Biddle

[debid76]

Hi,

I am trying to find information of John Osborn Biddle. From his death certificate, I have a birthdate of Feb. 23, 1880. His mother's name was Sarah Ann Osborn and father Fredrick Biddle. I have found that his mother, Sarah, was possibly born in Wolverhampton. I have conflicting dates for her birth. It is either 1853 or 1863 from what I have found thus far. Her father is named John Osborn and for her mother Penning. Fred, Sarah and baby John left for America in 1881 and it seems as though the father passed away before 1910, as only Sarah and the children are in the 1910 U.S. census.

I am hoping to get a definite birth location for John.

Thank you, in advance, for your time and assistance. I am new to researching my English ancestors and am very happy to have come across this site!

Debby

[Tati]

Hi Debby,

At first sight, this birth registration looks likely to me

John Biddle - Mar 1880 - Wolverhampton 6b 548

The birth certificate would show the exact place of birth.

The parents were married in Wolverhampton district in June quarter 1879.

Seems they travelled to America as soon as 1880 - there's a New York arrival for the family on 21 July 1880, Ship Abyssinia)


 

[debid76]

Hi Tati,

Thank you for the reply. I have found a birth certificate for a brother of John's born in the U.S. Sarah is said to have been born in Birmingham and Fred in Yestershire. Would you be able to tell me if this is consistant with the other information I included in the previous post?

I would like to order the birth certificate of John and the marriage certificate of Fred and Sarah, but want to be as sure as possible that these are the people I am looking for. Also, are these records on microfilm with the Family History Centers or are they only available through purchasing them?

As I said, I am just recently starting the search for my English ancestors and I am slowly learning how to find them! 

I do thank you very much for your assistance! 

Debby

[Tati]

Hi Debby,

Strange, that - there isn't a county called Yestershire at all. I wonder what it should be ... Birmingham is in Warwickshire, which isn't that far from Staffordshire (Wolverhampton).

I'm not having much luck identifying Sarah Ann on an earlier census with any certainty, or finding a marriage of a John Osbourne to a Penning. I do think Sarah Ann was born ca. 1854 rather than 1864. This would sort of tie in with her age at death, the 1880 ship list where she's 25, and the birth of Frederick in 1884 when she's 31.

I'm afraid birth certificates can't be looked up anywhere - you have to order them.
https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/default.asp

At least you have a consistent birth date for John, so that you will know whether it's the right boy or not when you have the cert in hand.

To look up a marriage, you need to know which church it took place in (providing it was a church marriage in the first place). Unfortunately I can't see it on either one of the familysearch sites or here http://www.wolverhamptonhistory.org.uk/resources/familyhistory/index.html 

[debid76]

Thank you for the reply. I will start with ordering John's birth cert and see where it leads to. I think I found when his father, Fred, died and will be ordering that death cert too. Hopefully these 2 docs will give me some good information!