Dear all, Thank you for all the positive responses; we appreciate any help or tips on how to proceed. We don't have much at all about my g-gm and g-gf. 1. I've put a copy of the fragment of the certificate at: http://famdocs.s3.amazonaws.com/birth.pdf 2. My grandmother was born in 1902 and based on this and a photo from the 1940s, I think they were born in the early or mid 1870s, but this could be 5 or so years earlier or later. 3. From a wife of a distant cousin, we think that her name was Olga Ellen, and we know that Maxwell was a family surname. My grandmother was Edith Ellen, so Ellen seems a family name. 4. My great-grandfather's name was Edwin Peter Clarke. We don't have any documentation about him. We know that he served in the Boer war -- and I did find him listed as fighting at the siege of Kimberley, and I'll try to follow that lead, though he did not serve in a regular army unit so I am not too hopeful. I have searched on the various free and paid on-line services for a record of his birth, or their marriage, but without luck. Could the name of the mother on the certificate be "Olga" rather than "Eliza" on the certificate? We have studied the original carefully and it does seem to be Eliza, but we can't rule out Olga. I have wondered whether it could be my grandmother's certificate rather than my g-gm's. But this doesn't really gel with with other snippets of family history. The other question I have about the certificate is that it says the name of the mother was "Corlass formerly Maxwell". Does this imply that this is a second marriage of the mother? Many thanks for any help, Scott

Hi Scott The nice unusual surname is a massive advantage! Eliza Ellen MAXWELL married Frederick Sydney CORLASS in Q1 1875 Peterborough (3b 330). There are three CORLASS births in Hambledon district Births Jun 1880 CORLASS Minnie Caroline Hambledon 2a 132 Births Jun 1883 Corlass Sydney Henry Hambledon 2a 125 Births Jun 1885 Corlass Maude Mliess Hambledon 2a 127 So presumably one of these is the certificate of which you have the remnants. "Corlass formerly Maxwell" is simply the standard way of referring to a mother's maiden name. The family are easily found in various censuses (though they are mistranscribed as "CORLAR" in 1881). Not sure how these people fit in to your family. Do let us know if we can be of further help Best wishes Caroline > > Dear all, > > Thank you for all the positive responses; we appreciate any help or > tips on > how to proceed. > > We don't have much at all about my g-gm and g-gf. > > 1. I've put a copy of the fragment of the certificate at: > http://famdocs.s3.amazonaws.com/birth.pdf > > 2. My grandmother was born in 1902 and based on this and a photo from > the > 1940s, I think they were born in the early or mid 1870s, but this could > be 5 > or so years earlier or later. > > 3. From a wife of a distant cousin, we think that her name was Olga > Ellen, > and we know that Maxwell was a family surname. My grandmother was Edith > Ellen, so Ellen seems a family name. > > 4. My great-grandfather's name was Edwin Peter Clarke. We don't have > any > documentation about him. We know that he served in the Boer war -- and > I did > find him listed as fighting at the siege of Kimberley, and I'll try to > follow that lead, though he did not serve in a regular army unit so I > am not > too hopeful. I have searched on the various free and paid on-line > services > for a record of his birth, or their marriage, but without luck. > > Could the name of the mother on the certificate be "Olga" rather than > "Eliza" on the certificate? We have studied the original carefully and > it > does seem to be Eliza, but we can't rule out Olga. I have wondered > whether > it could be my grandmother's certificate rather than my g-gm's. But > this > doesn't really gel with with other snippets of family history. > > The other question I have about the certificate is that it says the > name of > the mother was "Corlass formerly Maxwell". Does this imply that this is > a > second marriage of the mother? > > Many thanks for any help, > > Scott >

Hi Scott On the available dat I would say this is your lady , her marriage and the 1891 transcript Let us know if they tally with that you know already Births Jun 1853 Maxwell Eliza Ellen Peterboro 3b 203 Marriages Mar 1875 CORLASS Frederick Sydney Peterbro' 3b 330 MAXWELL Eliza Ellen Peterbro' 3b 330 1891 Name: Eliza E Corlass Age: 37 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1854 Relation: Wife Spouse's Name: Frederick S Corlass Gender: Female Where born: Thorney, Cambridgeshire, England Civil parish: Broadwater Ecclesiastical parish: Christchurch County/Island: Sussex Country: England Registration district: East Preston Sub-registration district: Worthing ED, institution, or vessel: 8 Neighbors: View others on page Piece: 836 Folio: 62 Page Number: 7 Household Members: Name Age Frederick S Corlass 49 Eliza E Corlass 37 Edith M Corlass 13 Minnie C Corlass 11 Sydney H Corlass 7 Maude M Corlass 5 Gerard Corlass 11/12 RG12; Piece: 836; Folio 62; Page 7; GSU roll: 6095946. ========================= Nivard Ovington in Cornwall (UK) > > > Dear all, > > Thank you for all the positive responses; we appreciate any help or tips on > how to proceed. > > We don't have much at all about my g-gm and g-gf. > > 1. I've put a copy of the fragment of the certificate at: > http://famdocs.s3.amazonaws.com/birth.pdf > > 2. My grandmother was born in 1902 and based on this and a photo from the > 1940s, I think they were born in the early or mid 1870s, but this could be 5 > or so years earlier or later. > > 3. From a wife of a distant cousin, we think that her name was Olga Ellen, > and we know that Maxwell was a family surname. My grandmother was Edith > Ellen, so Ellen seems a family name. > > 4. My great-grandfather's name was Edwin Peter Clarke. We don't have any > documentation about him. We know that he served in the Boer war -- and I did > find him listed as fighting at the siege of Kimberley, and I'll try to > follow that lead, though he did not serve in a regular army unit so I am not > too hopeful. I have searched on the various free and paid on-line services > for a record of his birth, or their marriage, but without luck. > > Could the name of the mother on the certificate be "Olga" rather than > "Eliza" on the certificate? We have studied the original carefully and it > does seem to be Eliza, but we can't rule out Olga. I have wondered whether > it could be my grandmother's certificate rather than my g-gm's. But this > doesn't really gel with with other snippets of family history. > > The other question I have about the certificate is that it says the name of > the mother was "Corlass formerly Maxwell". Does this imply that this is a > second marriage of the mother? > > Many thanks for any help, > > Scott