Hi Denise You need to consider the possiblity that the names people used were not necessarily the first names registered at birth, or that no name had been decided upon and the child was simply registered as "male" or "female. Freebmd has for example:- Births March 1858 May Robert Herbert Thanet 2a 632 No other MAY births with Herbert as part of the name, were found in 1858 or March 1859 (which would include some births from late 1858). There were two MAY "male" births registered in 1858 in Devon & Cornwall. There were 11 Sarah MAY births registered in 1859/Mar 1860 including among others:- Births June 1859 May Sarah St. George S. 1d 114 (Southwark was then in Surrey) May Sarah Ann Farnham 2a 66 MAY Female Guildford 2a 48 Births Dec 1859 MAY Sarah Alice Newington 1d 195 There were 21 MAY births where the name Jane was used in 1863/Mar 64 including:- Births March 1863 MAY Marianne Jane Guildford 2a 45 MAY Mary Jane Wokingham 2c 378 Births June 1863 MAY Sarah Jane Reigate 2a 138 Births Sept 1863 MAY Clarissa Eliza Jane Newington 1d 235 MAY Emily Jane Windsor 2c 378 Births Dec 1863 MAY Jane Henley 3a 500 MAY Jane Camberwell 1d 520 1865/Mar 66 has 7 MAY births where Amelia was used including:- Births March 1865 MAY Amelia St. Giles 1b 462 MAY Amelia Farnham 2a 81 MAY Emily Amelia Elham 2a 856 MAY Female Reading 2c 365 Births Dec 1865 MAY Female Henley 3a 523 (NB These entries have been typed by me so please check against Freebmd before relying on the details. Typos a distinct possibliity!) If you would like the complete list of all the MAY entries extracted from Freebmd, please let me know. This can be sent off list. Unfortunately it is always possible that the births were not registered, or that the registrations got lost in translation between the local register office and the GRO, but it would be surprising to find four in the same family affected in this way. Family stories can be unreliable too and recollections of dates and ages. You may need to look at a wider range of dates I hope this helps in some way. Best wishes David Bexhill, East Sussex, UK > ------------------------------ > >Original Message: > > From: G May <[email protected]> > > > I am searching for William & Eliza MAY with the following children > Jane,(1863) Sarah (1859) and Amelia (1865) and Herbert 1858. There may have > been more and we only have the names of the sisters from family stories > along with possible birth dates. > > Herbert indicated that he was born in Surrey in 1858 and his Australian > death certificate gives his parents as William MAY and Eliza EVANS. I have > not been able to find any Herbert MAY whose birth matches this date anywhere > in UK. I have also searched for Herbert EVANS birth in Surrey. > Also I have searched for this family in all censuses in Surrey from 1861 to > 1881 with no success. By 1889 Herbert was in Australia and is believed to > have migrated in 1883. > > I have found a William MAY & Eliza EVANS married in Redruth in 1858 and a > couple of the same names in 1881 Gloucester census but none of the > children's names match. > > > ------------------------------