Sorry, this isn't quite a Bristol question, it's more of a general one. ;o) How would I go about ordering a birth certificate if the index reference details on FreeBMD aren't correct? It's one of those cases where the registration district is in italics and the transcriber has noted that the page number is outside the expected page range for the district. The entry concerned is the birth of Emma SAYSAL in Q1 1838 Westbury 6 423, if you want to look it up to see what I mean. There's actually a second entry by a different transcriber giving the reference as Westbury 8 423, but looking at the scanned image, it definitely says Westbury 6 423. Could the registration district be recorded wrongly in the index? I think it should have been Westbury on Severn, not Westbury (= Wilts), as Emma's birthplace is recorded on censuses as either Chaxhill Gloucestershire, Westbury Gloucestershire, or Westbury on Severn Gloucestershire. If the registration district of her birth were Westbury on Severn, that would put the page number 423 into the correct range, but the Vol ought then to be 11. It doesn't help that Emma's surname has different spellings at different times: I'm pretty sure she is the Emma SAYSELLE (transcribed by Ancestry as SAYSETTE) age 3 on the 1841 census living in Westbury on Severn with parents William & Maria, and Emma SAYSELL age 13 still in Westbury on Severn on the 1851 census. Emma SEYSELL married George SKIDMORE in Q3 1860 Gloucester 6a 421 - this is the Emma whose birth I'm trying to establish. The question is, what do I need to put on the GRO order form to enable them to find the birth certificate for me? Thanks in advance for your help, Jan _________________________________________________________________ Send us your Hotmail stories and be featured in our newsletter http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/195013117/direct/01/

Hi Jan I've had this type of instance. There is a part where you can click on "Reference Checking" - there is no extra charge for this service. You can then give a variety of different references you need checking. That is all I can recommend and it's helped me. Liz www.btinternet.com/~e.newbery OPC for Street, Somerset ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jan R" <tartania99@hotmail.co.uk> To: "Rootsweb Bristol & District" <bristol_and_district@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2010 7:49 PM Subject: [B&D] Ordering a birth certificate when GRO index reference isn'tcorrect > > Sorry, this isn't quite a Bristol question, it's more of a general one. > ;o) > > > > How would I go about ordering a birth certificate if the index reference > details on FreeBMD aren't correct? It's one of those cases where the > registration district is in italics and the transcriber has noted that the > page number is outside the expected page range for the district. > > > > The entry concerned is the birth of Emma SAYSAL in Q1 1838 Westbury 6 423, > if you want to look it up to see what I mean. There's actually a second > entry by a different transcriber giving the reference as Westbury 8 423, > but looking at the scanned image, it definitely says Westbury 6 423. > > > > Could the registration district be recorded wrongly in the index? I think > it should have been Westbury on Severn, not Westbury (= Wilts), as Emma's > birthplace is recorded on censuses as either Chaxhill Gloucestershire, > Westbury Gloucestershire, or Westbury on Severn Gloucestershire. If the > registration district of her birth were Westbury on Severn, that would put > the page number 423 into the correct range, but the Vol ought then to be > 11. > > > > It doesn't help that Emma's surname has different spellings at different > times: I'm pretty sure she is the Emma SAYSELLE (transcribed by Ancestry > as SAYSETTE) age 3 on the 1841 census living in Westbury on Severn with > parents William & Maria, and Emma SAYSELL age 13 still in Westbury on > Severn on the 1851 census. Emma SEYSELL married George SKIDMORE in Q3 1860 > Gloucester 6a 421 - this is the Emma whose birth I'm trying to establish. > > > > The question is, what do I need to put on the GRO order form to enable > them to find the birth certificate for me? > > > > Thanks in advance for your help, > > > > Jan > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Send us your Hotmail stories and be featured in our newsletter > http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/195013117/direct/01/ > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > BRISTOL_AND_DISTRICT-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

On Thu, 1 Apr 2010 19:49:00 +0100 Jan R <tartania99@hotmail.co.uk> wrote: Hello Jan, > The question is, what do I need to put on the GRO order form to enable > them to find the birth certificate for me? Difficult, as one of FreeBMDs transcriptions is correct. However, your knowledge of Emma indicates that the index is wrong, and should be vol 11, not 6. OTOH, Emma's birth registration /could/ be recorded in vol. 6. I'd suggest either; Order by 'phone, then you can explain that the index reads vol. 6, but you have reason to believe it should be vol. 11, and give your reasoning. or; Order online and opt for reference check on volume number, using the two volume numbers. Both methods will cost slightly more than the current £7.00 online (with reference) price, but you're far more likely to get the cert you want than if you simply order using only the one volume number, as there's a 50% chance it's wrong. With the methods I suggest, you're nearer a certainty. -- Regards _ / ) "The blindingly obvious is / _)rad never immediately apparent"

As it's a birth certificate why not phone up the Superintendent Registrar of the Forest of Dean and explain your problem. The Register Office, Belle Vue Centre, 6 Belle Vue Road, Cinderford, GL14 2AB. Tel: 01594 822113. Fax: 01594 826352. E-mail: forestofdean.ro@gloucestershire.gov.uk Of course with Easter Weekend now upon us you might not get an answer before the price goes up! Pat ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jan R" <tartania99@hotmail.co.uk> To: "Rootsweb Bristol & District" <bristol_and_district@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2010 7:49 PM Subject: [B&D] Ordering a birth certificate when GRO index reference isn'tcorrect > How would I go about ordering a birth certificate if the index reference > details on FreeBMD aren't correct? It's one of those cases where the > registration district is in italics and the transcriber has noted that the > page number is outside the expected page range for the district. > > Could the registration district be recorded wrongly in the index? I think > it should have been Westbury on Severn, not Westbury (= Wilts), as Emma's > birthplace is recorded on censuses as either Chaxhill Gloucestershire, > Westbury Gloucestershire, or Westbury on Severn Gloucestershire. If the > registration district of her birth were Westbury on Severn, that would put > the page number 423 into the correct range, but the Vol ought then to be > 11. >

