FINDING FAMILY WITH LITTLE INFORMATION :S

[smudge1990]

Hi, I'm looking for my ancestors on my mother's father's side, but it is proving really difficult because my grandfather does not know anything about anyone older than his father... All he knows is that his father had a brother called Claude, and two sisters called Ivy and June.... He doesn't know if there are any more of them.  The only issue is that Roland Todd was born in 1924 and his mother's maiden name on the birth indexes record Balcombe as the mother's maiden name...

It is rumoured that Roland's mother and father lived on a barge..  Roland is registered in Hastings, Hampshire but no one is sure whether they moved on from there afterwards. 

Claude is recalled to be the oldest (my grandfather believes) ..

Other than this, I have nothing to go on... I'm not sure where to start, Ancestry does not list a Claude Todd with a mother's surname Balcombe which makes me think that he may have been born before 1915 and the maiden names of those before 1915 is not shown :/

I'm just stuck really :S

[KGarrad]

You should simply start at the beginning!

Purchase the birth certificate of your grandfather (unless he has a copy you can look at).
That will show his parents names.

Once you have their names, try to find their marriage.
Buy the marriage certificate, and you will have both father's names and the ages of the happy couple.

From there you can find the births of the couple.

Once you get back to 1911 or before, you can use the census returns.

P.S. This marriage looks likely?
December qtr 1909
Hastings district    vol 2b, page 63

Todd, Henry Herbert
+ and on the same page +
Balcombe, Edith Ellen

[groom]

Hi  from FreeBMD  http://www.freebmd.org.uk

Births Mar 1912   
Todd    Charles W    Balcombe    Rye    2b   1   
 
Births Sep 1914   
Todd    Eric    Balcombe    Rye    2b   8   
 
Births Sep 1921
Todd    Edward G    Balcombe    Hastings    2b   51   
 
Births Jun 1924
Todd    Roland    Balcombe    Hastings    2b   57

[omega 1]

Hello smudge

Welcome to Rootschat 

I have been doing some digging

For future referance

Henry Herbert,transcribed Albert Todd
16 Aug 1885 at Guestling,East Sussex,son of Henry & Ann Elizabeth.At
the time Dad was a Gardener.

Guestling is in between Hastings & Rye,East Sussex

Henry Herbert Todd

Reg Dis,Hastings

Sept Q  1885,2b 14.

Kind Regards

omega