To Jan Thank you I have already sent off for the Certificate so just to wait , I have yet to find his Birth , on his second marriage to Mary Ann Telford in 1909 , his age was 44 , that would make him born about 1865 , but three Certificates and many searches i have yet to find him , His Father James Murphy was a Merchant Seaman The same as him and the closes I have Found is a James Murphy born 1828 from Monkwearmouth Shore who had a son John 1857 Sunderland but no John William Murphy with father James who was a Merchant Seaman. Over a Year Later I,am Still looking , Some things take time Thanks to the 1911 Census whitch gave me a lot , john was missing there too His death in 1917 Poplar London was 52 unless I have missed something , Thanks agin Lesley

Hi Fiona I have heard of this problem before, I have sent the IRCs but not used them the other way so can't comment on that, when I bought them they did not know what they were and had to look it up, I guess the problem is one of lack of knowledge, if in doubt they say no Best wishes Nivard Ovington, in Cornwall (UK) > Hello > > I am the co-ordinator of the Lancashire Family History Society's Members > Only Help scheme and we always ask for IRC coupons if the postal query > comes > from abroad > > This year I went into our village post office in the Cotswolds and they > were > quite happy to exchange them for stamps > > Fiona

Hello I am the co-ordinator of the Lancashire Family History Society's Members Only Help scheme and we always ask for IRC coupons if the postal query comes from abroad This year I went into our village post office in the Cotswolds and they were quite happy to exchange them for stamps Fiona

Paula I suppose it's possible that they were brothers, I don't know how prevalent that surname is in that area. I would be very interested to see any information you may have about the family, so if possible, can you send to my address as shown. Many thanks Ian Paula Medcalf wrote: > Hello, > > I am wondering whether your George MAW has any connection with my GG > Grandfather, John MAW. He was born 1810 in Whitburn and his parents were > John MAW and Elizabeth ALDERSON. If you think there is a connection, I have > some information about the parents which I could send you. I haven't looked > at this line for a while, but I do seem to have traced them through the > census records previously. > > Paula > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Janto > Sent: 27 March 2009 18:00 > To: Gen_DFHG > Subject: [DUR-NBL] George MAW - Durham c.1814 > > I am trying to find information on George MAW - my great great great > grandfather and would be very grateful if anyone could give some clues to > assist. I have been unable to find any references to his birth/Christening > or parentage. Various census's shows his birthplace as Whitburn, Durham and > working on the ages shown on the census's I'm estimating his year of birth > at around 1814. > > He had a son, Thomas in 1842 in Stockton with an Ellen Waring. He and Ellen > then had a daughter Jane in 1847 while residing in Derby. Ellen died shortly > after the birth of Jane in 1847. > > The 1851 cenus shows he was in Lincolnshire in lodgings with son Thomas. > Jane was in separate lodgings, also in Lincs. > 1861 aged 47 born in Whitburn Durham Living in Brighton with Wife Mary 47, > Son Thomas 18, Daughter Jane 14 > 1871 aged 56 born in Whitburn Durham living in Brighton with wife Mary 56 > 1881 aged 66 born in Sunderland. Living in Brighton workhouse. Wife Mary > also there. > He died in 1882 in Brighton > > Any help on George's parentage would be greatly appreciated. > > > > >

Hi Lesley, You're welcome. It's not unusual for people to change their Christian names around, just to confuse their ancestors! :-) Or the Registrar has written it down in the wrong order. I've come across a lot of that happening in my research. My guess is that it is probably the right couple. Jan ----- Original Message ----- From: lesley To: Durham Sent: Friday, March 27, 2009 2:39 PM Subject: [DUR-NBL] John william Murphy Can I thank Jan Boyes for looking up john,s first marriage for me, The one you gave me I will look up as it is William John not John William , but Fingers cross Thanks

