Sussex in general / more specifically Brighton and Hastings

[Tom Huygens]

Does anyone know why there are so little parish records available online for Sussex? I have been looking on Ancestry, Findmypast and Familysearch, but there is very little to be found.
I know they must exist, since from time to time something pops up in a forgotten tree somewhere online...
Looking for my 2nd great-grandfather in Brighton, I had to pay a professional genealogist based in Sussex to go look up things for me in the archives. He didn't find anything though.

In the same search, I would like to know if there is anyone who is per chance going to the Sussex archives in the near future and is willing to look up something for me...

I know my 2nd great-grandfather, William Henry Graham, was born in Brighton in or around 1819. His father's name was George, a machinist.
I have not yet found WH (and neither did the genealogist), but I did find a George Graham in Brighton, who had a son George in 1818. If this birth/baptism record says anything about the father's professional occupation, I might get a bit closer to the truth... The exact date of this record is July 5, 1818, in Brighton St Nicholas.

Thanks in advance for either hints on how to gain access to the registers myself without travelling to the UK, or for the look-up of this particular record...

Tom

[Hampshire Lass]

Hi Tom,

Sussex Family History Group have parish records online and the annual membership subscription to gain access to these records is around £11  ...... possibly more for overseas members as they post you a quarterly magazine.

The marriage records are available on a separate cd which can be purchased from them.

The baptism on July 5th shows George is the son of George and Mary. George is a coachman and they are living in Church Street.

Hope this helps you. Good luck in your search.

[Tom Huygens]

Thanks for this! I will get some information on the Sussex Family History Group and probably become a member if they have records.

Thanks for the info on George as well!

Tom

[Hampshire Lass]

That's ok. Just Google them and you should find their homepage and membership details.

Good luck.

[Christine53]

Here they are :

http://www.sfhg.org.uk/

UK subs have gone up to £15.75 this year , overseas £17.85

I find it very useful but bear in mind it's just births and deaths , marriages are on CD 1538 1837, although there is other material available.

[Tom Huygens]

I bought a subscription, but had no luck finding my ancestors...
And their information is also quite incomplete, unfortunately. Some of the people I do have baptism records for via other sites are not even mentioned

[sillgen]

Who are you looking for?    You have to search for the exact spelling that was transcribed so Johnson won't find Johnston etc.
Give us a few names and dates and you may get some local people responding who will be able to help.

[Ringrose]

What about Sussex OPC site.There are quite a few records on there and you may be lucky.Like you I've found the Sussex records sadly lacking and I too joined the Susex FH with no luc
Ringrose

[Tom Huygens]

Who are you looking for?    You have to search for the exact spelling that was transcribed so Johnson won't find Johnston etc.
Give us a few names and dates and you may get some local people responding who will be able to help.

I was looking for Grahams but there are very few. I checked on Graham, Grayham and Graeme.
The ones I actually need are:

William Henry Graham
born 1819 in Brighton
carpenter
living in Hastings in 1852

George Graham (his father)
machinist
residence or abode unknown

I was looking for any other Grahams who might be connected.
A professional genealogist already visited the archives for me but came up with almost nothing.

The only thing I was able to find, but it's a stretch, is a William Brayham in Hastings in 1851.
He has the right age and is also a carpenter, but there is that one letter and the fact that this one was born in Kent and not Brighton.