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Hi all, can anyone help me try and find the parents of William Cobb. He was born in 1827 in Attleborough, Norfolk. Ive tried looking on Ancestry Plus and Freebmd but i cant get a census that goes back far enough. (If there is one). He married Eliza and they had 9 children. I would really appreciate any help as i am doing this for my grandma as a birthday present and i'd like to get back as far as i can. Thank you, Amy

I have had a look at Attleborough baptisms but they have only been transcribed up to 1742 so far. There are many Cobb families in the area. How do you know he was baptised in Attleborough? Do you know if/when he married? If so, you could get his marriage certificate which would give his fathers name and that of his wife. That costs £7 from the GRO online. You will need the reference. The only other thing you can do is look him up in the parish records. If you are fairly sure of the year and place you could email Norfolk Records Office who will do a look up and send you a photocopy of the parish record for about £10. If you are lucky some kind soul may do a look up at the office if they are going there. Freebmd and ancestry use the same information and they havent been completed yet. They only go from 1837 when civil registration started. There are census back to about 1841 in Norfolk but they arent indexed and poor condition.

I only know because i found him as the head of the family on the 1871 census and it says he was born in Attleborough. Plus most of his descendants have been born in that area too. I will try the Norfolk records office. Do you have an email address or a website that i could go on to contact them. Thank you for your help Heather.

Amy, if you have him on the census do you have his wifes first name? And the ages of the kids? From that you could work out his likely marriage date and then get the marriage cert which would be very useful. If you google Norfolk Records Office you will get their website. But personally I would think about getting the marriage cert first.

Yes his wife's name was Eliza and his eldest child was born in 1856. I will try and get a marriage certificate for him. Thanks very much.

You can try freebmd for the marriage. Do you know the area he married as this one is a possible: Blything is in Suffolk. Where did Eliza come from? Looks like William may have married this Eliza Ling. Marriages Dec 1854 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Banks Mary Ann Blything 4a 1497 Cobb William Blything 4a 1497 Ling Eliza Blything 4a 1497 Utting Samuel Blything 4a 1497

I dont know where they got married sorry. I dont really know where Eliza camre from. The image that i printed out looks like it says she was born in Lawrence. I tried looking it up again but my computer has started going really slow. The people you have found might be them but i will have to try and order some certificates. Thank you for your help and sorry about taking a long time to reply. Amy

You need to be sure she came from that area really before spending the £7 on it. Check out where the eldest kid was born too.

I take it this is them in 1871? Quality Name Age in 1871 Birthplace Relationship Civil Parish County/Island View Image Charles Cobb 6 Attlebor, Norfolk, England Son Nettlestead Suffolk Edward Cobb 3 Nettlestead, Suffolk, England Son Nettlestead Suffolk Eliza Cobb 33 St Lawrence, Norfolk, England Wife Nettlestead Suffolk Frederick Cobb 8 Loddon, Norfolk, England Son Nettlestead Suffolk George Cobb 4 Attlebor, Norfolk, England Son Nettlestead Suffolk Harriett Cobb 12 Earsham, Norfolk, England Daughter Nettlestead Suffolk Harry Cobb 10 Earsham, Norfolk, England Son Nettlestead Suffolk Louisa Cobb 1 Nettlestead, Suffolk, England Daughter Nettlestead Suffolk William Cobb 44 Attleborough, Norfolk, England Head Nettlestead Suffolk William Cobb 15 St James, Norfolk, England Son Nettlestead Suffolk In which case it seems likely that the marriage in Suffolk is yours.