Thank you for sending your latest questions to Nick Barratt, our resident genealogy expert, and genealogist star of BBC2's hit series 'Who Do You Think You Are?'.  

If you wish to submit a question to Nick, please email expert@findmypast.com.

Nick is only able to answer a modest number of questions every two weeks. If your question is not chosen, we do hope that you will still read the useful advice that Nick gives to others, as it may relate to your own research.

Question 1 - Judith Ann Rothwell, Cambridgeshire
My grandfather, Constantine Diamond, was in the British Army between 1884 and 1901. According to his military history sheet, he served in Burmah, the East Indies and at Home. He was Home for 10 years. I understand this could mean he was in Scotland or Ireland. How can I find out where he served between December 1890 and June 1900?

Answer - Nick
There are a number of routes you can pursue. Perhaps the best approach would be to contact the regimental museum, which should hold information about the history of the regiment and its movements. Failing that, there are a number of publications that can help you place a regiment in a particular part of the world, chief of which is a book by J. Kitzmiller called 'In Search of the Forlorn Hope: A Comprehensive Guide to Locating British Regiments and Their Records'. You can also find information on regiments at www.regiments.org.

Question 2 - Pauline Poustie, Cleveland
My great grandparents were William Davis (born in Berkshire in 1840) and Esther Mower (born in Suffolk in 1852). In the 1871 census they are recorded as living in Marylebone with their baby, Thomas. I am unable to find William and Esther's marriage record. Is it possible that some marriages are not included in the St. Catherine Index?

Answer - Nick
Sadly this is a common problem, as many marriages were not recorded in the civil registration indexes (now at the Family Records Centre or accessible via www.findmypast.com ), so you would need to search the parish registers for all possible areas where you suspect they were living at the time you think they were married. Sometimes couples returned to the bride's parish of birth for their wedding before moving elsewhere, so you should also check the Suffolk parish registers too.

Question 3 - Chris Fry, Hampshire
I am trying to track down Lady Selena Abbott, daughter of the Earl of Tenterden, who died in 1931 in Southampton. We believe she was disinherited and we are having problems tracking her down.

Answer - Nick
Trying to trace individuals can be tricky, particularly if there are problems with inheritance. You could start by checking the Earl's will - if he left one - by ordering a copy from the Principal Registry of Family Division, Probate Searchroom, First Avenue House, Holborn, London. Next, you could search the civil registration indexes to see if she married. Thereafter, electoral lists may help to locate her modern whereabouts, presuming she is still alive.

Question 4 - Terry Rootsey, Essex
I have located an ancestor, Captain Thomas Rootsey, in Barbados around 1650. Church records are non-existent for this period and I wish to trace his origins and susequent death. I also want to know if he was a Captain in the Militia or a Sea Captain.

Answer - Nick
This far back, your best hope of picking up information about Captain Thomas Rootsey is from early state papers. Most have been calendared - summarised and indexed - and are available from research libraries. The best place to view them is at The National Archives , where microfilms of the originals are stored along with material on officers in the army militia and the navy.

Question 5 - E.K. Turton, Warwickshire
After a widow remarries do the children from her first marriage keep the first surname or adopt her new surname? Are there any legal requirements to do either? The circumstance I described happened in 1777.

Answer - Nick
It was normal for the children to retain the original name, however rules on name changes were less stringent as far back as the late eighteenth century. Consequently you may find that an informal change of name took place without the creation of any legal paperwork. Even today, you can call yourself what you want without officially changing your name, though most people opt to record the alteration via a deed poll.

Question 6 - Johnny Loffelmann
I am looking for a John Gausden who died in India in 1930. I also want to know if he married and who his wife was.

Answer - Nick
The Oriental and India Office Library at the British Library holds records of baptisms, marriages and burials for the three main Presidencies under British rule - Bengal, Bombay and Madras. There is also a biographical index available that ties some of these sources together. You should also search the Overseas Records on findmypast.com as these form part of the birth, marriage and death civil registration records for British nationals overseas.

