GINN/LOVICK, Ware area, late 19th century May, 2003	Answers Great Amwell Ware
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Janet Edwards (janet @t edwards4168.freeserve.co.uk) of Lincoln writes: I am new to family history, but am finding it so addictive. I am trying to research my husband's family and as Christopher was killed in a flying accident with the RAF in 1978 it is a problem knowing where to start. I know his family lived in and around Ware and I have some information given to me from his mother, but as she is now 82 and living in Australia she is finding it difficult to remember. Christopher's maternal grandparents were Henry Ginn (born 14.8.1882) and Nanette Lovick (born 11.4.1879). They were married on 6.11.96, but I would really like to find both sets of parents, when and where they lived.

The most important thing to do is at this stage is to familiarise yourself with the key sources of information relevant to the late 19th century. You need to be aware of the information on birth, marriage and death certificates, and census returns (particularly for 1881 and 1901). The help files on this site provide details (and if you want to know more there are bound to be books on the subject in your local library). However you may well find the newly published "Tracing Your Family History in Hertfordshire" worth the comparatively low purchase price.

From the information you give there should be no difficulty in getting copies of the 1896 marriage certificate, and William Ginn's and Nanette Lovick's birth certificates. Because Nanette was born before 1881 she should appear in the 1881 census, and if you visit the familysearch site and search the census for Nanette you will find her living in Great Amwell - as the 12th child of a family of 13, the daughter of William and Hannah Lovick. (I am not copying the data here as you can look it up online for yourself).

Unfortunately William was born after the 1881 census - and there is rather a lot of Ginn in Hertfordshire - so you will need his birth certificate to help to identify his parents in the census.

In theory William and Nanette Ginn should be listed in the 1901 census - but the indexing of this document is not very good - and I couldn't spot them. However information on their marriage certificate and/or from the birth certificates of their oldest children may make it possible to identify them in the census. I didn't look but you may be able to find other members of the Lovick family in the 1901 census, using the information given in the 1881 census.