Can any experts help me...

[Moondancer146]

I'm trying to track my great grandmothers first husband but only know what's on their marriage certificate and so far that hasn't helped me find him. Any tips or ideas on where else I could look or how I can find out what happened to him would be brilliant

On her subsequent marriage certificate is she shown as 'widowed' or 'divorced'? If she is widowed, you could try and look for his death, specifying the dates between the two marriages.

Another thing that might help is the names of the witnesses on the marriage certificate, quite often they will be other relatives which could help you pinpoint the family, especially if one of them has an uncommon name.

Have you looked for him on the censuses?

No unfortunately her 2nd marriage certificate shows her as a spinster! We do know for sure that it's her due to the information we already knew about her 2nd husband so we're unsure whether she lied deliberately or whether it was just an oversight.
The 1st certificate witnesses are both related to her so that doesn't help us look for him and so far there's been no look finding him on the census.
In 1911 she's listed on the census visiting her sister and it says she's married but she's alone :( and she re-married in September 1913 so we've got a pretty narrow period to search but we simply can't find any record of him.
I've tried searching earlier census as well using his age for an approx date of birth and his fathers name but that doesn't throw up any results either. If it wasn't for this marriage certificate you wouldn't even know he existed!!!

What was his occupation? Could there be a chance that he abandoned her and disappeared off to another part of the country (or even abroad)? If he had left her and been gone several years, then she might have decided there was no way of tracing him, and then lied on her re-marriage. I'm assuming her second marriage didn't take place in the same locality as the first, otherwise people would have known, and she couldn't have got away with it.

You might possibly be able to find him in trade directories, or he might have joined the armed forces, or even in prison!

Trying searching the census with wildcards

Are you using ancestry? If so use exact information but put very little information in do this with both surname and first name - but don't put the other name in. Pm me the info if you want and I will have a search next week

You could try visiting the local records office and have a look at the electoral roll for those years. Do you know his profession as local trade directories can often help. Also, www.findmypast.co.uk has a free trial and has things like military records and newspapers which may help, as marriage announcements were often in the small ads.

I've tried searching local parish records and used various websites but I'm coming up blank. He was a miner and yes both marriages did take place in the same general area and both their children were born there too. She was unfortunately orphaned long before her marriage and they married in a registry office so there's unlikely to be any announcements - sounds impossible doesn't it lol

If he was a miner, could he either -

a - been killed/missing in a mining accident?

b - moved to another part of the world? (Some from the UK ended up in Patagonia believe it or not).

Have you looked at local newspapers for mining accidents, or checked emigrants passenger lists?

I've checked passenger lists over and over with no luck and been through list upon list of mining accidents - even been to the local mining museum. I'm starting to think she must've buried him in the back garden lol

Moondancer, if you like, send me a PM with everything you know, and I'll do some digging for you next time I'm at the SoG