WILLIAMS, Hatfield, mid 19th century. July, 2003	Answers Places Hatfield
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Jill Warland (jilliocity @t hotmail.com), of Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada, writes I have an ancestor, Henry Moores (alternatives Moore and Morris), born 1839-40 in Hatfield.  He married in 1866, in Surrey.  Henry was employed variously as a lighterman, brassfitter and corn merchant's porter. I am looking for any other family members who might have lived in the Hatfield area.  He named his first son George, so if he followed the traditional naming pattern, George might have been his father's name. Perhaps you could tell me where I might inquire about birth or christening records?

I assume that the Henry you are interested in is the one living at 5 Charlotte Street, Camberwell, in the 1881 census, accessible via familysearch:

I assume from your query that you are not familiar with the civil registration arrangements that apply from July 1837 or the availability of British census records. I am sure you will be able to access all the indexes and microfilms you might need in Vancouver, although I am afraid that I did not check out the genealogical facilities when I was in Vancouver earlier this month. However I am sure there will be at least one LDS Family History Centre (check familysearch for the address) and there almost certainly other suitable library facilities in the city.

I suggest you follow the following steps:

(1) Purchase the birth certificate for at least one of the children listed above to determine their mother's maiden name. The GRO indexes on fiche are almost certainly available in Vancouver. FreeBMD (see Rootsweb) is an incomplete online index but I notice that an Emily Jane Moores was registered in Camberwell in June 1874, while a Florence Fanny Moores was registered in June 1876, so one of these could be your starting point.

(2) Purchase Henry and Elizabeth's marriage certificate. Because of the number of Henry Moore/Moores/Morris entries you can look for Elizabeth's entry in the GRO index (now you know her maiden name) - and the certificate you want is the one where the references agree. The information on the certificate will give you Henry's father's name.

(3) Now that you know Henry's father's name you are in a stronger position to purchase his birth certificate - possibly from HALS as it will be a Hertfordshire certificate - which will give you important information including the address where he was born (hopefully the family home.)

(4) You now have an address in Hatfield for circa 1840, which should allow you to find the family in the 1841 census microfilm - hopefully both parents, Henry, and any older siblings.

(5) A similar check of the 1851 census microfilm could reveal some younger siblings - and if the family was continuing in 1851 you could try the 1861 census.

This should get you started, and to go further you will find information on how to do it on the family events help pages.