Hi April,
If it's any consolation, I've visited about 16 different record
offices, and it can be a little daunting even now going into a
different one for the first time. Each one is organised differently,
has a different layout and referencing system, and some staff can be
more daunting than others.
But if it's any consolation, the second and subsequent visits to the
same one get better, as you get more confident and more familiar with
their set-up.
KERTON is such an uncommon surname for this area that it's probably
the right one. But the only safe way to find out is to obtain
Reginald's birth certificate! I know certificates cost money whereas
census look-ups don't normally, but to build up a family tree purely
on census entries is like building up a brick wall without any cement
to hold the bricks together - you could find later that it all
collapses and you've got to start to rebuild it differently 8-).
Since you visited Cwmbran, I assume you're living fairly locally, so
booking a session on a microfiche reader at Newport Central Reference
Library (to look up the birth indexes for a reference entry for
Reginald around 1905) may be less daunting.
Certificates often reveal extra unsuspected Christian names, or
sometimes even completely different Christian names because the
children were registered under one name and then called by a pet name
or diminutive - I had an Aunty Poll who was known as such (and
presumably I'll find her in the 1901 census as such), but she was
registered as Elizabeth Anne.
Good luck in your researches.
Geoff Riggs, Chepstow, South Wales
riggs(a)one-name.org
----- Original Message -----
From: "April Kerton" <April.kerton(a)ukgateway.net>
To: <MONMOUTHSHIRE-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Friday, December 29, 2000 8:10 PM
Subject: [Mon] 1891 census Blaenavon
Hi everyone,
I am proud to say I ventured to the record office for the first time
today and
I'm not ashamed to admit I found it extremely daunting.
The good news is I found exactly what I was looking for - my great
grandfather's wedding certificate which in turn shows my great great
grandfathers name - Edward KERTON. It listed him as a steel worker.
Now Edward may be fairly common name and steel worker a common
occupation but I strongly think he may be featured on the 1891 census
(four years before my great grandfather Reginald was born.)
It reads:
All Kerton of 11E Row, Blaenavon
Edward (Head) 39yrs old, foreman at steelworks born Brunham Somerset
Eliza (wife) 38 years old. born Plymouth
and goes on to list 7 children.
Could anyone please advise me on the next step to confirm whether
this is one and
the same person?
Will I have to wail for the release of the 1901 census and when will
that be?
Thanks in advance.
April
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