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Where to start with scanty family history??

P

PauilH

proper brummie kid
I would like to have a stab at finding a little about my ancestors but have very little to go on other than my Mothers maiden and married names. I know nothing about my Father who on my birth certificate is given as unknown!
The entire family were brought up in various childrens homes in the 60s and we have absolutely no contact with each other and one of my sisters died in the early 70`s.
Would appreciate any help or advice anyone can give in kick starting my search.
Curious also if ancestry.co.uk is woirth shelling out a few quid fo??:)
 
Hi Paul,

Welcome to the forum! There are many free resources online so I wouldn't pay for ancestry just yet. Were you baptised? Often when a father is not named on the birth cert he is named on the baptism certificate its so worth checking that out. Working backwards from what you know, so get a copy of your mothers birth certificate and that will give you the names of her parents. If you know the names of any relatives living in Birmingham between 1912 - 1955 the online electoral rolls will tell you were they lived. Any help you need, let us know!

Macca
 
Although you say you have no contact with brothers and sisters do you know where they live? Do you think any of them are approachable and might hold some information for you? It often the best place to start with those that are living to try and get what information they know. Any other relatives Aunts or Uncles they might be able to give you some help. Beware you might be disturbing some bad ground and people may not want to give out information for whatever reason, The other thing I've found is you never get answers just more questions! Good luck hope you manage to get somewhere
 
Hi there, always start with what you know!
Having your mother's maiden name is a help to follow her line backwards, but without your father's name that side of your tree will,I think,be impossible.
There are numerous free sites, such as Free BMD, which can help with births, marriage and death searches,and some of the older census detail is free to view. There are also "free trials" availble at Ancestry and Find Your Past.
I personally wouldn't shell out for ancestry or anything before exhausting the free sites. Access to some sites are also available at local libraries as well,I think,if you are a member.Write down as much info as you can remember,dates etc and never be afraid to ask for for help!
Some people on here love "brick walls" and their help can be invaluable.
Good luck and be prepared to become totally addicted to this forum!!!
 
Hello Macca,
Many thanks for the speedy and helpful reply. I have absolutely no idea whether or not i was baptised . Is there anyway I could find this out? The other problem I have is i know so little about my Mother. Her name was Ethel Mary Heeney ( nee Jones ) and she claims to have been born in Rochdale Lancs but i have no idea when.
I have a feeling things are not going to be easy:)
 
Hello dwilly,
Many thanks for replying and so quickly too!!
Sadly my bother and remaining sister are estranged and this situation is not likely ever to change.
 
There are two Ethel Jones birth registrations you could send off for:

Births Mar 1915
Jones Ethel Jones Rochdale 8e 124
Births Jun 1922
Jones Ethel Campbell Rochdale 8e 17

A possible one for Philip W Heeney (if the marriage above looks correct):

Name: Philip William Heeney
Birth Date: 10 Dec 1901
Death Registration Month/Year: 1977
Registration district: Birmingham
Inferred County: West Midlands
Volume: 32
Page: 1378
 
in 1945 philip and ethel heeney were living flat 12 tennyson rd. sparkbrook. there were other people living there too including a william jones.

in 1950 philip and ethel heeney were at 13 golden hillock rd. sparkbrook, along with others.

in 1955 philip heeney was at 15 golden hillock rd. with several other people but not ethel
 
Hello Aidan,
Everyone appears to be so incredibly helpful:) !! The first appears to be my Mother who was indeed married to Phillip William Heeney the year of his death appears to be correct as far as I remember. Many thanks!!!!!! Currious as to what " 8e 124" means. are these house/flat numbers??
Again, much appreciate your help.
 
Extremely interesting!! My stepfather ( Phillip William Heeney ) was not noted for his sobriety and this resulted in periods of seperation from my Mother and hence why Phillip W may have been living on his own in 1955.
 
The best way to proceed is, as Macca pointed out, to work back from what you know. E.g from your Birth & Baptism info. Then your parentws marriage or subsequent marriage (which will give their age and father details and poss other family as witnesses). Then you can work out their birth and get the certificates for that and so on. Census can be used also between 1841-1911 and various other documents
 
Aidan,
Much appreciated. Sorry about the brevity of the response but I have to work. All your advice very helpful.
 
I f you can get back to 1881 a great resource is the census as indexed by the Mormon's. I have bought the discs a while ago but think you can view on-line but can't remember where. As they are indexed they are quiet user friendly and allow you to look at who lived near by etc. You can see who else lived at the address who lived near by etc, you sometimes find the logger is later a husband or next door became a wife etc.
 
Ethel Mary Heeney died in Birmingham 1986 and her birthdate was given as 22nd September 1911.
She would therefore have been registered in Sept qtr or Oct/Dec there are no entries for Ethel M Jones,in Lancs in Sept.
and none for Ethel M Jones in Dec 1911 in Rochdale,some for Lancashire but do not cover the Rochdale area.
Finding the name of her father and his occupation from the marriage certificate would be another step to finding her identity.

On his death record Philip William Heeney is shown as born 10th december 1901,there is no birth entry which means he may have been born in Ireland.
 
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Hello Paul...it does look as if a good place to start your search is with your mothers marriage to Philip Heeney & as this was Birmingham marriage can I suggest that you order it from Birmingham Register Office? They are very helpful if you need any advice etc. Good luck with the search for your family history....& you will be given loads of help from the good folk on this site..just ask !!!

Margaret.
 
Paul, hope you are getting somewhere with the research, but beware it gets addictive, as I'm sure other forum members will confirm, but can be so fascinating!!
On a personal note, if you do decide to subscribe to one of the research sites and can afford to shell out a lump sum in one go, findmypastis the better sie, with I find more info. Ancestry is not bad if you just want UK, but gets expensive if you want worldwide - we have family in Australia and Ireland and a possible US link -the advantage being you can pay monthly for it.
The forum members are ace with their help and if you live in Brum and can access the library there is a wealth of info there too.
Good hunting! Sue
 
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