Family Records Centre

[Little Nell]

Hi Louise,

If the dates you are searching are say about 100 years old or more, then the parish registers which are kept by the county record offices (NOT the local register office) are the only way to find the information you seek without buying a certificate.

The system work thus:

From 1 July 1 837 all births and deaths had to be reported to a local registrar, who in turn reported them to the superintendent registrar of the registration district. The superintendent registrar retained his own records but copied them, every three months, to the Registrar General at the GRO. Marriages also had to be registered. A marriage certificate (retained by the married couple) and two registers are completed at Church of England weddings. One register of the marriage entries is kept by the church. When the other register has been filled with entries (sometimes many years after some of the weddings took place) it is sent by the officiating minister to the superintendent registrar of the registration district in which the church is situated. However, every three months the minister must also prepare a further copy, from his register, of any entries of marriages taking place during that last quarter and send that copy directly to the Registrar General.


From Ancestral Trails by Mark Herber

And he also confirms:
The original registers that record births, marriages and deaths cannot be inspected by the public.

Hope you find what you are looking for.

Nell

[Tease]

Thankyou all so much for your help.

The main mystery that I am trying to solve is to get further back than my GGG Grandparents.

Here is what I have;

John Austin b 1810 approx Maidenhead  d?
Married Sarah ? b 1803 Russells Water, Oxfordshire approx d 1881 approx

They lived and brought up their 11 children in Ruscombe, Berkshire, which is where they all appeared to have stayed.

I cannot find marriage/death details or any info on their parents or sarahs last name.

Any help would be soooo gratefully received!

Many Thanks,

Louise

[nanny jan]

Hi Louise,

Could this be John?

From IGI (extracted record):

John Austin b 15 Sep 1807; bpt 10 Oct 1807, parents James Austin and Sophia Hill,  at Bray, Berkshire.   Not too far from Maidenhead.

Nanny Jan

[stanmapstone]

As their eldest son was born in c1834, their marriage pre-dated civil registration in 1837, so the only record will be in a parish register.
Stan

[stanmapstone]

You could try contacting the Berkshire Marriage Index which contains Marriages from 1538 to 1837 athttp://www.berksfhs.org.uk/berkshire/BerkshireMarriageIndex.htm
Stan

[nanny jan]

Hi Louise,

Do you have details of any children born after civil registration in 1837?  Their birth certs will show Sarah's maiden name.

Nanny Jan

[stanmapstone]

There were three children in the 1851 Census born after civil registration, so it will be easy to get a birth certificate.


Amelia Austin 11 
Ann Austin 9 
John Austin 41 
John Austin 3 
Robert Austin 17 
Sarah Austin 47 
Thomas Austin 11 
 
 
 Stan

[Barbara F]

Hello Louise
Do you have the census details for your family?  If not I can post them for you.
John gives different places of birth on the censuses eg Maidenhead, Raisbury (presumably Wraysbury) Staines.  It looks like Sarah died before 1881 and this could be the death reg (from Free BMD)

Deaths Dec 1873   
 
Austin  Sarah  76  Henley

Barbara

[Little Nell]

Hi Louise,

Maidenhead did not exist as a separate parish until the 19th century.  North of the Bath Road was the parish of Cookham, south of the Bath Road was the parish of Bray, so you may have to bear this in mind when searching.

Nell