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Hi, I have just had 3-e-mails from the GRO, to say that 3 certificates I have ordered do not have the corrct information on them. that is the parents, husband etc. So I am £9 down and have no certificates. How do you find the correct one with so little information given for each entry. And do any of you have the same problem, or am I doing something wrong. Kindest Regards Patricia

Hi Patricia, I am in the same situation with an uncommon name. I have ordered the only 3 certs that could be her - and they are not. Even ordered one with the letter "t" missing. I am beginning to think mine was adopted and haven't got a clue where to go now. I sympathise with you. Gaynor

Hi Patricia, I think you'll find that one or two of us have been through the same thing. We all get wrong certs from time to time. What certs had you sent for ? what info had you gathered to be able to send for them and where had you got that info from ? you need to check back along the way, to see where you may have gone wrong. If you give us the details, maybe we can help you. I'm actually off out soon till 3pm, but if you leave as much info as poss, then I'm sure someone at some point will help with the dilema.! Back later ! Elaine :-)

I too have had this problem - I fully understand In the end I just put it down to trial and error. I now only order birth certs with JUST the name of the person who it's reg for and wait to see who the parents are - works better , unless of course it's a spelling error : ( I have only one wrong so for me thats good. If I had a magic wand I'd wave it for you . Much happiness Debi

Hi Gaynor, Thanks for your reply, if this is happening to everyone the GRO must be making a bomb out of us, with so little information given when we do 1837 etc. Kindest regards Patricia

Hi Elaine, The people I am looking for are :- George Preece - 24/06/1855 - mother, Sarah Preece - Kings Caple - Hereford. this info supplied by church in King Caple. Henry Hancox - 1867 - Belbroughton - Worcester Father - Abiatha Hancox Mother - Rose Hancox - nee Hemus George Smith - Sarah Ann Taylor - june - 1854. not Newport Pagnall. Any help will be appreciated. Many thanks Patricia

Hi Hope you find the right inbfo for your family. Because I have rellies that lived Belbroughton 1881 had a quick look for yours and found Relation Marital Status Gender Age Birthplace Occupation Disability Abiatha HANCOCKS Head M Male 56 Belbroughton, Worcester, England Ag Lab Rosa HANCOCKS Wife M Female 53 Belbroughton, Worcester, England Nail Maker Abiatha HANCOCKS Son U Male 21 Belbroughton, Worcester, England Ag Lab Julia HANCOCKS Daur U Female 19 Belbroughton, Worcester, England Nail Maker Elizabeth HANCOCKS Daur U Female 17 Belbroughton, Worcester, England Nail Maker John HANCOCKS Son U Male 15 Belbroughton, Worcester, England Ag Lab Henry HANCOCKS Son U Male 13 Belbroughton, Worcester, England Ag Lab George HANCOCKS Grandson Male 4 Belbroughton, Worcester, England Scholar -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Source Information: Dwelling Bournheath Census Place Belbroughton, Worcester, England Family History Library Film 1341704 Public Records Office Reference RG11 Piece / Folio 2941 / 101 Page Number 18 Ofcourse you may already have this . Also a christening for Henry Hancox at Holy Trinity Belbroughton 15th Dec 1867 parents Abraham and Rosa. Could be father's name mistranscribed in 1881. Also christening JAMES HANCOX Male -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Event(s): Birth: Christening: 03 JAN 1856 Belbroughton, Worcester, England Death: Burial: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Parents: Father: ABIATHAR HANCOX Family Mother: ROSANNA I know the feeling about incorrect certs but because of differences in spelling and mistranscription etc it does happen. Good luck with your searching Regards Ann

Hi again also found this on IGI which i suspect you already have Husband ABIATHAR HANCOCKS Pedigree Birth: Christening: Marriage: 26 DEC 1846 Bromsgrove, Worcester, England Death: Burial: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wife ROSA HEMUS Pedigree Birth: Christening: Marriage: 26 DEC 1846 Bromsgrove, Worcester, England Death: Note yet more variation on spellings. Hope this helps. Ann

Its SO disappointing when you send for the wrong one, I do sympathise. I have been lucky mostly, although I have had a good search in the years before and after the one I think is right. Its really surprising how quite unusual names occur quite close together in the index years. Once I've decided which one I want I ONLY put that person's name and the GRO index reference. That way they'll send you the certificate anyway and you can decide yourself if its the right one. An example of what can go wrong is the mothers name was Mary Ann but on the birth reg she used the name Ann. Its probably the person you want but the GRO would not send it if the name was not the mother you specified. Anne

Hi Ann, Thankyou for the information but I already have that. I am trying to find the birth of Henry Hancocks. who is in that family age 13 yrs, Many thanks Patricia

Having been down that road myself and lost money at the GRO I find the local register offices are much very helpful and always send back the cheque in tact if they cannot match the parents. The Bristol office have been known to give me the birth details of another family member if they come across the same address. If they have more details regarding location they will do a search for that year. I cannot find enough praise for the majority of register offices and the speed they have sent certs. out regardless of first or second class mail. I now use the GRO as a last resort if I have doubts about parentage. Marion

I've only ordered two wrong certs - once bitten I am more careful. The first was when I got a birth cert for an Eliza Annie when I needed an Annie Eliza!(my fault, I was so excited at what I thought was the right reference for the date and area I didn't stop to check) The second was when I was looking for a birth for v. common 1st and 2nd name and ordered the first one I came across that fitted the year. It was the wrong cert. I'd got the year from the Family Bible (written down wrongly!). Found a possible cert from the previous year, so used father's name (luckily it was unusual) as a checking point and it was the right one. It is v. difficult though if you have a common name, not too sure on the date or the place. Best to confirm with other sources first, like censuses or other certs. As Marion says, some register offices are excellent, but there are some in London who refuse to issue certificates for genealogical purposes. Grr! Helen

I posted a reply for you on the Tracing family history site about a month ago with this information. I don't know whether you saw it? Kings Caple came under the Ross registration district according to genuki. There is a George Preece registered in the Ross district for the Oct/Nov/Dec 1856 Qtr Volume 6a Page 373 SAra

Hi Patricia, Have you tried phoning, e-mailing or writing to the appropriate local register office? They are usually very helpful. Maggy

Yes I am to a victim of ordering the wrong certificate and paying the £7 because I did not use the checking system. Then I sent an e-mail to the local registry office explaining what I wanted with the little details I had and they replied suggesting their reference number, I was then able to send them a cheque again tellling the details I have and saying that I think their reference number is ....... They were so obliging and never needed any extra money for the checking service. Also the wrong certificates I have put on ukbmd exchange website so that others may see them if they are searching for similar ones. Especially my Smith line. Gloria (hope that all makes sense)

Hi Patricia Thought you might have had the info. Only thing I can suggest is that you give minimum info to the gro and hope for the best. Unfortunately sometimes it means we end up paying for wrong certs. It may be worth trawling the Parish registers at Worcester and checking their BMD registers. I am hoping to go to Worcester in August and if you have had no luck I could check for you. The Holy Trinity Belbroughton looks the most promising re baptism. Sorry I couldn't be more help, it was the unusual name and Belbroughton that intrigued me. Happy searching Regards Ann