Genealogy Chat

I have the exact date of birth (29 Nov 1900) and probable place (Hucknall, Nottinghamshire) but cannot find a record for a relative Ada Walker. Can anyone suggest another way other than searching on GR?

FreeBMD?

I have heard that searching on GR records is a complete waste of time.

Hvae you checked trees on here - and maybe on Ancestry and other sites?

How do you know the exact date of birth? If it's from a death certificate it will only be as reliable as the person giving the information - it could easily be a year or two out.

Jill

Have you found her in both 1901 and 1911 censuses?

What age was she on marriage and what was the date of marriage? That might help you work out if the 1900 is accurate or whether it's maybe 1899 or 1901 really.

Jill

1901 census
9 Truman St., Hucknall, Nottinghamshire
Mary Walker, boarder, 43, born Leics, Overseal?
Thomas, boarder, 15, colliery worker, born Warwicks, Quarrybury
Kate, boarder, 7, born Notts, Basford
Ada, boarder, 1, born Notts, Hucknall

Boarding with the Sherrard family.

No condition as to marriage given for any of them. Also no relationship other than boarder.

This is the site you need:

www.freebmd.org.uk

Basford covers Hucknall:

Births Dec 1899 (>99%)
Walker Ada Basford 7b 226

Nothing for Dec Q 1900 - Mar Q 1901 but,

Found this:

Births Dec 1899 (>99%)
Walker Ada Basford 7b 226 Scan available - click to view

Hucknall comes under Basford.


If she was 1 year old in the 1901 census it's likely that she was more than 12 months - not less than 12 months old.

Jill

There are 2 Ada walkers who fit in 1911. You need her father's name (one is Alonzo so with luck it's him!!).

Household WALKER, Ada 1900 11 F Nottingham Nottinghamshire VIEW VIEW
Household WALKER, Ada 1899 12 F Nottingham Nottinghamshire

Jan

Thank you everyone. here's the info I have:
I know her date of birth (29 Nov 1900) from the family bible.
1901 census Ada, age 1, with mother and siblings is boarding with Sherrard family
1911 census age 10 still living with Sherrard family, her mother Mary Walker marries Abraham Sherrard in 1915.
What I really want to know is who Ada's father is?
Mary's first husband was John Walker (she is living with him on 1891 census in Hucknall) but I haven't yet discovered what happened to him and why she moved in with Abraham Sherrard. Could Abraham be Ada's father?

If her birth was registered Dec. Q 1899 she would have had her first birthday late 1900 so would have been 1 when the 1901 census was taken 31 March 1901.
If she was born 29 Nov. 1900 her age on the census would be 4 months.

Hucknall Torkard is a parish in Basford RegoD 1900-ish.
Hucknall under Huthwaite is a village in Mansfield RegoD 1900-ish.

There's only one Ada Walker in Notts from either RD 1895-1905 (Basford 1899q4). Maybe the bible's recording a baptism - I've got 3 rellies who were baptized on their 1st b'day.

Yep. Agree with Margaret.

I've come across several who have their birthdays very close to the census dates and show in months - not years.

mgnv's theory re baptism seems very logical.

In your position I would send off for that birth certificate. OK it might not be her but it's the closest we have and there's a very good chance it is her.

Have you searched deaths for John Walker from 1891 to 1911? I expect you have and it's a reasonably common name but ...

Don't forget that divorce was horrendously expensive in those days and probably out of the question for most of our ancestors. I think living together and bigamy were far more common than maybe we give them credit for!

Jill

Thanks all
I have sent for death certificate today (she dies Apr Qtr 1968, aged 68) don't know if that will throw anything up? Might try birth in 1899, fits in with census, I was just following bible entry but admit didn't think about baptism over birth date. I also sent for her marriage certificate back in January but still haven't had it (despite many complaints to GRO, not impressed with their service). I thought that would at least give her father's name? Appreciate all your help
Regards,
Alison

Seems a long time to wait for the marriage cert from GRO - they are normally a lot quicker than that! Did you quote ref nos etc? If you ask them to do a 3 year search it can take a few weeks to get a result.

Jill

Something odd about waiting so long for that marriage cert. Have you used their online complaints form or rung them up? Try both. Back in January they were turning things round in a few days, has slowed down lately to 7-10 days. I sent a complaint 3 weeks ago and have only had a message saying there are delays.

I still think your birthdate in the family bible is wrong, and the child born Dec Qtr 1899 is likely to be correct.

Births Dec 1900
Walker Female Basford 7b 165

Rose

Possible, Rose - but there is a death in the same quarter which is more likely to correspond with the birth that you found:

Deaths Dec 1900
Walker Female 0 Basford 7b 87


Also, a late-1899 birth would tie in with an age at death of 68 in Apr-May-Jun 1968. I think therefore that the Dec-1899 birth is more likely to be the right one.

My universal advice is that you must have Ada's marriage certificate before guessing at an ancestor in the census. I've lost count of the number of contacts I have had to tell that they have worked out many generations of the wrong person. The certificate should identify her father and a bonus would be witnesses who were relations.

The obvious marriage is William A Brownlow = Ada Walker; Basford district, volume 7b, page 270 (I have verified the reference with the GRO Index image) Armed with the reference you should get a certificate in a week, and it only costs £7.
The other marriages are
Ada S Walker; spouse Roworth; 1935
Ada Walker; spouse Oswin; 1940
Ada A Walker; spouse Saxton; 1956

A thought about family bibles; It all depends on when the date was written and by whom, as to how much accuracy you can assume. If is was inscribed by her daur, eg, she could be forgiven for getting the year wrong.
--
Dave