Hi , I am looking for information about a Margaret Dick Willis (maiden name Smith). Her parents were called Margaret Boyd Smith (maiden name Dick) and John Taylor Smith. She was married to someone called Bill Willis (presume William) and died in 1988 sometime.
She was married twice her first husband died during the 2nd World War i think, dont know his name, then she married Bill later she had no children. She was born in Scotland but both husbands were English, and she lived there most of her life.
I am in Scotland and dont know the English system for looking up information. When you buy a certificate how do you know you have found the right one if you do not know any real details. Do they still charge you if its the wrong certificate? In Scotland you can look at the certificate for 20p and order it if its the right one?
Need help and advice!!! and a kick start as to finding her first and second husbands names. don't know where to look.
Any help would be greatfully received.
thanks Linda
Margaret Dick Willis/Chichester .....
Moderator: Global Moderators
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Jockbird
- Posts: 270
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 10:09 am
Hi Lindi,
I've had a wee look on Free BMD for you on Ancestry and found this:
Name: Margaret Dick Willis
Birth Date: 24 Jan 1907
Death Registration Month/Year: Jul 1988
Age at death (estimated): 81
Registration District: Chichester
Inferred County: Sussex
Volume: 18
Page: 1457
'Fraid that despite living down in England I haven't a clue what to do in terms of ordering etc (I'm the first migrant), however, I am forever seeing people on Genes Reunited suggesting that you contact the local record office first before the GRO as they can sometimes give you the info and apparently charge you less for the document. Don't really know what page & volume mean but one of the experts on here probably will, so I'll join you on that learning curve!
The WSCC record office is based in Chichester. They may or may not hold the death cert but here's their contact info.
Richard Childs
County Archivist
West Sussex Record Office
County Hall
Chichester
West Sussex PO19 1RN
Tel : 01243 753602
Fax : 01243 533959
e-mail : records.office@westsussex.gov.uk
My own grandmother's death was registered in Chichester and, unfortunately, the English records do not hold as much information as our wonderful Scottish ones. It will give her maiden name, place of birth, Occupation & Usual Address (this is where it states on mine who she is the widow of), name of informant and cause of death........not a jot re parents unfortunately.
Good luck
Donna
I've had a wee look on Free BMD for you on Ancestry and found this:
Name: Margaret Dick Willis
Birth Date: 24 Jan 1907
Death Registration Month/Year: Jul 1988
Age at death (estimated): 81
Registration District: Chichester
Inferred County: Sussex
Volume: 18
Page: 1457
'Fraid that despite living down in England I haven't a clue what to do in terms of ordering etc (I'm the first migrant), however, I am forever seeing people on Genes Reunited suggesting that you contact the local record office first before the GRO as they can sometimes give you the info and apparently charge you less for the document. Don't really know what page & volume mean but one of the experts on here probably will, so I'll join you on that learning curve!
The WSCC record office is based in Chichester. They may or may not hold the death cert but here's their contact info.
Richard Childs
County Archivist
West Sussex Record Office
County Hall
Chichester
West Sussex PO19 1RN
Tel : 01243 753602
Fax : 01243 533959
e-mail : records.office@westsussex.gov.uk
My own grandmother's death was registered in Chichester and, unfortunately, the English records do not hold as much information as our wonderful Scottish ones. It will give her maiden name, place of birth, Occupation & Usual Address (this is where it states on mine who she is the widow of), name of informant and cause of death........not a jot re parents unfortunately.
Good luck
Donna
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LesleyB
- Posts: 8184
- Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2005 12:18 am
- Location: Scotland
Hi Lindi
We don't really deal with very recent family history. If your Margaret married and died in England then your best bet would be a site such as www.1837online.co.uk where you can (for a fee) search the English & Welsh indices. Once you have found a likely candidate you can pay for & have a certificate sent to you - there is no way of knowing 1oo% for sure that it is the correct person until it arrives. There is lots of helpful advice on the 1837 site so worth having a read before you start.
Marriages are perhaps a little easier to check because if you look up one party and find them, then check the same quarter year for the other party and the ref nos are the same then it is a bit more likely it is the correct couple - depends on the names though! Smith is not a barrel of laughs... I speak from experience here!
, so it could be worse, Willis should not be quite as bad!!
However, if it were me, I would start with a search for the death, on the above site. You have an idea of the year, so that would perhaps be a good starting point.
Best of luck with your research.
Best wishes
Lesley
We don't really deal with very recent family history. If your Margaret married and died in England then your best bet would be a site such as www.1837online.co.uk where you can (for a fee) search the English & Welsh indices. Once you have found a likely candidate you can pay for & have a certificate sent to you - there is no way of knowing 1oo% for sure that it is the correct person until it arrives. There is lots of helpful advice on the 1837 site so worth having a read before you start.
Marriages are perhaps a little easier to check because if you look up one party and find them, then check the same quarter year for the other party and the ref nos are the same then it is a bit more likely it is the correct couple - depends on the names though! Smith is not a barrel of laughs... I speak from experience here!
, so it could be worse, Willis should not be quite as bad!!However, if it were me, I would start with a search for the death, on the above site. You have an idea of the year, so that would perhaps be a good starting point.
Best of luck with your research.
Best wishes
Lesley
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Jockbird
- Posts: 270
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 10:09 am
Hi Linda, me again.
Forgot to say that, as for the marriages, you'll probably have to trawl through Ancestry quarter by quarter to get them but they do have the GROS reference and a link to ordering the documents. Again though advice from some of those more knowledgeable on here will help.
I believe that you get what you pay for and down here mistakes can prove a bit costly, hence why some suggest trying local record offices first.
Sorry it all seems a bit doom & gloom but it does make you appreciate SP, even if my credits do vanish at the drop of a hat!
Cheerio
Donna
Forgot to say that, as for the marriages, you'll probably have to trawl through Ancestry quarter by quarter to get them but they do have the GROS reference and a link to ordering the documents. Again though advice from some of those more knowledgeable on here will help.
I believe that you get what you pay for and down here mistakes can prove a bit costly, hence why some suggest trying local record offices first.
Sorry it all seems a bit doom & gloom but it does make you appreciate SP, even if my credits do vanish at the drop of a hat!
Cheerio
Donna
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momat
- Posts: 704
- Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2005 10:50 am
- Location: New Zealand