able to find out quite a lot)

FMP does seem limiting before the census records (although this morning I did find another name to add to the family tree) and now that I'm getting into the late 1700s I'm finding it more difficult so still revisiting familysearch site.