illegitimate baby

Post by **kathleen** » 03 Jun 2009 13:09

i am trying to find out about an illegitimate baby boy in our family he was born in 1890. would i send for his birth cert, and take it from there.
also would like to try and find out about a will of my aunty.she died in 1965
thank you kathleen

Post by **MaryA** » 03 Jun 2009 13:20

So far as your illegitimate baby is concerned, unless you have the baptism, then yes it would be best if you had the birth certificate as a starting point. Be aware that you may never discover anything about the father, there is likely to be a blank space on the certificate where his name should be.

We have put together some advice about obtaining Wills here http://liverpool-genealogy.org.uk/phpBB ... php?t=7142 When you search the indexes for it, remember that it's not the date of death you are looking for but the date the Will was proved which might be immediately or could be several years later.

Post by **Liverbird** » 03 Jun 2009 13:25

Hi, I have just recently recieved a cert for a boy in my family who was born in 1875 before his Mum ever came north were she married and had another 2 children , first I contacted the register office of the area by letter giving as much detail of the mother as I knew and recieved a letter back saying they had a registration that fitted the bill. The only info I had of the child was him suddenly showing with his grandparents (his Mother was their daughter) on the census for 1881 as a 5 yr old and again still with them in 1891 and as I knew all her sister's had married she was the only one he could have belonged to. You could also if you know his full name have a look at the following census's after his birth and see if he is with any family. Mary is right in saying you probably wont find the father I had a balnk space on the certificate
So in effect supply the Mum's name and area and state you only want it if it fit's the bill or if you have the child's name and birth year and area you could take a chance if it is not a common surname , in my case the Mum's name was unusual as was the area and it cost £7, good luck with your search L.B

Post by **Tina** » 03 Jun 2009 13:33

Hi Kathleen
If it's not too sensitive, please could you list details of baby boy?

Thank you
Tina

Post by **MaryA** » 03 Jun 2009 13:58

Liverbird gives good advice, but don't make the mistake of asking the GRO in Southport for that sort of help - make sure you go to the local Register Office, they do sometimes go out of their way to be helpful.

Example - Cotton Exchange, Old Hall Street, for Liverpool.

Post by **kathleen** » 03 Jun 2009 14:32

thank you all for your help.i will send off for the birth cert right now.and then the cotton exchange,thank you kathleen.
i would be so lost without this forum.

Post by **seasider66** » 03 Jun 2009 18:35

I would agree with MaryA...the local register office will be more helpful than the GRO with this one.
I have found Liverpool excellent in this respect, even going so far as to ring me because I had mis-quoted the reference number and they rang me to confirm the name etc., of the person I was looking for, then they changed the ref. no. to make sure I got the right cert. The cert arrived within a week of my application.....Now that's what I call great service

Local offices are usually much quicker than GRO as well.
Good luck and let us know how you get on

Lil

Post by **MaryA** » 03 Jun 2009 19:36

Kathleen, please note that I gave the Cotton Exchange as the example for LIVERPOOL. We don't as yet know where your baby was born but each district have their own local Register Office where you can make contact and they are often more helpful. In this instance, this local office is where we feel you should order the certificate, NOT the GRO.

If you can find your entry on the LancashireBMD page the reference number will give you an application form to print out and send to the correct address.

It's not always a speedier response, there's often a backlog at Liverpool because of it being the main Register Office for the area and not only BMD's but also passports are being handled there nowadays.

Post by **kathleen** » 04 Jun 2009 12:52

hi i have taken your advice and sent for the birth cert,so i will know his mothers name and maybe address,then i can contact the registrar in old hall street take about a week. let you know then kathleen