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Where to start - looking for a Birth/Baptism Cert

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  • 19-09-2018 9:15am
    #1
    jasonb
    Registered Users Posts: 3,313 ✭✭✭


    Hi there,

    I’m trying to find the Birth or Baptism Cert for my Grandfather.

    I have found him in the 1901 and 1911 Census in Dublin. I also have his two Marraige Certs from 1920 and 1946.

    In 1901 he’s listed as the ‘Adopted Son’ of the family he’s with. His Father’s name on his Marraige Certs is different from the Head of Family name in the Census.

    I extrapolated back and looked online for Birth Records around 1882/3 for someone with his name, and the same Father’s name. They’re common names (John and Patrick Byrne) so there are a few possibilities. How can I narrow it down? I was thinking of looking at the parents in the possible birth records to find other kids they had, and search for those in the 1901 census, to see if anything sticks out? I could also look for Death records to see if some of those parents died (hence him being adopted?). How could I look up Adoption Records, or can I?

    I’m doing all of this online for the moment, but will happily move on to records offices if that will help. But where do I go?

    Thanks in advance...


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    #2
    Meursault
    Registered Users Posts: 453 ✭✭Meursault


    Hi JasonB, I have started a similar thread myself on the Genealogy board yesterday.

    I have been working on a family tree and i noticed there were no records online for my maternal grandmother, even though i had her full name, her parents' names, the year of birth, etc. I called in to the local Births, Deaths, and Marriage (HSE) office in Cork, and they could not find any record of her birth either. They suggested that she might have been adopted. They advised me to reach out to the General Register Office in Roscommon - phone number 090 6632900, email gro@groireland.ie

    It might be worth contacting then to see what they have? Having said that, I was told by them that there was no "official adoption" in place until 1952, and they hold no records prior to 1934. However, they took my details and hopefully they will come back with something.

    Judging by the advice and opinions of others on the genealogy board, it appears that it was not uncommon for people not to have birth certs for whatever reason, at the turn of the century.

    anyway, the best of luck. if you could keep us updated on your progress, that would be great, because i am looking for advice myself!


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    #3
    jasonb
    Registered Users Posts: 3,313 ✭✭✭jasonb


    Thanks for your reply Meursault.

    If there's one thing I've learned so far, it's that I can't really trust anything that I find, not fully. My Granddad's Death Cert for example. It says he was 63 when he died, but he's in the 1911 Census at the age of 28, which makes him 76 when he died.

    I've found four people with his name and his father's name who were baptised in Dublin in 1882/1883, and I've found another 3 people who had Birth Certs in the same period. Only one of the 4 who were baptised also had a Birth Cert. So that's 7 people with his name and his father's name born in that period in Dublin that I can find.

    I'm treating it as a deductive process, knowing that I'm making assumptions and seeing where those assumptions lead me. Ideally I'll confirm that one of the Births/Baptisms I've found is him, but even if I can confirm that some of the others aren't him then I'm ruling some of them out!


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    #4
    Meursault
    Registered Users Posts: 453 ✭✭Meursault


    Jeez, that would make you want to tear your hair out JasonB! Hopefully you get some luck, with all that effort!


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    #5
    jasonb
    Registered Users Posts: 3,313 ✭✭✭jasonb


    Thanks! I reckon I'll never know for sure, and probably end up picking the one that looks most likely and saying 'that's probably him'.


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