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Thanks very much for your input everybody; I was interested in others' experiences and it has encouraged me to look at even certificates with a sceptical eye. For the record, both people signed with an X so I suppose there might have been some interpretation by the registrar.

I suspect the Conell is Connell; whether I'll really find out I don't know. As I've said, this branch of the family have historically proved to be unreliable so my mind is totally open.  I can't find the birth certificate of the child of these two (my grandma x3) because it would seem that the information gleaned from census returns after she was born aren't necessarily reliable. It drives you bonkers honestly, doesn't it?

Hi, we know about the sometimes haphazard nature of census returns, but how reliable do you believe certificates to be? I suppose the obvious answer is that they're as reliable as the information that is given to form them but a recent marriage certificate I received has provided me with more questions than answers.  I was excited to discover that my great x4 grandmother was Bridget Conell and that her father was John Conell, sailor. Can I find them on the 1841 or 1851 census? Nope. Not as Conell anyway, and now I'm wondering whether the surname is Connell rather than Conell as listed on the marriage certificate.  Neither Bridget or her husband could write so I suppose there is a certain reliance on how te registrar interprets the spelling of the name.  I suppose the question is - could the certificate be 'wrong' or is it more likely that the name 'Conell' has been transcribed as 'Connell' on the census returns?

This is doing my head in....there are so many rumours and stories about this branch of the family and their antics and supposed origins that it should be no surprise that here is another puzzle for me to try to sort out!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Jane,

Thanks for your response; I suppose due to upheavals in Europe anything is possible - people moved and people from different nationalities or origins may have moved to Germany.

I just wanted to ask, how did you find out about the origins of your 'German' ancestors?  Did you have anything to go on?  All I have is an 1861 census return and the marriage of Fidel Beurle's daughter.  Did you have more information to inform your research?  Also, did you use research naturalisation records?  I'm wondering if it would be worth my paying someone to research these at Kew incase they give me more specific information.  I'm thinking that Fidel Beurle must have been in the country a few years, as his daughter was born in Chatham in 1844 and married in 1863; he also married Bridget, (who became Bridget Bailey) who was from Middlesex.  Maybe when he anglicized his name he became a naturalised citizen??

Questions! Questions!  Your response has given me hope and encouraged my thinking in other directions though.  Many thanks!

Just to say thank you so much for all the help that has been given me.  I'll start wading through everything Chatham like to see what I can find. 

Many thanks!