Genealogy Chat

Hello only been doing this a couple of weeks & wondered if I could get a point of view from others on here please. Do people try & get the certs for everyone they find on their tree or are people more selective? Also I read in one of the Family Tree magazines a recommendation that I should kill off my relatives as I go along... problem is I cna't with a lot of mine as I can't find their deaths! Any views on the above 2 questions would be gratefully recieved. Clare x

I try and get certificates for everyone in my direct line - parents, grandparents, great grandparents etc. I don't bother for their siblings otherwise it would cost me a fortune! I heven't even got all the direct line ones yet. As for killing relatives off, I agree that it is important but finding a death is so much more difficult, especially if you are dealing with John Smith or some other really common name. I do try and do it but admit that I haven't 'killed off' half as many as I shoud.! Sam x

Clare, I think it's a case of most people HAVING to be selective. Ideally, I would love to have birth, marriage and death certs for everyone in my Tree - Mine is not yet a large tree but I must have more than 300 people in it - If you calculate 3 certs per person at £7 each - this would be more than £6,300 and that is presuming they are all the correct ones !! If I am sure I have the correct person and can follow them through on census etc - I don't send for the certs. - I only send for one if I need it to confirm I have the correct one, or I am completely stuck to get back any further, by parents' details etc. I think most people would say the same. Hope this helps. Dea

I've only got certs on direct lines..mother, father, grandparents etc. Siblings, I only get if they are born late 1830's and the direct line is before then. That gives me a maiden name. I only kill off if I know the date, or if I have burial. You can check Ancestry to get a qtr date or if you use another programme put between 2 dates, say census if they don't appear on the following one Cynthia

Very interesting thread Clare.... and obviousy upto the individual....n costs! truly :0)

I like to get certs for my direct line, great fun to receive and usually a lot of helpful info. I also try and kill them off and have been reasonably successful. I enjoy the detective work involved in tracking them down. I tend not to get certs for non direct ancestors unless I think it will help with maiden name etc. Yes it is expensive, but not a lot more so than other hobbies. (Try card making and scrap booking for expensive!) Ann Glos

Hi There, I have a very large tree and have bought certs for my direct line but as I want to do it properly I tend to buy certificates if I don't know a maiden name. So I would either buy the marriage cert or the birth cert of one of their children. I also buy certificates if I can smell a good story. Someone dying young - can't resist finding out why sometimes (when I am well off)!! If you have a lot of ancestors or rellies in the same county you can save a lot of money by viewing the marriages at the County Record Office - can save you quite a bit! Cheers, Horatia

Hi Clare I think everyone has their own 'take' on this, depending on how much spare cash you have available. I always try to find the GRO refs for as much as I can, and keep them all in a notebook. They are split into direct line and siblings etc. I then prioritise them as to which one would be 'nice' to have and would complete a 'set' for that person, and one's that will give me information to go back even furher - ie mother's maiden name on birth certs, or father's names on marriage certs. I then use my priority list and order my two or three a month that I know I can afford and then occasionally 'dip' into the others and order one that takes my fancy. Everyone has their own way, just go with your gut feelings!!! Looby

I don't always manage to find deaths for my ancestors. i found one recently I had been looking for had died on holiday in Toronto but I follow them as far as I can in the census. Old people often end up living with relatives which can give you another branch of the family. Be wary of the relationship though. One of mine is listed as mother of the head of the household rather than father in law. I can't afford to buy certificates except for direct ancestors when i need to prove a relationship. I have inherited a few one from about 1860 still legible with a victorian stamp and on brown card. I try to get memorial inscriptions, baptism records, marriage entries and to find them on BMD. It depends how much you want to spend and how certain you want to be of your research.

Thank you all its great to know what others are doing gives me things to think about how I approach my family tree. Clare x