Hello, I am wondering whether your George MAW has any connection with my GG Grandfather, John MAW. He was born 1810 in Whitburn and his parents were John MAW and Elizabeth ALDERSON. If you think there is a connection, I have some information about the parents which I could send you. I haven't looked at this line for a while, but I do seem to have traced them through the census records previously. Paula -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Janto Sent: 27 March 2009 18:00 To: Gen_DFHG Subject: [DUR-NBL] George MAW - Durham c.1814 I am trying to find information on George MAW - my great great great grandfather and would be very grateful if anyone could give some clues to assist. I have been unable to find any references to his birth/Christening or parentage. Various census's shows his birthplace as Whitburn, Durham and working on the ages shown on the census's I'm estimating his year of birth at around 1814. He had a son, Thomas in 1842 in Stockton with an Ellen Waring. He and Ellen then had a daughter Jane in 1847 while residing in Derby. Ellen died shortly after the birth of Jane in 1847. The 1851 cenus shows he was in Lincolnshire in lodgings with son Thomas. Jane was in separate lodgings, also in Lincs. 1861 aged 47 born in Whitburn Durham Living in Brighton with Wife Mary 47, Son Thomas 18, Daughter Jane 14 1871 aged 56 born in Whitburn Durham living in Brighton with wife Mary 56 1881 aged 66 born in Sunderland. Living in Brighton workhouse. Wife Mary also there. He died in 1882 in Brighton Any help on George's parentage would be greatly appreciated. ==== DUR-NBL Mailing List ==== To Post a message to this list send it to, [email protected] ==== DUR-NBL Mailing List ==== List Web Page http://www.communigate.co.uk/ne/durhamgenealogy/index.phtml ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

This is from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website: http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/faqs/money-postage/international-reply It would seem to indicate that a post office in the UK should accept the coupons, no question. Ian Margaret Hall wrote: > Last year I bought two DNA kits from Ancestry, they each came with two > international reply coupons to return the kits. (two dollars per coupon) > > My local post office refused to accept the coupons and asked me to return > later in the day by which time they would have been able to make some checks > on them. When I returned I was told they couldn't accept them and I had to > pay for the stamps. > > This was my experience of international stamp coupons and I can quite well > imagine someone trying to reply to you having the same problem and saying > "it's alright I'll not bother". > > I later tried to exchange the coupons for stamps at the main post office > only to be told I could only use them to post an item the USA - I still have > them. > > Margaret Hall > Wallsend. > > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [DUR-NBL] Writing to possible relatives > > I noted that the original poster is in the US. I've had excellent luck > with letters, but the names were unusual. Some people do back off, > especially if elderly, from understandable fear of giving out too much > information or worse. > IRC coupons are sold at the post office in the US, but they are only > good for certain countries and the last time I checked, the UK was not > one of them. There are also international business reply envelopes > available, but I don't know about them and couldn't find out more on > the USPS website. > Best regards, > Carol B in NY >

I am trying to find information on George MAW - my great great great grandfather and would be very grateful if anyone could give some clues to assist. I have been unable to find any references to his birth/Christening or parentage. Various census's shows his birthplace as Whitburn, Durham and working on the ages shown on the census's I'm estimating his year of birth at around 1814. He had a son, Thomas in 1842 in Stockton with an Ellen Waring. He and Ellen then had a daughter Jane in 1847 while residing in Derby. Ellen died shortly after the birth of Jane in 1847. The 1851 cenus shows he was in Lincolnshire in lodgings with son Thomas. Jane was in separate lodgings, also in Lincs. 1861 aged 47 born in Whitburn Durham Living in Brighton with Wife Mary 47, Son Thomas 18, Daughter Jane 14 1871 aged 56 born in Whitburn Durham living in Brighton with wife Mary 56 1881 aged 66 born in Sunderland. Living in Brighton workhouse. Wife Mary also there. He died in 1882 in Brighton Any help on George's parentage would be greatly appreciated.

Last year I bought two DNA kits from Ancestry, they each came with two international reply coupons to return the kits. (two dollars per coupon) My local post office refused to accept the coupons and asked me to return later in the day by which time they would have been able to make some checks on them. When I returned I was told they couldn't accept them and I had to pay for the stamps. This was my experience of international stamp coupons and I can quite well imagine someone trying to reply to you having the same problem and saying "it's alright I'll not bother". I later tried to exchange the coupons for stamps at the main post office only to be told I could only use them to post an item the USA - I still have them. Margaret Hall Wallsend. To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [DUR-NBL] Writing to possible relatives I noted that the original poster is in the US. I've had excellent luck with letters, but the names were unusual. Some people do back off, especially if elderly, from understandable fear of giving out too much information or worse. IRC coupons are sold at the post office in the US, but they are only good for certain countries and the last time I checked, the UK was not one of them. There are also international business reply envelopes available, but I don't know about them and couldn't find out more on the USPS website. Best regards, Carol B in NY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On Mar 27, 2009, at 11:14 AM, [email protected] wrote: The other answers mentioned SAEs (stamped addressed envelopes) but > you can't > do that from overseas. You need to send two international reply > coupons with > each envelope. You can buy these at the post office but it makes it > quite > expensive and so much more difficult to do a large scale enquiry > this way. > > Best wishes, Irene >

