Genealogy Chat

I have various documents and a cert with the name of this woman. At last ,after two years I've come across what I hope is her birth. ( she is a lot older than I had expected)Have traced the family on the censuses. But how can I be sure I have the right one as the address I have bears no relationship to those on the censuses? Getting her birth cert is still not going to give me proof that it's the right one. What else can I do to match her? A name and an address is all I have. Any ideas? Cheers ,Heather

Without a name or details its hard to say. Do you know who her parents are? Or is that why you are getting the birth cert? nell

Would she have had a motive for claiming a more youthful age? My great-g-mother opted to lose about seven years so that she wasn't so much older than her husband when they married (he was only twenty!). But you'll still need some kind of paper-trail to be confident of the link/match. Christine

What sort of certificate do you have, and roughly what period? It will have name and address of informant if it is a death certificate. If a marriage certificate, may have father's name and occupation. The witnesses might be a clue. People move a lot when they are young and single, following jobs round the country. When they are old, the family home may be too big or too much hard work and they often live with married daughters. If the surname is very common, then a mistake is always possible, but if other facts lead you to believe you have the right person, I wouldn't worry about the address. By the way, a birth certificate may have an informant other than the mother or father, providing an aditional clue.

Thanks all. She is a lone parent on a birth cert. which gives her address and occupation. It was a family assumption that she was about 20yrs. The only person I have found with the exact name would be 38 when she had the child. the certificate was dated 1922. Heather

Are there any photos or family stories? Might she have had a different accent from everyone else, to suggest where she was born? Do you know when she died? Her death certificate would hopefully not be too inaccurate. 20 to 38 is a whole generation. I would have thought anyone's guess at her age would only be so wildly adrift if they had not met her. I used to think that my great aunts were as old as the hills, usually adding, rather than subtracting a decade.

Not sure if this helps but my 39 year old daughter is assumed by those not knowing her to be in her early twenties. Maybe your relative was also blessed with similar genes and hence she would have been thought to be a lot younger. As far as proving the link - you've already been given better advice than I could offer! Another thought. In 1922 a girl would often 'go away' to have the baby rather than 'bring shame' to her family and so it would be expected that the birth certificate would show a very different address. Victoria

If I have read your thread rightly, you have a female ancestor who was 38 in 1922. Since the cert was for her child, you must have found a likely birth for her 38 years previously. She would have been on 1891 and 1901 censuses. Can you see if you can find her in the right kind of place or with family with names that might ring bells? nell

Thanks again for all your thoughts. I have found who I think is the right person on the 1891& 1901 censuses. But their are no clues to make a connection. The only info my family has of her is from a letter written by my grandfather who looked for her back in the 1940's. He would never tell the whole story. He was a great one for exageration and untruths!!.He suggested that she was sent to Australia by her disaproving family. Not only would I like to trace her family I'd also like to know what happened to her. Suppose I'll have to wait for the next two censuses. Hope I can hang on''? Cheers Heather

If she was 38 when she had the baby, she wasn't a delicate young girl. I would have thought Australia would have been quite expensive to send someone too and it does seem ludicrously far away. This could just be a family tale to stop people asking about her. BUT there are people on this site in Australia and perhaps they have access to records over there? nell

Thanks Nell, all these things have gone through my mind over the last couple of years. I think my next step may be to find the address in a street directory to check who lived there. As it could be a 'home' of some kind. I will get there in the end! Heather