stuck already, totally overwhelmed- help!

[Lavenderhoney]

i finally took the plunge and bought an ancestry sub. However it hasn't made the slightest bit of difference- all my relatives seem to be invisible, not born nor died (!) and I've only got to my paternal GPs!

I have found out approx. when they married, so how do I get a marriage cert and does it arrive online? I need their dob and anything else.

would it help to get my df birth cert too?

its awful tbh, a hornets nest. I have no idea what I am doing:(

-I have a living aunt who has been living with the same chap for 50 years and I just checked her wedding date and she doesn't appear to be married (although my df gave her away, apparently,)

• I have a cousin with a very odd name (who I have met, along with her family) who doesn't have a birth date, or a marriage date and I know she did marry as I was her bridemaid!
• my gm only appears in one census for one year then nowhere.

I know she had quite a few dc, and came from a big familt, but I don't know their names. not a close family. I know approx. year and exact day/ month when my gm died and where and that is nowhere as well.

I'm starting to wish I hadn't started this. I am really really bad at it aren't I?

sadly most of my relatives aren't here anymore but bickered endlessly about life stories when they were, so who knows what is true.

any help or advice welcome.

Do you know where your GP's were married? The church/registrar will still have a record of the wedding in the archives.

Failing that, if you know what district or area that could narrow it down a fair bit.

Have you looked for them on census records?

Yes I know where my df parents married, and I have found the month ad year but not the date. Do I apply to the church for the record?

I can only find them on the census for 1965! They married in the early twenties and lived in London.

I am abroad at the moment so I am trying to do everything via Internet although post can be used it takes longer!

You am order the marriage certificate from the public/general records office... You need the registration details which by the sounds of it you have already found... On this when it arrives you'll get their complete date of birth and there fathers names and occupations. Marriage certificates and birth certificates are always helpful because you can find out so much from them.

Unfortunately it can be very difficult. My family is easily traceable back to 1600s because I have very unusual names in my family and sons in the family often have the mothers maiden name as a middle name. My DH had a very common name and it's virtually impossible to trace anything with any confidence.

Actually looking further you don't seem to have the information you need... Are you using ancestry properly. Focus the search to marriage and type in as much information as you have, it should bring something up if they married in England?

You can't have found them on a 1965 census, because there wasn't a census in 1965 and the most census available is 1911.

Unless maybe you're an American poster? If that's the case you should find something through the social security index.

I have my own ancestry subscription and am pretty good with it, if you want PM me all you have re: grandparents and I can look for you, I might be able to at least help you get started.

Thanks you very much! I'm going to have another go- and you are right it's not a census, its an electoral role I was looking at.

I have found the wedding now, so I am going to see how I get on.