Gertrude Annie Copeland

[Sheila-Ann]

Have recently discovered my grandparents were married in Bromley, 18/7/1904.  While my grandfather was born and died in Scotland, I think Gertrude was born in England, c 1876 as I have not been able to find her birth in Scotland.

Parents are Henry Copeland and Eliza Proctor, both of whom were alive on 18/9/1908 when Gertrude died in Glasgow, aged 32.

Interested to hear from anyone with any information on this family.

Sheila-Ann

[AMBLY]

Hi Sheila-Ann

FreeBMD have just one Birth Index entry which looks most probable:
http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/cgi/search.pl

Dec Qtr 1876  - Bromley - Gertrude Annie COPELAND - Ref: 2a 365

Cheers
AMBLY

[AMBLY]

The 1881 Census can be accessed here through LDS Transcription site:
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/frameset_search.asp?PAGE=census/search_census.asp

The 1881 gives her more precise p.o.b as Beckenham Kent, which is 2 miles west of Bromley
http://www.nwkfhs.org.uk/beck_plc.htm

Her  parents were born in Sleaford, Lincolnshire.

1881: Village High St Shop  - Beckenham, Kent
RG11 Piece 0849, Folio 23, pg 40
Head: Henry COPELAND 39, Builder, b Sleaford Lincolnshire
Wife: Eliza 38, b Sleaford
Dau: Eliza 14, Dressmaker, b Beckenham
Dau: Harriet 13, b Beckenham
Son: Tom 11, Scholar, b Beckenham
Dau: Edith 7, Scholar, b Beckenham
Dau: Gertrude 4, Scholar, b Beckenham
Son: William H. 8 mths, b Beckenham

Cheers
AMBLY

[Sheila-Ann]

Hi Ambly,

Yes, this certainly looks like it might be the family!  Thank you for your very prompt reply.

Am I correct in thinking that I should be able to get birth information on freebmd?  Will this give me names of Henry's and Eliza's parents?

Regards,

Sheila-Ann

[AMBLY]

Hi Sheila-Ann 

Have a read of the links below information about what FreeBMD is and does - which essentially, transcribes the original BMD Indexes, and therefore provides you with names, Registration Districts and GRO ref numbers to be able to order the certificate.   

FreeBMD in itself, doesn't provide (doesn't have) whatever information may be contained in any certificate they have indexed.  When you do order a certificate, you can make certain provisos, such as the name of  parent(s)  if you know it, to avoid ending up with incorrect certificates. Having said that, the Index  found for Gertrude is unlikely to be any other than your Gertrude!
http://www.freebmd.org.uk/
http://www.freebmd.org.uk/FAQ.html

http://www.freebmd.org.uk/Certificates.html
Here, you will also find information about what you can expect (hope) to find on an actual Certificate.

The birth certificate of Gertrude will not tell you anything of the parentage  of Henry and Eliza. It will (should) tell you the names of  the baby Gertrude Annie's  parents (mother at least!),  mother's  maiden name, father's  occupation, and the address of the birth, plus the name and address of whoever informed of the birth.

With the 1881 Census information, you can now look for the family backwards and forwards from that time in the Census - this may give you further clues (for eg: relatives living with them, the ability to compare stated pob and ages for consistency etc)

You are fortunate Gertrude died in Scotland, therefore her death certificate naming both parents and her mother's maiden name.

Looking at the 1881 Census, we can see the eldest child there  is stated b abt 1867.

FreeBMD Marriage entry, is probably the correct index for her parents marriage:
Henry COPELAND and Eliza PROCTOR on the same page containing 2 grooms and 2 brides
(when ordering, the proviso is that COPELAND marrried PROCTOR)
Sep Qtr 1865 Sleaford - Ref: Vol 7a, pg 661 661

The marriage certificate, should hopefully tell you the names of the father's of bride and groom. And witness' to the marriage may be other family members who can be connected via Census.

Cheers
AMBLY

[Sheila-Ann]

Hi Ambly,

Thanks for all the information!

It's a great start and gives me plenty to work on.  Will follow up your suggestions and see what I can find.

Thanks again,

Sheila-Ann