I can't find an ancestor on the GRO indexes. I found three of his siblings, and his birth was in the

MayerJanetCheryl1

I can't find an ancestor on the GRO indexes. I found three of his siblings, and his birth was in the middle of them, so it should be there. Any suggestions?

When I found the three siblings, I also found their mother's maiden name. It was a thrill because we hadn't been able to find it before. I have found the same name, Isaac, in the GRO index at the same time our records show his birth to be, but the mother's maiden name is different than the other three.

Brett .

@Janet Mayer​ 

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Janet

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Question: Have you tired VARIANT spellings of, BOTH, the 'Given' Name(s); and/or, 'Family Name'/'Surname'?

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Were you using the 'On-Line' Search Facility of the 'Civil Registration' for "Birth", of the 'General Registry Office' ( GRO ) of 'England and Wales' [ie. H.M. Passport Office, of the Government of the 'United Kingdom']?

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Or, were you using the "FreeBDM" ( https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl ), this is much easier to narrow your search, before you try the aforementioned.

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And, do not forget, some Births were, either, NOT registered; or, were registered late.

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Just some thoughts.

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Brett

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Alan Peak

I have had a similar problem

A) As above regarding variant spelling check, try with a blank name .... Your Fred, or Frederick may have actually been registered as Freddy

Try all birth registry sources such as GRO, FREEbmd and FindMyPast, the latter two can be searched by "Maiden Name only" with Fathers surname left blank - this may pick up variations in the Fathers surname

C) I find that the first name and second name may be reversed from that given in christening or census records, often if child is named after a parent and confusion is wished to be avoided in family situations

D) The question by the registrar "What is THE mothers maiden name?", is sometimes mistaken to be "What is YOUR mothers maiden name?" so check this out - This occurs more often than you would think - A new tired mother, a long walk in cold rain, The imposing town hall bureaucrat - this situation may not result in a clear mind or exact answer

Geoff Fitton

It is usually due to spelling. May I suggest you put in the year +- 2 years, the surname only, person sex & mother's maiden name that you found from the other 2 you already have. You could also leave out the mother's maiden name but recognize it in the list the GRO provides.

cindydh51.5039598684372686E12

Though spelling is a big issue, you need to know there are some holes in the GRO. I think it is Dick Eastman who has kept a list on his blog of the holes in the GRO.

My second great-grandmother isn't in there. There isn't a christening record for her either. I think her parents might have been on the dis-trust the government side ;-)

Claire V. Brisson-Banks

You can try a search at the registration district level. https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/. From their website one needs to remember there are 2 sets of records. Here is part of the explanation. There are two sets of Birth, Marriage and Death indexes in the UK; the original indexes held by the local register offices and a secondary index created by the General Register Office. The menu buttons on the left provide sets of links to websites that contain both primary and secondary indexes. As always, you are recommended to look through the primary sources first, before looking through secondary records.

Since 1837 all births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales have had to be registered at the register office in the district where the event took place. In Scotland such registration became compulsory for all in 1855 and for Ireland it was 1864 for births & deaths and 1845 for marriages. Genealogists and Family Historians can make use of these registrations to help create their family tree, working backwards from the present day to the start of civil registration.

The original indexes to these registers are held by the local register offices and many of these indexes are now being transcribed by the local authorities in conjunction with Family History Societies, and the data placed on-line in a variety of websites. Information about the registration districts and register office addresses can be found on the Registration Districts in England and Wales pages.

The websites with indexes based on the original registers can be seen when you click on the Local BMD button in the menu to the left.