can you avoid buying all those certificates?

[kilotank]

I am a fairly new at this and loving it, but I start needing to order more and more birth, marriage and death certificates. At £9 each this mounts up.

I saw a TV program where it looked like they accessed all the data off of a certificate through a computer.

Does anyone know of an alternative to get all this information from a certificate without buying individually? I dont mind subscribing to a service. I am in the UK

Thanks Graham

[linell]

The only alternative to buying Certificates is to look each BMD up in the Parish Registers at the local Archives, or you can write to the respective Archives and ask for Print Outs, for which they charge about £3.00 each, but you need the exact date and the correct names. HTH from Linell.

[Northern Lass]

Hi if you know the archives where your baptism marriage or burial entry is you can
as linell says go along and print your self off a copy from the Parish Register it is in.

The Birth certifs and Death certifs are only at registry offices
but
the Marriage ones from 1837 (sept) are exactly the same as you would order
which is great I print them off for 60p at Dudley archives and I think the same at Sandwell
so you would have to check what your archive charges.
Or
you can take your camera and depending on the set up at the archives photograph
your entry and print it out at home, I think they charge a licence fee to do this.

I find the archives very helpful and they will always advice you on this.

I was buying about 3 certifs a week but at £9 odd it is too expensive for me now.
So I only buy when I need to again the registry offices I find very helpful in ensuring that I only
ever get the exact one I need ( ie I only want it if the name of father is so and so)

[kilotank]

Thanks Linell and Northern Lass.

Sorry to be a complete Numpty but when you say look in the parish register at the 'local' archives, are you saying this facilty is my local archive but yet holds all the records for the country or I have to travel to each town where the person was born or died etc and look at their 'local' archive....you can guess which answer I am hoping for

Graham

[Jimmy]

It would be the main county archive for the county they came from, and also the local libraries from their area.

[kilotank]

I guess then that I have to buy the certificates because they are cheaper than petrol!

I wish I had paid more attention to the tv program that appeared to show their database. If any one else watched it , it was heir hunters.

Thanks for all the help

[Northern Lass]

I guess then that I have to buy the certificates because they are cheaper than petrol!

I wish I had paid more attention to the tv program that appeared to show their database. If any one else watched it , it was heir hunters.

Thanks for all the help

If you know the church and day and month and Year of the marriage one that you need
contact the archives you need and ask if they will send you out a copy might be cheaper than
buying from Gro or regis office
but it will be a photocopy of the actual register that your ancestors signed.
(should be anyway)
worth asking them.

[peterd]

I am a fairly new at this and loving it, but I start needing to order more and more birth, marriage and death certificates. At £9 each this mounts up.

I saw a TV program where it looked like they accessed all the data off of a certificate through a computer.

Does anyone know of an alternative to get all this information from a certificate without buying individually? I dont mind subscribing to a service. I am in the UK

Thanks Graham

kilotank you can use the census to trace your family back and would only need certificates to verify your finding is this what you on about ?

[writer-ros]

You can view census records on the internet, which are very useful for tracing your family. However, it would probably not be possible to use only the census. At some point you will need to verify a place of birth, a father's name, or mother's maiden name - and this is where you do need birth or marriage certificates.

If you are on a limited budget, you can do without death certificates, as they won't tell you much other than an approximate age and cause of death.

As someone else pointed out, the parish register marriage entries from 1837 give exactly the same information as on a marriage certificate. If the appropriate parish registers have not been published online, then you will need to either travel to the appropriate archive - or ask the record office to send you a copy. Or you could hire a local researcher to search the registers for all marriage and baptism records.

The best thing to do is to do as much as you can using the census, and then see which certificates you absolutely need. Some birth certs might be essential in order to obtain the mother's maiden name. Give yourself a monthly budget perhaps, and just order the essential certs as and when you can.

Ros

[grangers14]

So exciting waiting for them to arrive though!
Jo