RootsChat.Com
Beginners => Family History Beginners Board => Topic started by: Jillps on Monday 19 March 12 00:40 GMT (UK)
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Hi all,
I am thinking about trying to pull together my family tree. As I am one of the younger members of my family a lot had passed away before I was born. I have very limited information and dates regarding my immediate family and was wondering if anyone can tell me where to begin. I have looked on the internet and some companies want you to pay a registration fee, which I would be happy to do if it's of value. Any guidance would be appreciated.
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Hello and a warm welcome to Rootschat! ;D There are many threads on this topic, but basically, you should start with yourself and then write down information about each of your parents: Birth date and place; their marriage date and death dates, if you know them. Just continue on that same pattern for THEIR parents and so on. You can down load free pedigree charts and family group sheets from www.familysearch.org. You haven't told us what country your parents and grandparents lived....... no matter where, you still need to write down what you know.....and, then the fun begins! You should obviously try to verify what you know so that it can lead you to those areas you aren't sure about. There are lots of people willing to help you.....Just remember that Rootschat is NOT designed to help you with any living people, so please do not make reference to any. This will be a journey that will grab your heart and soul! ;D We look forward to helping you in any way. There are lots of FREE sources on line. Don't hesitate to ask for help here on Rootschat! Happy hunting! Pat
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Welcome to rootschat Jillps! :)
If you look at the top of the rootschat page you will see "Welcome, Forum, Help, etc" ... Click on "Forum", and the first thing on the list is "Beginners". Here you will find lots of hints and tips.
At this point do not part with any money. There are a lot of free resources online, some better than others depending on where your family are from. You can also get free trials with some of the subscription sites which would be wise to do before you pay up.
At Pat advised, write down as much as you know about your family. Always keep any reference numbers and details of where you found each piece of information (as many of us didn't at the beginning :() and it can help later on in your research.
How much knowledge do you already have about your ancestors? For example, do you know:
your grandparents or great grandparents?
dates of their birth or marriage?
If your research is in the UK this is a good simple free site that we all use:
http://www.freebmd.org.uk/
You may find some of your ancestors there.
Alternatively, if you would like a little help to get started, if you give us some names and dates (as long as the person is no longer living), we will try to help. Where are you located and where is your research? (not too much detail is required - eg. country and county will be enough).
One thing which throws a lot of beginners, is spellings of surnames. You need to be flexible, as in the past spellings were not so important. There are often numerous different spellings for some surnames, and even in the same document. So if your ancestor was 'Frederick Arthur Brown', do not dismiss 'Fredk Arther Browne'. ;) First names and middle names can sometimes be swapped around too - something to keep in mind. And complete misspellings happen a lot, so you may wish to search by first names if you can't find your ancestor in the census for example.
You also need to double check all of your findings against as much documentary evidence that you can find. There can be numerous people born around the same time in the same place, with the same names, so you need to ensure that you are following the correct Fred Brown for example. Your Fred may be a shoemaker, and the other Fred may be a farmer, so you would use the occupation to find the correct Fred.
If your research is in the UK, when you get back to family living in 1911 and earlier, the censuses, taken every 10 years, give a snapshot of the family and are a good way to trace siblings and earlier generations.
It sounds a bit overwhelming at first, but you will soon get the hang of it. And please just ask here on rootschat for help or confirmation.
Family history is a very addictive hobby and rootschat is the best place to hang out if you have a passion for it.
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Thank you so much guys, what a truly warm welcome.
I saw someone else on here that appears to be a member of my grandparents family doing some research so that has given me a bit more of a start than I had a few days ago. I am in the unenviable position of having very little information about my extended family. Both parents are deceased as are all granparents, auntie's and uncle's (as far as I understand)
In answer to some of your questions, I believe my Dad was born in Bradford, West Yorks and My Mum in Birmingham and all I have so far is their dates of birth, no idea when or where they were married (gosh is it bad that I know so little about my own parents ? :-\ )
The information I do have is My mum was Patricia May Lillian Simkiss born 19/5/1933 Died 16/02/2011 Married 3 times her last surname was Crookes, she had 2 brothers Edward, Gerald and a sister Elizabeth (no idea of dob for any of them and all deceased) No information on my Mum's parents as they had all passed before I was born.