Question 7 - Caroline Moore, Norfolk
I have been researching my father-in-law's family and have been trying to trace his grandfather. When I looked in the 1901 census there was a possible match. I then went back to the 1891 census. I found a match where his father's name, age and occupation and his sister's name and age were correct, but his name - Percy - was now Philip. Is it likely that he changed his name, or could a mistake have been made in the entry to the census?

Answer - Nick
Census enumerators wrote down what was told to them, or recorded on forms provided in advance. Therefore it could be a clerical error. Alternatively he could have had a middle name that was not used at the marriage, but registered at his birth; or even a name added when he was baptised. Further searching may reveal the answer, though it does sound like a simple slip of the pen!

Question 8 - Bob Burstow, London
Using the 1881 census, I was able to trace an ancestor to the South District Metropolitan District School in Sutton (now part of the Belmont Hospital buildings in Sutton). I would like to find out when my ancestor started and left the school. Who would now have the School records?

Answer - Nick
Your best place to start would be the local archives, as most educational material generated by local schools is usually deposited in the appropriate repository. However, there is no guarantee that the personal material you seek survives.

Question 9 - Vanessa Hutchinson, Nottinghamshire 
I'm trying to trace two members of my family. The first member, Edmond Allan (a fisherman aged 21) was definitely lost at sea after sailing out of Scarborough in 1874 or 1875. However I cannot find his death registration. Is it because his death would not have been registered or is there a list of missing seamen somewhere? The second member of the family is Joseph Sheader, a Ship's Master and I am unable to find a death record for him either. It could be that both men went missing at the same time. Edmond had just married in 1874 and his widow went on to marry Joseph Sheader's son. How can I find out what happened to them?

Answer - Nick
There are some lists of deaths at sea, some of which were registered officially and therefore form part of the civil registration records, and others at The National Archives that replicate but also add to the official sources. findmypast.com has scanned the deaths at sea civil registration records so you can search these online. (These records form part of the WW1, WW2 and Overseas records contained on findmypast.com.)

Question 10 - Penny Armstrong, New South Wales, Australia
My great grandfather was a Master Mariner in the Hampshire area of England circa 1860 - 1870. I have found information about him and the ships he captained in Tasmania, Australia in 1876. Where can I find more information about Master Mariners?

Answer - Nick
There are some records at The National Archives, based on certificates of competency that may provide the names of ships on which he served. You could also partially track his movements through Lloyds Lists, where masters and crew lists were named against the vessels on which they served. These are scattered around various archives, principally the National Archives, the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, and the Maritime History Archive at the Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Question 11 - Ruth Colligan, Glasgow
I have been unable to find my great grandfather on the 1891 or 1901 census in either England and Scotland. He was a soldier in the Manchester Regiment. By 1891 he had a wife and at least one child. Where should I look?

Answer - Nick
It is possible that he was abroad with his regiment, therefore you might want to check this via surviving musters and playlists at The National Archives - although for most regiments these no longer survive after the 1880s. A lot will depend on when he enlisted and how long he served. You should also consider checking for discharge to pension, also held at The National Archives.

Question 12 - Joan Harrison, Hertfordshire
I have an ancestor (Charles Pinfield) who is registered in the Kelly's Directory during the early to mid 1800s as a manufacturing Jeweller and Goldsmith in Oxendon Street, Haymarket, London. How can I find out more about the type of jewellery he made?

Answer - Nick
Many craftsmen working in skilled professions such as goldsmiths and jewellers were members of guilds, and aside from membership records, the guilds occasionally kept samples of work. However, records are likely to be few and far between. It would be worth searching in local archives to see if any sample or pattern books survive; but it is likely that as such records were retained by the business, they may have stayed with the owners when the business was eventually disbanded. In any case, each jeweller would have produced individual designs.

(The 'Ask the Expert' section on findmypast.com is for educational purposes only. findmypast.com or Nick Barratt shall not be held responsible for the reliability or accuracy of any such 'Ask the Expert' submission, statement, advice and/or opinions, or for any injury, loss, or damage which occurs as a result of such 'Ask the Expert' submissions, statements, advice, opinions, or other information provided within the 'Ask the Expert' section.)