Hi Christine St Lukes should be registered under St Lukes which was a separate registration district then First observation, if you had used a checking point of 1860 (rather than 1st Jan 1860) you may have got the certificate However it may well have been the wrong one, as in 1860 there is another Elizabeth E COURT b1860 born Clerkenwell, which does come under Shoreditch Given the age of the mother (20) in 1861 is it not possible Elizabeth was born before they married (assuming they did) Nivard Ovington in Cornwall (UK) On 06/02/2015 00:21, Christine Benson via wrote: > Hi All, > > Elizabeth Edith COURT was born c 1860, St Luke, London according to the 1861 > census. She appears to have been the daughter of David Thomas (William) > COURT and ELIZA. She was baptized at Market Lavington, Wiltshire on 18 Aug > 1861 and that gives a birth date of 30 May 1860. That confirms the parents > but unfortunately no image is available so I can't check the dates. (Market > Lavington was her mother's birth place.) > > The only birth I can find that appears to match is for Elizabeth COURT b Q2 > 1860, Shoreditch. > > Does Shoreditch correspond with St Luke? > > I ordered a certificate specifying born 01/01/1860 in London so they would > search a year either side. I think I gave the father's name as David but I > cannot remember exactly and the acknowledgment email does not give those > details. Although I thought it was probably the Shoreditch one I was trying > to get the right one if it wasn't. The GRO say they cannot find a > certificate with the details I specified. Of course they refunded the money. > > So before I order the Shoreditch certificate which is the only one I can > find that matches, (my hope being that he called himself Thomas, say, on the > certificate,) but might well not be the right one, can anyone shed any more > light on the matter, suggest an alternative birth registration, or give any > more useful info. > > (In some censuses she is shown with the surname BENSON as she was "adopted" > by her step-grandfather William BENSON who refers to her in his will as my > adopted daughter.) > > Any help gratefully received > > Christine

Hi Nivard, Many thanks for your reply. As I understand it quoting 01/01/1860 as the date but NOT giving a specific reference will get them to search a year either side and part of the GRO’s reply was “We have searched the indexes for events registered in England and Wales during the years specified (1859-1861). We have been unable to find any entry with the details you provided." Also I entered 1860 on one page. Then on the next page it says "Date of birth (dd/mm/yyyy)* (If you do not know the exact date enter 01/01/1860, we will search the specified year and one either side)". That is what I did. Unfortunately I cannot find the marriage of her parents, and perhaps they didn't, so I do not know Eliza's maiden name. I have now tried to match up the probable Eliza's b. Market Lavington between 1840 and 1844 with Elizabeth's b St Luke but cannot find any matching surnames. The thought of her registered under her mother's maiden name is a good one though but it is not possible to order without a surname. Might it be possible to order from the relevant reg. office without a surname? I have also searched on the 4 most probable surnames for Eliza for an Elizabeth birth but found nothing that seems likely. Are you saying that you do not believe the Shoreditch birth could be the correct one? Or that you believe there are other possibilities? The second name of the Clerkenwell birth was Emma. Whilst I can see the name Edith might have been omitted I think it less likely it would have morphed from Emma. Can you think of any way I could order a certificate for an Elizabeth born 30 May 1860? That date must be a distinct possibility. (The one shown on her baptism.) Thanks again. Any other suggestions would be very welcome. Christine -----Original Message----- From: Nivard Ovington via Sent: Friday, February 06, 2015 9:49 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [LON] Elizabeth Edith COURT Hi Christine St Lukes should be registered under St Lukes which was a separate registration district then First observation, if you had used a checking point of 1860 (rather than 1st Jan 1860) you may have got the certificate However it may well have been the wrong one, as in 1860 there is another Elizabeth E COURT b1860 born Clerkenwell, which does come under Shoreditch Given the age of the mother (20) in 1861 is it not possible Elizabeth was born before they married (assuming they did) Nivard Ovington in Cornwall (UK) On 06/02/2015 00:21, Christine Benson via wrote: > Hi All, > > Elizabeth Edith COURT was born c 1860, St Luke, London according to the > 1861 > census. She appears to have been the daughter of David Thomas (William) > COURT and ELIZA. She was baptized at Market Lavington, Wiltshire on 18 Aug > 1861 and that gives a birth date of 30 May 1860. That confirms the parents > but unfortunately no image is available so I can't check the dates. > (Market > Lavington was her mother's birth place.) > > The only birth I can find that appears to match is for Elizabeth COURT b > Q2 > 1860, Shoreditch. > > Does Shoreditch correspond with St Luke? > > I ordered a certificate specifying born 01/01/1860 in London so they would > search a year either side. I think I gave the father's name as David but I > cannot remember exactly and the acknowledgment email does not give those > details. Although I thought it was probably the Shoreditch one I was > trying > to get the right one if it wasn't. The GRO say they cannot find a > certificate with the details I specified. Of course they refunded the > money. > > So before I order the Shoreditch certificate which is the only one I can > find that matches, (my hope being that he called himself Thomas, say, on > the > certificate,) but might well not be the right one, can anyone shed any > more > light on the matter, suggest an alternative birth registration, or give > any > more useful info. > > (In some censuses she is shown with the surname BENSON as she was > "adopted" > by her step-grandfather William BENSON who refers to her in his will as my > adopted daughter.) > > Any help gratefully received > > Christine