have found ancestor born 1783 but last census is 1841. have searched free bmd site and pallots marriages. have tried somerset council sites and church sites. im so sick that im stuck .
any help would be great
2006-10-18 09:40:14 · 11 answers · asked by shedevil 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Genealogy
Somerset House in Taunton has many records dating way back. Head down Prioswood Road, past the Gardeners Arms and take you first right, looks a bit like a library.
2006-10-18 11:43:24 · answer #1 · answered by Hairybolux 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
1
2016-05-22 00:18:32 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The parish records will be at the Somerset County Record Office. which would be in Taunton. If you know the parish of birth of your ancestor then you go along to Taunton and check the registers which are probably on microfilm or fiche, checking all instances of your surname within a good five years either way of 1783, as ages in censuses, especially the 1841, are not accurate - they were rounded up or down (I can't remember which) to the nearest five years.
The Record Office or nearest large library (who sometimes hold copies local to their area) will not search randomly for you due to staff shortages, but will usually find and copy and entry for you if you provide a place and date. It is usually about 50p a copy.
If you don't know the exact parish and have a very common surname like Smith or Jones then you are probably screwed as you have no way of knowing if the Smith or Jones you have found are the RIGHT Smith and Jones. In which case it is probably best to give up now.
In short, the next family holiday you take, go to Somerset, and farm the wife and kids off to Stonehenge or somewhere while you visit the Record Office. Either that, or pay a researcher to go to Somerset for you. Or see if your local Mormon Family History Centre can get copies of the Somerset registers in for you.
2006-10-18 09:58:37 · answer #3 · answered by Mental Mickey 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
From my researches it seems usually records are kept from 1850 onward...Older than that they were once kept in the churches or county and were either in fires or floods. And even cemetery markers were made from wood which has since deteriorated, or graves have been dug up and malls placed there, or are so grown over you'd never know they were there. In those days there were no obituaries in newspapers, and any hospital they may have ended up in would be gone by now. What info did you find in that 1841 vague census? Unless you can track them overseas to another country, that's probably all the info you're going to get on them unless you had a detailed family member who put some notes in an old bible or something.
2006-10-18 10:48:57 · answer #4 · answered by sophieb 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Oh, I know how you feel - one of my ancestors was born around 1770 in Somerset, England, and I can't find his birth record either!
The LDS (also called Mormon) chuch has parish records on film that you can rent and look at. You could also try a search at
I finally figured out that my ancestor was a non-conformist - meaning he didn't go to the Church of England - so now I have to find the other churches' records to see if he was christened in one of them instead. I also want to look at the sites "rustskipp..." mentioned.
Good luck and happy hunting!
2006-10-21 18:45:45 · answer #5 · answered by jainseyram 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try the Somerset Society in Taunton.
2006-10-18 09:45:44 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hey Shedevil,
Wish I was more informed, but here are some Somerset sites. I assume you mean England - but not sure.
2006-10-18 10:41:52 · answer #7 · answered by BuyTheSeaProperty 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You need to be more specific on the location. Somerset MA, WI, IA what?
2006-10-18 09:42:47 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
perhaps go to local library and look sometimes they may have info on it too...x
2006-10-18 10:58:56 · answer #9 · answered by jones_linz 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
internet
2006-10-18 09:44:37 · answer #10 · answered by ZenPenguin 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