Looking for POPE family of England (James & Ella)?

Question

I'm trying to trace the background of my grandfather, James Edward(?) Pope, married to Ella Alice Evans. Have had no luck finding anyone through searches of various genealogy sites and/or records listings, not even family members still living! We suspect my grandfather's name was changed at some point, but have no proof of that. I would very much appreciate anything that would give me a starting point, as my grandfather never mentioned his family at all, and I am unable to find a marriage record, or even a listing of his or her deaths.

I have tried to use my mother as a starting point, as I know her birthdate, but can't find her (she's still alive). I have my grandmother's birth & death dates & locations, but can't find her either. Is it possible I'm looking in the wrong places? or incorrectly? I have tried Ancestry.com, Genuki, and many others, with no success.

Answer 1

Hey Mumsarge,

Pope is a name that goes way back in England. I see entries in the 1600 and 1700s in Family Search. There are more recent entries too.

Do you know the day your Grandfather died? Do you know where he died? Do you know where he is buried? if you know these things, you can get a Death Certificate, the vital record of vital records. So, you should go for the Vital Records that you can find. England keeps excellent records, you just need to look for the Vital Record office in the municipal location where he passed away. Same for your Grandmother. The Death Certificate will tell you his birth, and that will give you his Birth Certificate. Until you prove these cannot be found it would be difficult to pursue any other course of action, except that if he changed his name - the vital records office would have record of that too.

Here are some web sites for the UK. You should do a YAHOO SEARCH (not google), for "VITAL RECORD ", where you put the municipal location where he, and or she died. That will bring up several places, but usually among them will be the place you need to go, or go to their web site and follow the instructions to get the Birth, and Death records. A marriage record could easily be misplaced, so it might not be available. Perhaps they got married on a cruise, and the Captain never registered the marriage, or maybe registered in some other country that the ship was based out of. You just never know until you find it.