Beginning Family Tree for Brian George Edwards Born May 1954 Parents Mary and Peter Edwards Stoke on Trent Staffs

Here are a few tips that might help your journey.

Starting point get details from (get copies not guesses)

1) Your friends Birth Certificate - gives you his parents details, should give marriage date.

2) His Parents marriage certificate - gives you there approx ages, occupation, address and details of their parents (his grandparents), fathers occupations and if deceased etc.

3) Birth certificates for both his parents - you now have their parents (his grandparents) names from the marriage certificate and the birth certificate should give marriage date for his grandparents.

4) Marriage certificate for both their parents(his grandparents). Date from birth certificate makes it easier to find.

5) Death certificates for any of the above. Sometime the give useful information but are not often reliable as the informant may only put down what they think they know are the answers to the question, sometimes they are a bit off the mark.

The certificates will be available through GRO UK, if they are all from UK.

If you would like further help, post the details of what you have found to this journal and I'm sure some one will be able to assist you.

This looks like his birth reg:

England & Wales, Birth Index, 1916-2005
Name: Brian G Edwards
Mother's Maiden Surname: Barefoot
Date of Registration: Apr-May-Jun 1954
Registration district: Stoke
Inferred County: Staffordshire
Volume Number: 9b
Page Number: 878

This looks like it could be Brian's parents marriage but they are not from Staffordshire.

England & Wales, Marriage Index, 1916-2005
Name: Peter H Edwards
Spouse : MARY E Barefoot
Date of Registration: Jul-Aug-Sep 1950
Registration district: Wantage
Inferred County: Berkshire
Volume Number: 6a
Page Number: 439

A quick search on

freebmd.org.uk

Births Jun 1954
Edwards Brian G Barefoot Stoke 9b 878

Marriages Sep 1950
BAREFOOT Mary E EDWARDS Wantage 6a 439
Edwards Peter H Barefoot Wantage 6a 439

you will need copies for more details.

I also found another birth for Edwards/Barefoot possibly related

Births Sep 1954
Edwards Margaret K Barefoot Stoke 9b 802

and this marriage

Marriages Mar 1937
Barefoot Gertrude F Edwards Oxford 3a 2881
Edwards Oswald L Barefoot Oxford 3a 2881

with children born Oxford, Wantage & Stoke around the same dates, another reason to get copies.

England & Wales, Marriage Index, 1916-2005
Name: Brian G Edwards
Spouse Surname: Alison C M Grimsey
Date of Registration: Jul-Aug-Sep 1978
Registration district: Colchester
Inferred County: Essex
Volume Number: 9
Page Number: 2936

Hi asheppard, this is interesting, i always understood his mother to be Mary,not Margaret,but people go by preferred names or usage of pet names,so it is possible. Brian had 3 older siblings and 3 younger siblings, so though possible,it may have been a very busy four years pregnancy wise...allowing for the 9 months between each conception/delivery... all but one sibling survives, so i am reluctant to name. A Peter Edwards passed away this year in June.Brian's parents both had Stoke accents,as if born and bred,but perhaps could have been elsewhere at time of marriage,but this seems unlikely unless due to work/national service reasons..again i do not know. Thank you for your help, it is very kind. It relies upon Brian, who is quite poorly,being well enough to confirm the years of his parents marriage, since Mary and Peter were common names,at that time,without further details or the certificates.

Hi familydetective, the marriage of Brian to Alison was correct, that i can confirm.
The possible marriage of his parents, confusing,but the birth of a Margaret K Barefoot sounds like a cousin,Brian was definitely born in 1954,and did not have a twin sister, that i know of.The marriage in 1937 could have been his grandparents,but until Brian can confirm their names,it is not possible to say. His grandfather served in the Staffords regiment,as did Brian,but that could account for the location of a marriage depwnding on where the regiment was based if either of the couple were serving at the time. Brian's mother had a sister,i believe her name was Kathleen,but, again i don't know if that was her birth name. She would have an eldest son called John,and others younger,one being Kenneth,about Brian's age. Unfortunately were this pre 1911 the census would detail family and residence,and i would be able to give better details. Brian has not yet responded to my email questions of yesterday, so i'm very grateful to you for your help,thus far,and when he does, perhaps i will be able to write in the tree the immediate details(in pencil).

