France - look up

[chrissy29]

Is anyone able to check some French births for me?

Alfred W Lake - c1858
Anne/Annie E Lake - c1860

Parents: Alfred Lake bUK   and Uranie Pfisterer bSwitzerland

Many thanks

[PrueM]

Hi chrissy,

Unfortunately without an area of France to look in it would be very difficult to find these births.  French records are still kept locally and there isn't a central index.  However when you do get lucky and find a civil record, they are generally extremely informative.

[jorose]

Are you sure on the parents' names?

I see an Alfred and Annie of those ages on the 1871 census in Lambeth but to a William and Emily (Emily listing herself as b. France), and with more siblings.   There is also a baptism for a Annie Lake at the British Chapel in Lille, parents William Lake and Emilie.

Her birth is in the French civil records (indexes) as Annie Emilie Lake, b. 23 Jan 1860, as are younger siblings, Elizabeth Antoinette (b. 14 Jan 1863), Edouard Henri (b. 2 Jan 1865), and  Clara Felicie (4 November 1867), but Annie's birth shows her mother as Marie Josephine Emilie Malfoy.

[jorose]

Adding:
I see "Urania" Lake on the 1881 census but none of her children are born France. She is "Mariah" in 1871 (widowed) and "Maria" in 1861 with Alfred in Marylebone.  Her Alfred and Ann are born London (Marylebone), and there are possible births for them on freebmd.

I expect somebody saw the Alfred and Annie (children of William and Emilie) who are living together on the 1881 census and got them mixed up with the other Alfred and Annie.

[chrissy29]

Thanks for your responses - a red herring, then - I saw them on the census, same names, same ages and it was a long shot kind of enquiry. Uranie's elder sister lived in France for part of her life and I just couldn't find her on the 1851 or 1871 census. Yes, I have the children's Marylebone births, but had some momentary confusion!