Where was Alfred Bates before 1901?

Q I am searching for my great grandfather, Alfred Bates, prior to 1901. According to the 1921 census, he was born in August 1880 in Hillingdon, Middlesex, but I have been unable to find him on census or birth records prior to 1901 when he appears aged 20. I believe his father was Fred Bates […]

Where is Stanley Hibbert on the 1921 census?

Q I am trying to find my father, Stanley Walter Hibbert (born 1900, Fulham), on the 1921 census. I have tried different spellings, using initials, and thought that I’d found him – only to discover that it was an eightyear- old boy. I looked in the military in case he was conscripted at the end […]

Why are there two marriage records for Thomas Baker and Susan Netley?

Q I’ve found two marriage records for Thomas James Baker and Susan/ Susannah Netley – one dated 1 January 1837 (banns only) and the other 2 September 1844, both at St Anne’s, Soho. The only name difference is that the bride is Susan in 1844 and Susannah in 1837. They are living as man and […]

When is a father named on a birth entry?

Q My husband’s great great grandmother’s third child was born shortly after her husband’s death in 1883. Was it legal at this time to name a deceased father on a birth certificate? Also my great grandmother, Mary Moss (born 1871), has no father named on her birth entry. Her mother married two months later. In […]