Hi again Just saw a couple of replies and thought I would also mention (as I forgot previously) Remember to include your e mail address and a telephone number On my situation re South Africa, this brought forth a photo of my great grandmother, something I never thought I would see So as others have said, go for it :-) Best wishes Nivard Ovington, in Cornwall (UK) > Hi Nancy > > I have had similar results to Adrian, very little response to how many I > have sent out, one lady replied although not connected and was very > helpful and happy to be so , although I know categorically that one family > I wrote to are related they will not communicate, why I do not know

Well in my experience it makes no difference how tactful you are. If people are glad to know they have relatives out there they get in touch. If they aren't or think it's a scam they don't. No wayof predicting. Just go for it sending a skeleton tree or a bit of background where the lines unite and hope for the best. I've waited 2 years for a reply in one instance but got a nice letter and photos after I'd gven up hope, but had no response at all on what I'd expected to be dead certs. Good luck, you'll be no worse off if you hear nothing and lots to gain. Sadly you often know more than the people you contact, but sometimes there are gems and photos. Best wishes, Mary

Can I thank Jan Boyes for looking up john,s first marriage for me, The one you gave me I will look up as it is William John not John William , but Fingers cross Thanks

Hi Nancy I have had similar results to Adrian, very little response to how many I have sent out, one lady replied although not connected and was very helpful and happy to be so , although I know categorically that one family I wrote to are related they will not communicate, why I do not know However in chasing up a lead I found to my surprise that my grandfather had two half brothers, one died with one daughter who never married or had children , the other I eventually traced to South Africa, found his death notice which gave me the names of three children, one a girl had married and it gave her married name, not an unusual one unfortunately, I thought the children would probably all have shuffled off this mortal coil but on the off chance tried the online SA phone book, I found a surname that matched with just initials in the area the half brother had died in some 40 years before So I sent a letter on the off chance giving a brief of the family and connection, I enclosed an SAE and a few weeks went by and frankly I had forgotten all about it One Thursday evening the phone rang, my wife said theres someone on the phone for me, on picking it up I found the daughter on the other end from South Africa I can only liken it to throwing a dart from 100 yards away with a blindfold on and scoring a bulls eye I should add that I don't think my father knew the half brothers existence any more than I did, sadly he is not here to discuss it with So the moral of the tale is give it a go, you never know unless you try Best wishes Nivard Ovington, in Cornwall (UK) > Hello, > I am writing for direction as to the best type of letter to write to > possible relatives (same surname, & county) that I have never met, but who > I > have located via the Ancestry UK phone directories. Understanding the > importance of the connections, I also want to do it sensitively and > professionally. I live in the U.S., and our attitudes on this may be very > different. Also using the address from the book, is that all I need? > Example: > John Smith (alias) 41 Smith Avenue, Town, Durham, DH6 4LT Town Durham > UK??? > > many thanks for any experiences shared, and any good orderly direction! > regards > Nancy

I noted that the original poster is in the US. I've had excellent luck with letters, but the names were unusual. Some people do back off, especially if elderly, from understandable fear of giving out too much information or worse. IRC coupons are sold at the post office in the US, but they are only good for certain countries and the last time I checked, the UK was not one of them. There are also international business reply envelopes available, but I don't know about them and couldn't find out more on the USPS website. Best regards, Carol B in NY On Mar 27, 2009, at 11:14 AM, [email protected] wrote: > Message: 10 > Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 10:07:24 -0500 > From: "Irene Marlborough" <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [DUR-NBL] Writing to possible relatives > To: "Nancy M. Lyons" <[email protected]>, <[email protected]> > Message-ID: <[email protected]> > Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; > reply-type=original > > The other answers mentioned SAEs (stamped addressed envelopes) but > you can't > do that from overseas. You need to send two international reply > coupons with > each envelope. You can buy these at the post office but it makes it > quite > expensive and so much more difficult to do a large scale enquiry > this way. > > Best wishes, Irene >