Jan If you are fairly sure the birth was in Westbury on Severn you could contact the Registrar for that area - they can sometimes provide copy certificates if given name and birth date. Westbury on Severn Registration office was closed in 1937. The old records should be held by either the Forest of Dean or Gloucester registration offices. Contact email addresses are: forestofdean.ro@gloucestershire.gov.uk and gloucester.ro@gloucestershire.gov.uk. Worth enquiring I think. Cheers Ian L ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jan R" <tartania99@hotmail.co.uk> To: "Rootsweb Bristol & District" <bristol_and_district@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2010 7:49 PM Subject: [B&D] Ordering a birth certificate when GRO index reference isn'tcorrect > Sorry, this isn't quite a Bristol question, it's more of a general one. > ;o) > How would I go about ordering a birth certificate if the index reference > details on FreeBMD aren't correct? It's one of those cases where the > registration district is in italics and the transcriber has noted that the > page number is outside the expected page range for the district. > The entry concerned is the birth of Emma SAYSAL in Q1 1838 Westbury 6 423, > if you want to look it up to see what I mean. There's actually a second > entry by a different transcriber giving the reference as Westbury 8 423, > but looking at the scanned image, it definitely says Westbury 6 423. > Could the registration district be recorded wrongly in the index? I think > it should have been Westbury on Severn, not Westbury (= Wilts), as Emma's > birthplace is recorded on censuses as either Chaxhill Gloucestershire, > Westbury Gloucestershire, or Westbury on Severn Gloucestershire. If the > registration district of her birth were Westbury on Severn, that would put > the page number 423 into the correct range, but the Vol ought then to be > 11. > It doesn't help that Emma's surname has different spellings at different > times: I'm pretty sure she is the Emma SAYSELLE (transcribed by Ancestry > as SAYSETTE) age 3 on the 1841 census living in Westbury on Severn with > parents William & Maria, and Emma SAYSELL age 13 still in Westbury on > Severn on the 1851 census. Emma SEYSELL married George SKIDMORE in Q3 1860 > Gloucester 6a 421 - this is the Emma whose birth I'm trying to establish. > The question is, what do I need to put on the GRO order form to enable > them to find the birth certificate for me?

Hi Jan Don't know if it helps but Emma Saysall father William a labourer and mother Maria was baptised 11 Mar 1838 at Westbury on Severn. Residence show as Westbury and officiating minister was William Crawley. Information from transcribed parish register on the Forest of Dean Family History Site http://www.forest-of-dean.net Regards Tony ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jan R" <tartania99@hotmail.co.uk> To: "Rootsweb Bristol & District" <bristol_and_district@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2010 7:49 PM Subject: [B&D] Ordering a birth certificate when GRO index reference isn'tcorrect > > Sorry, this isn't quite a Bristol question, it's more of a general one. > ;o) > > > > How would I go about ordering a birth certificate if the index reference > details on FreeBMD aren't correct? It's one of those cases where the > registration district is in italics and the transcriber has noted that the > page number is outside the expected page range for the district. > > > > The entry concerned is the birth of Emma SAYSAL in Q1 1838 Westbury 6 423, > if you want to look it up to see what I mean. There's actually a second > entry by a different transcriber giving the reference as Westbury 8 423, > but looking at the scanned image, it definitely says Westbury 6 423. > > > > Could the registration district be recorded wrongly in the index? I think > it should have been Westbury on Severn, not Westbury (= Wilts), as Emma's > birthplace is recorded on censuses as either Chaxhill Gloucestershire, > Westbury Gloucestershire, or Westbury on Severn Gloucestershire. If the > registration district of her birth were Westbury on Severn, that would put > the page number 423 into the correct range, but the Vol ought then to be > 11. > > > > It doesn't help that Emma's surname has different spellings at different > times: I'm pretty sure she is the Emma SAYSELLE (transcribed by Ancestry > as SAYSETTE) age 3 on the 1841 census living in Westbury on Severn with > parents William & Maria, and Emma SAYSELL age 13 still in Westbury on > Severn on the 1851 census. Emma SEYSELL married George SKIDMORE in Q3 1860 > Gloucester 6a 421 - this is the Emma whose birth I'm trying to establish. > > > > The question is, what do I need to put on the GRO order form to enable > them to find the birth certificate for me? > > > > Thanks in advance for your help, > > > > Jan > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Send us your Hotmail stories and be featured in our newsletter > http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/195013117/direct/01/ > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > BRISTOL_AND_DISTRICT-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Jan R wrote: > Sorry, this isn't quite a Bristol question, it's more of a general > one. ;o) But one that's liable to affect many others :)) > How would I go about ordering a birth certificate if the index > reference details on FreeBMD aren't correct? Have a look at the image and give exactly what's on that. You can't do more than that, esp if you want to order before the fee goes up on 6 April and the reference checking service is withdrawn the same day. -- Charani (UK) OPC for Walton, Greinton and Clutton, SOM Asst OPC for Ashcott and Shapwick, SOM http://wsom-opc.org.uk