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ANSWER:
(From
Barbara Nightingale):
Do you have any documentation to show when and where your ancestor first
entered the United States? Did
he later take up American citizenship?
Do you have any census details for him
after he arrived in the US?
Any of these documents will hopefully
give details of his age, place of birth,
occupation, possibly his father’s name and
occupation.
The
last British Census which is available to the
public is that of 1891, so if we can place him
somewhere in 1891 we can then work back through
the censuses every 10 years to 1841. Civil
registration of births, marriages and deaths
began in July 1837.
Before that date we have to consult
Parish registers to trace families back.
If
you were starting from scratch, without knowing
anything at all, I would say to you:
(1)
You know your father’s name and your
mother’s maiden name.
You should be able to
look in the records to find where they
were married and then obtain a copy of their
marriage certificate (which in England would
give the names and occupations of both bride’s
and groom’s fathers and where they were living
at the time of marriage).
(2)
Knowing where they were living at the
time of their marriage, take a look on the
nearest census to that date to find out where
they were born, and the names of their mothers.
The ages given on the census should
enable you to work out an approximate date of
birth.
(3)
Look on the birth index to find where the
birth was listed.
Apply for a copy of the birth
certificate.
This will give you the mother’s maiden
name. You
are now in a position to repeat the process and
gradually work backwards.
Does
this give you an idea of what to do next?
You
may also like to consider joining the Entwistle
Family History Association, as we are sometimes
able to undertake research for members, and may
even be able to put you in touch with someone
researching the same family.
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