BARR James. No family records found prior to birth. Help please!

[TOM1972]

Hi Everyone,

A friend of mine has asked me to look into her family tree for her, especially her fathers side. Details of her parents are:

Father: James BARR, b 5/10/1919. Possibly Scotland. D Manchester, lancs.
Mother: Nora CLIFFE, b 19/8/1928. Manchester Nth, lancs. D Manchester, lancs.

Marriage: 1949, Manchester, Lancs.

I have found lots of information about the maternal side, but can't find a thing relating to her fathers family. Possible adoption, me thinks? No details on his marriage certificate to give any clues either.

Any idea where I can go from here? Any assistance is appreciated, I've hit a total wall. And to complicate things, BARR is a real common Scottish surname! Grrr.

Thanks in advance.

Tom.

[Rosinish]

Hi Tom,

My 1st thought would be to check the 1939 register for that area to see if he is on it.

I haven't done any searches myself yet so not sure what info. it has but someone will be along soon to tell you.

Annie

[Rosinish]

Does your friend know if he had any siblings & what their names were?

This could help enormously.

I have done part of a Barr family tree with a James but I don't have a d.o.b unfortunately but between 1919 & 1939?

Annie

ADDED....Does your friend recall any place names mentioned in Scotland?

[TOM1972]

Hi Annie,

Unfortunately, she doesn't know if he had any siblings, he never mentioned any all the time he was alive. When you say about checking the 1939 register, do you mean electoral?

I've not been doing family trees that long, so I'm learning myself all the time.

It's just really sad that I can't provide her with any details, she's thought about his family for years. Her mothers family have loads of stuff, members of the Freemasons and allsorts.

Thanks for your reply though, it's really very much appreciated.

Best regards,

Tom.

[TOM1972]

Oooh, just seen your addition, she seems to think the Glasgow area if that helps.

Thanks again.

Tom.

[Rosinish]

she seems to think the Glasgow area if that helps.

I will have a wee check to see how many James Barr's are there for that yr +/- 2

Annie

[Rosinish]

For the whole of Scotland 1917 - 1921 there are only 52 (3 pgs)....worth a look as it would cost more trying Glasgow/Glasgow City/Lanark

Credits on www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk are pay-per-view in £7 batches for 30 credits.

The indexes with the 52 names would be 3 credits at 23p per page.

Once you look at the index it will give the area names & your friend may recall one of the areas but any cert. which may be a possibility would need to be ordered at full price of £14 I think.

Yes, the 1939 register can be found online but although the index is free, you would need to pay to view but it would give you an idea if he was in the Manchester area at the time?

Annie

[TOM1972]

Thanks for this Annie, I'll see what I can locate.

Much appreciated.

Tom.

[Gibel]

What was James' father's name on the marriage certificate?