The other answers mentioned SAEs (stamped addressed envelopes) but you can't do that from overseas. You need to send two international reply coupons with each envelope. You can buy these at the post office but it makes it quite expensive and so much more difficult to do a large scale enquiry this way. Best wishes, Irene

Hi Lesley I found this marriage on Freebmd Marriage March qtr 1896 Mary Jackson Sunderland 10a 771 Murphy William John Sunderland 10a771 Jan Boyes ----- Original Message ----- From: lesley To: Durham Sent: Friday, March 27, 2009 7:16 AM Subject: [DUR-NBL] John william Murphy Hi I have found John William murphy First wife a Mary Jane Jackson They had three children James b1900 .Robert b 1903 John William b1906 Sunderland, cannot find Marriage He is a Seaman Merchant Service In 1906 they lived in 39 Railway St Sunderland Can anyone Help please Lesley Thanks

In a message dated 27/03/2009 12:44:47 GMT Standard Time, [email protected] writes: I am writing for direction as to the best type of letter to write to possible relatives (same surname, & county) that I have never met, but who I have located via the Ancestry UK phone directories I wish you the best of luck! Looking for relatives in Sunderland, I sent the following: Dear Mr./Ms. ------, I hope you don’t mind me contacting you out of the blue; I am writing to all the ------ I can find in the Sunderland area, to see if anybody can help me to piece together what happened to the family of my great-grandfather George -------. Then a lot of details that I knew about the family, followed by: If you think you are related to this family, I would be very pleased to hear from you; and if you should want to reply, I have enclosed a stamped envelope. Yours sincerely, The results depressed me. I sent out 17 letters with reply paid envelopes; I got back two from the Post Office saying the person had moved, got one saying they weren't related and another also saying that but in fact it turned out they were. That left 13 who presumably chucked them away after steaming off the stamp! I have good reason to think that at least one-third of the adressees were in fact related. I suppose one reply that turned out to be positive from 17 made it worth while. By the way, Ancestry phone books only go up to 1984. www.bt.com will give you current phone directories, but quite a large proportion of people keep their numbers out of the directories nowadays.. Adrian

Hi David Its not that unusual and happens on occasion I have found its more often found with mariners wives who enter them although they are at sea but have found examples on most census years After years of searching for my g.g.grandfather, George ANDERSON in 1841, I finally found him on his own in London using an address on a letter found at the National Archives dated 1843, I then found him with his family in Worthing enumerated as HENDERSON, theres no doubt its the same person due to the other information known about the family I found one definition of dispensary as follows :- A public institution that dispenses medicines or medical aid. Best wishes Nivard Ovington, in Cornwall (UK) >I came across a James TOMLINSON who appears on the 1881 census twice at two > separate addresses! > > He married a Mary Sophia LORD, who was born in Sunderland abt. 1839, but > on > the 1881 census, James appears as a 'patient' at 2 Thurnham St Dispensary, > Lancaster, while on the same census he appears to be residing at an > address > in Main Street, Skerton, Lancashire. > > 1) Is this unusual to have an individual appear to be at two different > locations on the same census (it's definately the same person)? > > 2) What is a 'dispensary'... is it another name for a hospital? > > Kind regards... David Allan.

Hello, I am writing for direction as to the best type of letter to write to possible relatives (same surname, & county) that I have never met, but who I have located via the Ancestry UK phone directories. Understanding the importance of the connections, I also want to do it sensitively and professionally. I live in the U.S., and our attitudes on this may be very different. Also using the address from the book, is that all I need? Example: John Smith (alias) 41 Smith Avenue, Town, Durham, DH6 4LT Town Durham UK??? many thanks for any experiences shared, and any good orderly direction! regards Nancy

I came across a James TOMLINSON who appears on the 1881 census twice at two separate addresses! He married a Mary Sophia LORD, who was born in Sunderland abt. 1839, but on the 1881 census, James appears as a 'patient' at 2 Thurnham St Dispensary, Lancaster, while on the same census he appears to be residing at an address in Main Street, Skerton, Lancashire. 1) Is this unusual to have an individual appear to be at two different locations on the same census (it's definately the same person)? 2) What is a 'dispensary'... is it another name for a hospital? Kind regards... David Allan.