Hi George Civil registration started in England and Wales in mid 1837 but up to approx 1850 many births went unregistered for various reasons Events were registered locally and those were then passed back quarterly to the General Records Office who then compiled an index for them , one for births, marriages and deaths You can check that index on freebmd http://www.freebmd.org.uk/ In the early years (before 1874) the onus was on the registrar to seek out the events in his area, there was no penalty for not registering and as I said many birth events were missed Checking freebmd there does not appear to be an event for your Henry , that might mean he was registered but the registration was not passed to the GRO or he might be registered under another name (were his parents married?) Its estimated as many as one third of births were not registered and yours may be one of them I am afraid I would take issue with your statement that Henry and household were born in the County enumerated though Look at the last but one column, where born in County they have a Y for Yes on some entries but the CRADDOCK household has No (where it should state N but the enumerator seems to have qualified that) The household is as follows IMHO Source Citation: Class: HO107; Piece: 980; Book: 7; Civil Parish: Harborne; County: Staffordshire; Enumeration District: 7; Folio: 11; Page: 15; Line: 6 Hamlet of Smethwick Parish of Harbourne Rolf street Hannah MOSLEY 45 N John CRADDOCK 65 N Jome? CRADDOCK 22 N (female) Mary CRADDOCK 65 N Henry CRADDOCK 5months N Hannah MOSLEY may be related or may simply be the head of household or property owner occupier and the CRADDOCKs were boarders Ages were rounded down to the nearest five above 15 years of age so John CRADDOCK could be 69 down to 65 if the enumerator did his job right (he clearly didn't with the age 22) I would very much recommend viewing some of the tutorials on familysearch on research in England & Wales , they are very good and put things in context https://familysearch.org/learningcenter/home.html For example Principle Sources for British Research - Pre 1837 Records of Births, Marriages and Deaths Researching in the British Isles Do also be aware that English/Welsh civil records contain less detail than the Scottish ones but on the other hand start earlier and the Parish records on the whole contain more detail than the Scottish OPRs Do you have more on the Henry and Mary you seek the marriage for? years etc , if you found them in another census please post the census reference and details Nivard Ovington in Cornwall (UK) On 17/07/2012 16:36, George McCaig wrote: > Greetings all, > > > > I have been having great difficulty in locating the birth records of my grandmother's first husband. In all records he declared his birthplace to be Birmingham. Reading several posts I found that I should search Staffordshire, and Worcestershire, in addition to Warwickshire as many people born in the area of Birmingham give that as their birthplace for convenience. > > > > In searching Sraffordshire I found what I believe to be the individual I am researching His name was Henry CRADDOCK, born about 1841. I found a Henry, age 5 months on the 1841 census, which was taken June 7, 1841, in the Hamlet of Smethwick, Harbourne Parish. He does not appear to be living with his parents who are reported to be Henry CRADDOCK and Mary WESTWOOD, but with possible grandparents (or great-grandparents) John CRADDOCK and spouse Mary, aged 65 years. > > > > Nearly all my research has been in Scotland which records I am very familiar. However I know nothing about English records and sources. > > Question (s): How would I locate his birth record. The census is recorded as born in the same county? > > How would I locate the marriage records for Henry & Mary. There is the suspicion that he may have been in the army, and was later a carpenter. I have not found anything on the LDS site so far. > > > > Any guidance will be greatly appreciated. > > > > George M. McCaig, > > Burlington, Ontario

Nivard, Thank you very much for your advise, and clarifying the census listing for me. The copy I have is very dificult to read, had to do some research to figure out the name of the Hamlet being Smethwick. It would appear they were all born in England, but in a different county from where they were residing at the time of the census. With the proximity of the three counties I guess I have my work cut out for me. The sole surviving Canadian grandson of the Henry Craddock, plus other grandchildren in the U.S. have been looking for years for info. I am descendant of the second marriage of my grandmotther, and have documented her line to a 1795 Marriage in Old Cumnock, Ayrshire. But the Craddock line has been difficult. His age has always been recorded as being born about 1840-41. He enlisted in the 2nd Warwick Regiment of Militia January 27, 1859, was released March 22, 1859 to enlist in the 2nd Balltalina, 20th Regiment of Foot in Plymouth, Devonshire. Embarked for Bombay November 15, 1860, and transferred to the 106th Bengal Light Infantry November 1, 1864. My great-grandfather was the regimental tailor for the 106th so that is how he met my grandmother. They married after the regiment returned to England. I guess I should search in the Devonshire records as possibly the family came from there, being the reason he enlisted in a Devon regiment. I really appreciate all the suggestions you have made, and will follow up on them. George M. McCaig