Hi All I am new to this list and I am hoping someone can bring about a miracle. I am trying to trace my great grandfather Joseph HARDSMAN. According to his marriage certificate he was born in Tenterfield, NSW abt 1867. I can find no record of his birth. I have tried contacting several churches in the area but to no avail yet. There is one church which was struck by lightning abt 1930 and all records destroyed. Joseph's parents were David Hardsman and Ellen Scott. David was possibly born in Monmouth, Wales. I don't know where or when Ellen was born or when they were married. If no one can help, maybe you could give me some idea as to where to go from here. This family has been a brick wall to me from the very beginning of my research. Regards Pam Bribie Island, Qld, Aus Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com

Hi Pam, I have a similar 'no birth record' problem for an ancestor born in Orange. I would say his parents just never got around to registering him. The nearest thing to a birth record I've found for him was his younger brother's birth certificate. He is listed on that by name aged 1, as 'previous issue'. Gives you a year and parents, if not an exact date. Sometimes you can be lucky and find they stated their date of birth on another document like war service enlistment papers. I've also found a complete list of children and birth dates within a probate packet for someone who died without a will. Useful as all those children were registered as just 'male' or 'female' on their birth certificates. You'll need to think laterally and have a bit of luck! Regards Karen Lamb ----- Original Message ----- From: "Pam Carless" <pamcarless@yahoo.com.au> To: <AUS-NSW-NEW-ENGLAND-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, April 21, 2006 1:51 PM Subject: Joseph HARDSMAN > Hi All > I am new to this list and I am hoping someone can bring about a miracle. I am trying to trace my great grandfather Joseph HARDSMAN. According to his marriage certificate he was born in Tenterfield, NSW abt 1867. I can find no record of his birth. I have tried contacting several churches in the area but to no avail yet. There is one church which was struck by lightning abt 1930 and all records destroyed. > Regards > Pam Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com