My Dad Victor ? Crookes born ??/10/1931 (I think) died April 1982/3 (I was only young when he died so aren't certain of the exact date) he was one of 4 children according to the other person researching on here (Under the topic of Ethel Crookes) however I thought he had a sister too but I could be mistaken. My Grandma's name was Ethel Crookes.
I will gladly take your suggestions on board and keep thorough notes. I will begin by having a look on the freebdm website you suggested and see where that takes me.
Again thank you both for you very supportive offers of help, I do appreciate it.
Kind regards
Jill
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The "Ethel Crookes" thread is here. (for our reference as much as yours)
Hopefully you will get a reply from the poster on there.
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,556951.0.html
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Here is your mum's birth from the indexes:
Ap/May/Jun 1933
Patricia ML Simkiss
mothers maiden name Birch
Birmingham ref 6d 367
And her brothers -
Gerald M S Simkiss
mothers maiden name Birch
Jan/Feb/Mar 1925
Birmingham S
Edward R F Simkiss
Mothers maiden name Birch
Oct/Nov/Dec 1926
Birmingham S
and I wonder if sister ELizabeth was actually Vilma Elizabeth?
Ap/May/Jun 1928
mothers maiden name Birch
Vilma E Simkiss
Birmingham S
Getting your mum's birth cert will tell you her parents names.
Cam be ordered online from www.gro.gov.uk using the ref I gave above.
I cant see an obvious Simkiss/Birch marriage - so I do wonder if it was a second marriage and the bride was not actually called Birch for this marriage, or something like that.
But wil be easier to look when the onfo from Patricia's birth cert has been gleaned.
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By gum, you guys are quick!! This is great thank you. The information on all my mum's siblings is correct and 'Aunty Betty' was indeed called Vilma but she hated the name so used her middle name :)
How on earth did you find all that info so quickly? I will as you suggest order a copy of mums borth cert to confirm more details.
Thanks again
Jill
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There is a marriage in Worcester in 1920 between a
EDWARD T SIMKISS AND BLANCHE L BIRCH
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Dont know why that didnt come up for me, Gortonboy!
I can see it now.
May well be the right people, but best to get Patricia's birth cert to confirm.
If it turns out that parents are Edward and Blanche then we are well away!
With unusual names like Simkiss and Birch, I reckon you've found though!
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This is awesome, you guys are finding information faster then I can record it.....you're all amazing, thank you
I do think you've found the right one as I do recall the name Blanche on my mothers side...again, not your run of the mill christian name
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Death
Jan/Feb/MAr 1967
Bradford ref 2b 238
Blanche L Simkiss age 71
so looks like she was born about 1895/96 ish
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Possible birth
Oct/Nov/Dec 1895
Solihull 6d 565
Blanche Lillian Birch
...but of course this all depends on Patricia's mum from her birth cert being Blanche .. and then whether that Blanche is a Blanche Lillian, as I see there is another Blanche L Birch born not so far away within a few years.
So whilst this can be kept on the back burner, it is really best to go one step at a time and confirm each step as you go!
I just get carried away .... ;D
Have a look at FreeBMD yourself and enjoy.
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Gortonboy found the following details of a marriage between Blanch l Birch and Edward Simkiss details below.....
HI,ONLY MARRIAGE OF A SIMKISS AND BIRCH I CAN SEE IS
Civil Registration event: Marriage
Print Close
MarriageFinder: Edward T Simkiss married Blanche L Birch
Name:SIMKISS, Edward T
Registration district:Kings Norton
County:Worcestershire
Year of registration:1920
Quarter of registration:Jul-Aug-Sep
Spouse's last name:Birch
Volume no:6D
Page no:510
Name:BIRCH, Blanche L
Registration district:Kings Norton
County:Worcestershire
Year of registration:1920
Quarter of registration:Jul-Aug-Sep
Spouse's last name:Simkiss
Volume no:6D
Page no:510
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Yes, I know!!
