Genealogy Chat

LOL i guess i'll wait for the cert anyway and see what i get!!!! LOL

The volume numbers started off as Roman numerals, but some of the early handwritten pages have since been replaced with typed ones and on those the Roman numerals will have been converted to standard numbers, so for example volume III would be typed up as 3. But in 1852 they started using the number and letter format of the volume number, for example 3a, and I think the volumes were then renumbered again some time in the 20th century. If you want to check that the volume number is correct for any entry you find on FreeBMD, just click on the district name where it appears in the entry and a window will pop up with district information. Where it says 'information about it can be found here' click on the here and it will be refreshed with the information about that district, including the correct volume numbers (although it doesn't have the converted version of the Roman numeral one). But it is pretty unlikely that the volume number would be wrong on a FreeBMD transcription, because the software used for transcribing puts in the volume number automatically. (Assuming the transcriber used the software!) It can be overwritten though, for example if the volume number was wrong on the original GRO index. I would expect it to be flagged up in some way on FreeBMD too, perhaps by the district name being in italics. Anyway, of course most of the FreeBMD transcriptions are right, so the fact that the one you found before was correct doesn't mean that there isn't the odd mistranscription in there! Kate.

the last cert i ordered i got from the free bmd on ancestry and they were all the correct ones. Just wondering if they may get changed when transcribed eg a vol 3 turn into a vol 3a?

If you pick up a GRO ref from FreeBMD it's a good idea to check the numbers before ordering the cert, just in case it's been mistranscribed (though obviously they are almost always right - or at least, i should say, they are almost always what is in the film of the GRO index - whether the original index numbers are actually CORRECT or not is a different subject altogether!!!!!!). If you have ordered a cert from the FreeBMD ref numbers and you now feel that might have been mistranscribed, unless there happens to be a cert for the same named person in the same Q with the ref number you gave, then if you have given a wrong page number, the GRO are unlikely to find anything!!!! You may end up with half your money back rather than a wrong certificate! Does that make any sense at all???? (she said, reading it back, furiously!!!!) Merry

Whenever you find an entry using FreeBMD you should always check the actual image to make sure the page number is correct before ordering the certificate! It does tell you that on the FreeBMD website, can't remember if it also tells you on ancestry. The FreeBMD entries are transcriptions, so there can always be errors. Kate.

wow!!! thanks for that!!! Didn't even know that was there. Is this stuff that just hasn't been transcribed yet? Lots to look at!!! Woo hoo should you use the GRO numbers on these documents? i found one that i found in the freebmd but the numbers are different slightly and now i'm not sure if i've ordered the correct certificate

For anyone who isn't aware, ''Beta'' means under-test. That's why it's free at the moment. It also explains why the indexing is so extraordinarily unreliable. Christine

You are looking at the freebmd not the full index. Go back to ancestry and on the usual search page go down past the search box and under that there are links. One is something like 'England and Wales bmd index Beta' Thats the one you need to click on and then search the images.

on ancestry i'm trying to find deaths from 1920 onwards. Even though i put this date into the system it keeps throwing up 1800's and up to 1910 but nothing beyond. Is there a knack to this or is the listing incomplete? suzie