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FARMER Charles Edward

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treesearcher

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The earliest record I have of my great grandfather is his army record of 1879 when he joined the Royal Artillery aged 19, so his birthdate would be around 1860 and he stated that his place of birth was Kings Norton. His next of kin was his father Henry Farmer (bricklayer/patent oven builder)who lived in Handsworth and he had two younger brothers called John and Harry. I have been unble to find birth or census records prior to 1879 to validate this information. In 1891, Charles married Harriet Moth in Hampshire and he died of T.B. in 1901, leaving Harriet with two small children, Howard Spencer Farmer and Winifred Marguerite Farmer. I really would appreciate any suggestions as to how I can move my research forward and find Charles Edward's birth certificate as despite many attempts with the births index, I have been unable to purchase a birth certificate that tallies with a father called Henry. I hope that there might be some new ideas out there as my previous thread has left me still searching!!
 
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Hi there. I have never known a family to totally disappear like this one has, I have looked on the 61/71/81 census, for all counties - zilch. As you can't find Charles in the GRO registers either have you considered that the family changed their name at some point, or maybe it was just Charles who changed his name. It would be a long haul if that is the case, but I can't think where they can all be hiding before 1879.:)
 
Treeseacher...you state that Charles had two younger brothers.....do you know this for certain ?.......if not check the family of Rosa Farmer born 1850 on the 1871 census.....?
 
:angel: Now this may be clutching at straws... but people often did not give their right ages when entering the army for many reasons, so Charles may have been younger or older than was stated on his records.
Also Even though Henry may have been known and called Henry that may have been a second or third name, especially if all first born sons were named Charles.

On those theories , I have found two marriages of both a Charles and a Henry with in the time frames, both living in Kings Norton.
Depending on how desperate you are, it could be worth following one or both these up.
Their occupation should be on their marriage certificates and you can ask about this before purchasing either.
[SIZE=+1]Marriages Mar 1858 [SIZE=-2](>99%)[/SIZE][/SIZE] Farmer Charles King's N. 6c425

[SIZE=+1]Marriages Mar 1863 [SIZE=-2](>99%)[/SIZE][/SIZE] Farmer Henry King's N. 6c498

May also have something here...
Henry's parents.(Re the name Spencer "Howard Spencer Farmer " ):
FROM LDS Site
Charles FARMER Sex: M (AFN: 1Q8N-KXT)
Event(s):
Birth: Abt 1805
, , , England
Parents: (None stated)
Marriage(s):
Spouse: Margaret SPENCER (AFN: 1Q8N-KZ2) Marriage: Abt 1832
, , , England

It was common in the past to use Mother/Grandmother/Gt Grandmother's maiden names as middle names for children.
 
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Thank you so much everybody, I feel I may have a way forward at last. Will try all the suggestions and will post any positive results. Meanwhile, if anyone has any more ideas please please let me know.m Thanks again :)
 
Well today I have sent for the marriage certificates for Henry and Charles Farmer as suggested in post by Pomgolian and yes I am feeling desperate trying to trace this family, My research on Charles Farmer didn't throw up any matches with the other family names.
My grandfather Howard Spencer Farmer attended the Royal Hibernian Military School in Dublin (for orphans/impoverished children of the military) after his father died and I just wonder if the Farmer family originated from Ireland. Any suggestions anyone, as I see the census records for Ireland have been destroyed.
 
Farmer

Hi there,
I have the name Farmer in my tree (No connection to yours) but even a simple name like Farmer can be misspelt,,,,on a couple of census they are
listed as FANNER....might be worth having a looksee for variations on the spelling of their name.
Happy hunting !
Margaret.
 
Quite a few of my searches have resulted in spelling differences Hough was hugh and haugh. I sometimes just put the christian name in though it helps if you know the county or year of birth.
 
I am still searching for birth records for Charles Edward Farmer . As some time has passed since I posted the request, is there anyone out there with any new ideas?
 
His army record states he was born in Kings Norton and his age in 1879 is given as 19. His army record also states that he has younger brothers John and Harry and that his father's name as next of kin is Henry and that he is living in Handsworth.
 
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