That's why I was following up the lead of her being Blanche L Birch :)
and thus looked for a death of a Blanche L Simkiss!
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Hello Jillps & welcome :)
From marriage info. given by Gortonboy and yourself I just wanted to send this to keep in mind in case this is your Edward T Simkiss
( info is on A*****y)
Edward Thomas Simkiss born 1896 parish of Greet nr Birmingham Warwickshire
Enlistment age 23 Regiment RE Regt No 623106
Next of Kin brother Harold 2Bn Royal Warwickshire Regt.
there is an Edward & Harold living in Greet Birmingham on latest census - sorry can't post details :(
This looks to be the family on 1901 census Sparkhill Warwickshire
Edward Simkiss 5 Yardley Worcestershire with parents Edward 50 Dudley Marrie 28 Staffs siblings Violet 9, Maude 6, Ernest 3, Marrie 2, Frederick under 1 mth
Good advice from Lizdb on obtaining the birth certificate first to confirm parents names and move on from there by obtaining her parents marriage certificate
I have to agree it’s quite easy to get carried away :)
Here are a few links to some free search sites - you may get lucky
http://freecen.rootsweb.com/cgi/search.pl
http://freereg.rootsweb.com/
http://www.hunimex.com/warwick/bmd/bmd_indx.html
free to search credits to view
http://www.1911census.co.uk/
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Hi and welcome,
You can order certifcates online at:
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/
or from local Register Offices. Cost from GRO is £9.25; local offices will charge £10 from 1st April.
Commercial sites charge considerably more!
Nanny Jan
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Victor Crookes was actually born 19th October 1929 and his death is registered in the June.qtr. 1983.
He appears to have had 2 sisters besides 3 brothers - I won't name the sisters in case they are still living but one was in June qtr.1926 Bradford and the other in 1936 Hull.
The 3 brothers birth/death dates are:
Robin b.11/12/1930 Bradford, d.Aug.1993 Bradford
Bryan b. 16/7/1932 Hull, d. Sept.1999 Bradford
Colin Gilbert b.1/6/1942 Bradford, d.Nov.2001 Bradford
Annette
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Thank you all so much for this info, I'm documenting it all until the certificates come through to confirm details, but from the little I know about my family history, you guys are steering me in the right direction. Thanks again :)
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Here is the 1901 census for the Simkiss family referred to by Ladyhawk:
1901
Fromley Road (street name may be incorrect as it was difficult to read)
Yardley, Sparkhill St John
Edward Simkiss head married age 50 forwarding clerk (+unreadable word) born Dudley
Marie wife 28 born Staffs Sp---Lane? (difficult to read)
Violet daur 9
Maude daur 6
Edward son 5
Ernest son 3
Marie daur 2
Frederick son under 1 month
Harold son 1
(all children b Yardley)
RG13/2925/16/23
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Hi jillps think I maybe related to you as my grandad on my dads side is the Edward R F simkiss
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Hi Jillps,
Blanche birch(Simpkiss) was my dad's older sister and your mom Patricia was my cousin. My mom, Dad, sister and I were at your mom's wedding to Cyril Hopkinson in 1955 in Bradford and I have a photograph.I have the Birch family tree going back to the 1700's so if you want to contact me we can chat.
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Hi CB,
Welcome to Rootschat!
Just to make you aware, (your email address will be removed) as no email addresses are allowed on the forum but can be passed on via the PM system on the left side under the persons name but...
You need to have made 3 posts to enable it's use so just post another 2 times & you can move on from there.
See Help-Page: http://www.rootschat.com/help/pms.php
Good luck with the connection.
Annie
Added....I see you removed your email address before the Mods did :D
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Hello CBirch, welcome to RootsChat.
I have just checked Jill's email notifications and could see that she has turned off all notification apart from one topic, which is a different topic to this. I have sent a pm, but this was rejected from her service provider as it looks like it is no longer in use. Hopefully Jill will log in and see my message, she was last online last year.
Regards
Sarah
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Hello Sarah,
thanks for the update, it is a pity that Jill has moved on to another topic but maybe she will check back and see my post. Thanks again for your efforts.