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Archiver > ESSEX-UK > 2007-11 > 1195641902


From: "Duncan Smith" <>
Subject: [Ess] Ordering Certificates (was Marriages in Romford)
Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2007 10:45:02 -0000


I tend to agree with Heather when she queries Eve's comments about 'never' ordering marriage certificates from the local Registrar. It is perfectly true that the local Registrars file marriages according to venue, and that with budgetary constraints this often means that they are unwilling to search for long, if at all for marriages, unless you specify a venue and an approximate date. However, if you think it likely that the marriage took place in the Registry Office, it may be worth asking for a search on just that one place.

It should also be remembered that in some cases, the local Registrar has indexed many of their marriages on computer, as in the case of say Liverpool (similar to the example that Heather mentioned), and Tower Hamlets, thus making ordering marriages much easier for all concerned. I had some of my STRATTON ancestors living in the Stratford area for a time, and have discovered that while some marriage were registered in West Ham district, others fell into the nearby Bow area, and thus appear at the Tower Hamlets online index at
http://www.thbmd.co.uk/index.php


So my advice would be never to say never, but please bear in mind that for many local Registrars, they simply cannot do marriage lookups. Of course if you do find one that does have a marriage index, by ordering the certificate from them you may get a more accurate certificate (fewer transcriptions involved), and in a few cases (such as at Liverpool for instance, where they have the facility to do such things) they can reproduce the original register entry onto certificate format, and you may end up with examples of your ancestor's actual signatures, something that will not happen if you order the marriage from the GRO.

Duncan, Dundee

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