Getting a Swiss Birth Certificate

[jorose]

Given the details you have it seems like François b. 1836 should be yours; he is in the right place, at the right time; parents' names are close, and Pierre married so can't be the one.

Some record from Australia confirming when his birthday was would be one way of making sure.  Do you know if your Pierre Francois ever naturalised?

The department of Ain has a good site for genealogy:
http://www.archives-numerisees.ain.fr/

[suemartin]

Hi Jorose thank you for the link and your time to get back to me. I did not even think of naturalisation... I have marriage and death but no birth date as such... I will have a look around. thanks for the help[ I really appreciate it.

[Fayetta]

I am new to this site and reading through am so impressed by the help you received with the birth certificate in Switzerland.

I have been trying for years to find out about my great grandfather - Frederick Oeschger - who according to census/birth certs of his children etc was born Switzerland 1847.

We know he spoke German as he used to write in the margins of various 'serious' books - e.g. story of Thomas Carlyle.

He first appears on my grandfather's birth certificate at 5 Noel Street, London 30th November 1874.

He was not at this address in 1871 [census] though the mother of his children was - Emma Payne and her mother Caroline.

I can trace him from 1874 onwards, the birth of his 12 children - although for some reason he never married Emma, his addresses as a father and Master Cabinet Maker and later Antique Dealer till his death in 1926.

He died alone and rather separated from his family as he became slightly eccentric. however try as I may I cannot find his origins.

The name was changed because of the Wars and some called themselves Payne and some Oscar and a combination of the two. He finished up with quite a dynasty but we just do not know where it all started.  Please Please can anyone help?.
Fayetta 

[SwissGill]

Hi, it seems you have quite a problem with the Oeschgers, Osgars, Oscars, Paynes, etc.

In the 1841 Census there is a May Osgar (1790) with daughter Caroline (1822) both born in Middlesex.

But did you notice that in the 1891 Census, Caroline (mother of Head) gives her birth as Middlesex? Here the name is Oeschger which is not only a Swiss name but a German, too.

However, the place of birth is not important for searching ancestors in Switzerland. The records are kept in the town where the person's ancestors originally came from.

To give you an idea: My husband was born in St. Gallen in the Eastern part of Switzerland, as was his father, BUT the family originated from Galgenen in the Kanton (County) Schwyz and here are all the family records. The problem here is that the records are written in the old script (Sutterlin or other old scripts) which one has to learn to be able to understand the them.

It's not impossible and I think more online data are being made available and there is a wonderful Old Scripts Tutorium developed by the University of Zürich for those who can speak and read German:

http://www.adfontes.uzh.ch/1000.php

which gives online courses in reading the various Old German scripts (not just for Switzerland).

So you see, even if people would like to help you, without more information, it will be difficult especially as the name changes and the birth of Caroline Oeschger is maybe not Switzerland.

Maybe someone has an idea, though.....

[Manchester Rambler]

I think Caroline "Oeschger" on the 1891 census is an error for Caroline Payne, Emma's mother - she is correctly listed as Caroline Payne, mother-in-law, on the 1881 entry.

Rambler

[Fayetta]

Thanks for your interest Rambler - yes you are right and I have explained in an earlier reply with more detail
Fayetta

[Janscot]

Hi

I am researching a family by the name of MUDDOCK.  In particular, one of the family members, named Edward Reginald Preston MUDDOCK, was reportedly born in Geneva, Switzerland on 11 September 1886.  I would like to be able to confirm this as fact, if possible by accessing a copy of the birth certificate. 

I have tried the sites previously identified in this message board but without success; in one case the site could not be accessed. 

If anyone can help I would be most grateful. 

[GrahamSimons]

With that name he sounds as if he was a British national born in Switzerland... if that's so, have a look at this guidance:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/bmdatseaorabroad.htm

However he may well have been registered by the Swiss authorities as well....

[Billyblue]

My Catholic relatives (both French and French-speaking Belgian) had baptismal names they never used normally = e.g. Honore Charles was "Charles", Pierre Jean Olivier was "Olivier", so that could be what's happening here.

My Dad's maternal grandparents were French and Swiss, and came to Australia in the goldrush years. 
Dad's mother and her siblings were all known by their second Christian names;  Dad's sisters (but not his brothers, stangely) were all known by their second Christian names too.
Seems to be a pattern

Dawn M