Hi Linda

Finding John Brookes

I am pleased to provide you with a quote for locating the father of Thomas Benjamin Brookes born about 1887.

This is a very difficult case and our research points to one particular candidate who is very well hidden from censuses etc. He may not have been married and died relatively young so finding him on censuses has proved challenging. It’s no wonder that you have been unable to confirm the father of Thomas!

Censuses help us to anchor people to particular places, times and families but Thomas is not readily shown with his own family and John is elusive. In order to achieve results on this case we need to obtain certificates upon receipt of your payment but it looks positive and we will be able to advance your tree in any event whilst confirming your research.

Birth indexes only show names and locations. Deaths likewise but also the age at death. Brook(e)s is a relatively popular name and there are more than one prospective records for some of these events. We therefore need the certificates outlined below to cover more than one possible candidate.

There is a possibly interesting story behind this that might explain the reason why Thomas seemed to be disconnected from his family. He may even have been taken under the wings of a family member. The difficulty is to prove it. We are not sure a 1911 census with his place of birth as Dudley is correct and there is another possible record. We believe that a 1901 school census is likely to be correct. Do you know if Thomas was actually deaf according to your family?

These are the records that we are concentrating on:-

1. Search for the birth of Thomas Benjamin Brookes born c1887 and for his death. (You already have his marriage and we have a copy of this). We believe we can determine the approximate year. Is this known to the family?
2. Search for Thomas's military service/pension records but initial search is not promising.
3. Search for the birth and death of “John the Blacksmith” and any marriage.
4. Locate John the Blacksmith’s parents’ censuses and marriages including mother’s remarriage and a search for his father’s death.
5. Search for John the Blacksmith’s father’s birth record if sufficient records remain.
6. Censuses for this family will be able to be taken back further once they are confirmed.
7. Emily Gardiner together with the likely mother of John the Blacksmith can be taken through to 1920s and 1930s records. Do you have Emily’s death certificate?

I have discounted the costs of our time by 13.5% and added a certificate for free. As discussed, payments can be made by instalments, £314.12 now and £157.06 in 30 and 60 days.

We will order the first group of certificates initially and then the next batch will depend on the first.

The report will be beautifully presented with all relevant records and photographs and maps of key locations.

If you wish to proceed, please accept the invoice (click once on the green button at the top of the quote) and an invoice will be emailed to you with a Pay by Paypal button. Your payment options will show once you click to pay. You can pay by Paypal or credit/debit card when you are then taken to Paypal.

I hope this is satisfactory but please contact me if you have any queries.

This is a fascinating case and we are up to the challenge.

Best wishes,

Amy