I am looking for two pieces of advice please: Firstly is it safe to assume that if a marriage certificate (1859) does not state that the groom's father is deceased that this is correct, and he was still alive at that time? I have had enormous difficulty in confirming which of the numerous John Robinsons in North Yorkshire & the Stockton area was my 2 x gt. grandfather. I have now changed tactics and am looking for his death as a possible way of locating him. On 18th April 1859 my gt. grandfather Robert married and the certificate does not say his father was deceased (marriage at Skelton says "father John Robinson, sailor"). I know that John's occupation did alternate between that of sailor and farmer. Five years later an Elizabeth Robinson (who for a long time I have suspected to be the elder daughter) married on 1st May 1864 at the Brunswick Methodist Chapel in Whitby. This certificate states the father (John Robinson, farmer) to be deceased. I am thinking of checking through the GRO death indexes for all possiblities between 1859 and 1864 - hoping that it is safe to assume he was actually still alive in 1859? Secondly, is it possible that a local Whitby newspaper may have a report of the marriage which could indicate where Elizabeth Robinson's father had lived? The marriage certificate gives the place of residence for both Elizabeth and her husband (Manuel Russell) as Hinderwell, although in 1851 Elizabeth was living in Brotton as she was later in 1881. Any ideas/ comments would be welcome. Margaret