Hello all. I'm writing to this list in the hope that some kind soul can point me in the right direction to obtain a copy of a birth certificate for my grandfather, William Edward SADLEIR. According to both his wedding and death certificates, he was born in Ceylon in 1876, the second son of his Irish-born parents William Martley SADLEIR and Mary Augusta Elizabeth MITCHELL. The family subsequently moved to Australia and settled there. I have already asked this question of what I believe to be the relevant government department, but after 6 months, I have had no reply. Thanks in advance for any information received, - Anthony Tasmania, Australia

Hi Anthony Civil registration officially started in Ceylon in 1867. It's all a bit hit and miss prior to about 1900 when registration got more comprehensive. Everything depends on knowing exactly where a birth, death or marriage took place on the Island as this is how the records are organized, otherwise it's like searching for a needle in a haystack as there is no master surname index to search by. To find what records are available look at the Latter Day Saints Familysearch web site by clicking on the following URL: http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=localityrelated&columns=*%2C180%2C0&subject=190&subject_disp=Sri_Lanka Hope this helps and best regards. Jagro wrote: >Hello all. I'm writing to this list in the hope that some kind soul can >point me in the right direction to obtain a copy of a birth certificate >for my grandfather, William Edward SADLEIR. > >According to both his wedding and death certificates, he was born in >Ceylon in 1876, the second son of his Irish-born parents William Martley >SADLEIR and Mary Augusta Elizabeth MITCHELL. The family subsequently >moved to Australia and settled there. > >I have already asked this question of what I believe to be the relevant >government department, but after 6 months, I have had no reply. > >Thanks in advance for any information received, > > - Anthony > >Tasmania, Australia > > >============================== >Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the >last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx > > > > > -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.7/214 - Release Date: 12/23/05