Genealogy question.

[SirVixofVixHall]

I’m trying to get my Great Grandparents marriage certificate but the records office have refunded me saying they couldn’t find it.
I can see a record on Ancestry that seems to match, so I’m a bit baffled. I’d initially ordered one from ancestry, that was also returned unfound, but they said it was because I’d entered the quarter incorrectly (it had been auto-entered as 1 and I hadn’t noticed It should be 4 ).
I then ordered it from the records office as their speedy service is cheaper. I’ve now ordered it again giving them the page and volume number, but I’m worried it still won’t appear, what happens then ?
Oddly on ancestry it comes up in two different ways, one with a digit missing from the page number ( the actual page always has the same number) the details are different on the one with the incorrect number.
This sounds confusing so hopefully it makes sense if you have done the same ! Why might it be coming up as not found ?

Look for it on FreeBMD, make a note of the reference number and order it direct from the GRO website quoting their reference.

I've seen occasional double entries on marriage records and have thought they are spelling mistakes on the register - I've seen the same name spelled differently on one record.

Did you order from the GRO website?

Have you double checked FMP to see if it's a transcription error? It might be too recent but have you found a church record for the marriage?

Fingers crossed you get the certificate ok, I'm happy to help search!

I ordered by telephoning the GRO. My first order I didn’t give the page etc as they only asked for the name, today I also gave the person the page I can see on ancestry.
What is FMP ?
The marriage was in 1902 according to ancestry, which makes sense as I can see my great grandfather I think on the 1901 census, not married, and my Grannie was born in December 1903, so the last quarter of 1902 fits. Also on the 1911 census , the marriage is down as 8 completed years, which matches too.
I haven’t found a church record. Might be a chapel anyway.

Stripes it seems you need to volunteer to join freebmd, I’m confused by their website ?

No you don't have to volunteer on FreeBMD - just click on the search button.

They have a lot of volunteer transcribers and are always asking for more, that is how they manage to keep it free of charge for people to search.

Oh, and don't rely on Ancestry to get things correct, always double-check elsewhere. Unless you are looking at an actual original document, then anything on the internet will be a transcription of the original record. Transcribers are not necessarily UK based and don't have local knowledge of towns etc, or the spelling of less well-known names. I've found a few corkers in my time!

Remember also that people didn't always tell the truth on the censuses. Sometimes they would stretch things a bit about whether they were actually married or not, sometimes other details are only a vague approximation as well.

FMP is the Find My Past website.

If you look it up on Free Reg you can look at the original page of the index and get the reference yourself, it may have been mistranscribed?

Sorry Free BMD not Free REG.

Oh thank you. I searched and it seemed to come up but I’m confused as there is an amended entry, yet it looks the same as the other entry. The whole page is confusing me ! It seems to have been found, but how can I tell ?

Actually I can see it links to the same typed page that came up on ancestry. I don’t understand why the GRO couldn’t find it. There was an ammendment thing and a double entry but I’ve re searched and now it just has this warning thingy. ( am very tired ! )

I can’t get it at all on FMP.

My Great Grandmother was Margaret Hannah, so maybe she was married as just Margaret or Margaret H, is that what they mean ? Although on ancestry where you scroll down it says other people on page, and under GG’s name is hers as Margaret Hannah.

And re the truth, I did wonder if they hadn’t married but given their background and where they lived that seems unlikely.

Just put in the surname and one first name of each person, and don't put anything else in the search boxes at all. Then you will get everyone (including those with middle names/initials). If that doesn't work, put one person in but not the other.

I'm assuming you know what part of the country they lived, but don't narrow that in the search boxes because the names of registration districts and their boundaries have changed over time.

Sometimes if you put in too much information in the search criteria it won't find it unless it is exactly what you put in, so if there is a slight difference it won't find it.

If it is on FreeBMD twice, then it could be that the names are correct on both versions, but the district, page or volume number differs because one transcriber has made a mistake. Which could account for them not finding it when you've ordered it. The other alternative if you are sure you have the right one is to contact the individual register office direct, and they will search their records for you.

One of mine was Arthur William on some records, and William Arthur on others.

That's just a standard warning when you put in 2 names but only one is recorded.

You say it is an amended entry. Do ALL the details look the same? Have you looked from both the bride and groom side and does everything match?

If you can see the scan of the index pages for both parties, you should be able to get a confirmed reference.

I'm happy to do some digging if you pm me the details.

As others suggest if you can visit or contact the relevant registration office and ask nicely they may go and check the originals for you.

Ok if I put in her name, she comes up with the same page details as him, so hopefully it will all go through now. The amended thing was strange , it has the name of a transcriber. It then says- COMMENT correction reference ............. (then a sequence of numbers)
caused this entry to be added . Claimed source was “GRO m/film”
So I don’t know what that is about as it simply repeated the same info. Odd.

Are the reference details identical on both entries on FreeBMD? The district, volume and page numbers should be the same, as well as their names.

By the way, are you sure that you have the right quarter? Have you searched from Jun Q 1901 to Dec Q 1903 to be on the safe side? Just because something appears in the quarter you think it should be in, it might not necessarily be the right one, especially if it is a relatively common surname in the area. Just to be on the safe side, check anyway, otherwise you might literally end up barking up the wrong tree - I did that once, and it was several years before I realised that I had the wrong couple.

They may well have married sooner or later than you think. My great-grandparents married when she was already pregnant with their first, and their marriage is two quarters before the birth. Also, if registration was very late in the quarter, sometimes the record is shown in the following quarter to the one expected.