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We are discussing Tracing family history
With Antoinette Buchanan, Stephanie Ryan and Jennifer Higgins

Question:
I am trying to locate some details about my wife's great grandfather, We have his marriage certificate, death certificate that indicate he was born in Devonshire in 1854, but there seems to be no records to verify. He was alleged to have been a remittance man but none of the family members,have been able to locate evidence of his birth. Do you have any suggestions on where to look please?

Answer:
Jenny - I expect that you have already checked the English Birth indexes at the General Register Office. They are available online, fully searchable, at Free BDM - although, please note that the database does not have complete coverage yet for 1854 or the years either side of it. You may also view digitised images of the pages of the English BDM indexes at Ancestory.co.uk free of charge. Don't forget to look at a year or two either side of his estimated date of birth in case the certificates you have aren't very accurate or he had a birthday later in the year.

Another avenue of research is to check the 1861 census for your subject. At that time he would have been 5 or 6 years of age and so most probably still with his parents. You can see if the area of your interest is covered on FreeCEN or use a website for which there will be a charge such as Ancestry.com or other similar sites such as 1837online . The National Library, some state libraries and genealogical societies subscribe to Ancestry.com so you may be able to view the date at no charge if you are close to one of these libraries.

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