To family detective,if grandparents married in 1937, and Grandson Brian was born 1954, how old was his mum or dad?How old was the legal age to marry? Just a thought..

addendum, Brian was the third child to his parents, and in 1954, so, his mother would have to have been younger than 17 at his siblings birth... and, legally they were married, so, that all suggests that the connection to marriage in 1937 is highly unlikely, i don't think his mother had three children prior to the age of 17. I know it is not impossible, but this was the 50's, and, it would assume that her mother was already pregnant well before she married , if the details pertaining to a marriage in 1937 were related to Brian's family. However, if i was looking for a plot to write a period drama, what a dramatic beginning that would be... Catherine Cookson never had it so good even ? Ah, excuse my humour. Still waiting to hear from my friend, so, until then, I cannot verify any of the suggestions, and do appreciate all that you have done in spending your time and wits searching for possible initial links. Thank you to all .

asheppard, Brian's brother Peter Edwards passed away in June 2015, my previous comment " this year" might have implied that I meant the year of the marriage that you found.
Thank you.

There is this birth in the reading area:

England & Wales, Birth Index, 1916-2005
Name: Mary M Barefoot
Mother's Maiden Surname: Phillips
Date of Registration: Oct-Nov-Dec 1926
Registration district: Reading
Inferred County: Hampshire
Volume Number: 2c
Page Number: 533

I think you are going to have to get Brian George Edwards birth cert to confirm his mothers maiden name was Barefoot and establish her christian name was Mary E and that his father was Peter H Edwards.

If these are correct you need the marriage cert for Peter H Edwards and Mary M Barefoot to get both their ages and fathers names to go back any further.

I agree with familydetective you need to confirm Brian's parents names from his birth certificate and confirm their marriage date and obtain a copy of that.

It is most important that you get copies of any certificates to verify the details.

The marriage of Oswald Edwards & Gertrude Barefoot may not be related, just a coincidence, nut worth checking.

You say both Brian's parents and g/parents have past away, do you know approx when his parents died and was it in Stoke ?

Yes,it was in Stoke, but not recently.both parents died several years back, due to iĺl health..as opposed an accidental death. I am waiting for Brian's response, his health permitting.Thank you,yes,i agree,but i don't have access to the certificates myself.

Dear Asheppardm Familydectective and edmondsallan, Brian confirmed that his mother was called Mary Ellen, and his grandmother was May ! This is all he can confirm for me, but, it is something . He is seeing family this weekend, they are coming to visit him, ( he has ill health) , and , he said he will ask his sister. However, I don't know how long this will take.
I am, unfortunately, waiting for a free Ancestory.co.uk weekend to come along, again. I am an unwaged carer, and I cannot afford the high charge for the access to the files that they hold. It is frustrating, because in the past I had the means to search these archives through membership, but, currently this is too high a price. Of course, I don't expect others to do all the work for me, but, am eagerly waiting for an email of the sort from Ancestory.co.uk to begin fine toothing again. Its amazing what you can do in a solid few hours, but, also frustrating how many red herrings you come accross, especially with a name like Edwards, which was so prevalent at one time, i think it was like the second most common surname in the UK after the reign of King Edward... ( lots of Edward's, eh ?) . Ah, well, my bad humour.
Thank you for all that you have helped with so far, does anyone know of free access to family records that might help me in the mean time ?

Dear each, also, I know that without Brian's parents marriage details, there will be no detail of their parents, and therefore, I wont know who to look for on the pre 1911 census, if any, I am assuming that since his Grandmother was well over 70 in 1978, that she was born around the time of the most recently accessible census records... ie, the Victorian era or just before it... well, definitely the Victorian era. Does anyone have access to the marriage records of Alison and Brian in 1978, were there any details listed on this, or, on the birth certificate of Brian George Edwards 1954 ? Surely his parents names and occupations were detailed on such in those days ? Ah, as you clearly pointed out, without access to modern certificates, its very hard to research the past. Your points are all noted, and appreciated that you have helped me as best you can.