Index coverage
Each yearly quarter is included within each index to show it has been checked.
Various permutations of the surname Jacomb are included, as well as phonetically
similar entries and individual entries known to have been misspelt. Names included
for completeness are JACOMB, JACOMBE, JACOMBS, JACOMBES, JACOMB-HOOD, JACAM, JACOM,
JACOME, JACON, JACONE and JACONS. There is always the very real possibility that
a surname has been misspelt and therefore has slipped into the sea of JACOBs or
JACOBS'. Where this is definitely known to be the case the misspelt entry is included.
District,
Volume and Page
The last three
columns in the indexes place the event of the person in particular to a location
and reference point in Britain. The District column is the local registration
district within which the Birth, Marriage or Death was registered. The Volume
(or 'Vol.' as it is abbreviated) is the particular register pertaining
to the region of the country where the event was registered which contains the
original record sent from the local registrar to the national registrar. There
is a set of these registers for each quarter of each year for each event (birth,
marriage, death). The general registrar can use the year and volume number for
a particular event to find the register in which an event is recorded. All the
registrar then needs is the Page and there they will find the original
record from which copies can be produced to make a certificate.
Whilst the
volume and page number are relatively uninteresting, the volume number can be
used to identify in what part of the country you would find the registration district
in question, if you didn't know. In 1837 the volume number was in Roman numerals
(e.g., XVI - for some entries
you may see this keyed as, for example, '16' - this is because the original index
had been typed up from the handwritten original in parts and the numerals had
been converted to arabic numbers). From 1852 it became an arabic numeral followed
by a small letter (e.g., 10a.). In 1946 the style of the volume number remained
the same, but more registers and hence a greater spread of letters were used.
From June 1974 the small letter was dropped and the number volume number became
either a one-digit or two-digit number (e.g., 29). For a list of the volume numbers
as they relate to county barriers, click
here.
Additional notation
- - - indicates there were no entries for any of the above names in the
index in that quarter. Where the quarter entry contains the notation <<
MISSING >> this indicates the microfiche for the quarter is missing
from Liverpool Record Office where the index was transcribed. <DAMAGED>
or <DAM> indicates damage to the original register page which also
appears on the microfiche, obscuring the data.
Legibility
of the indexes
The microfiched/microfilmed
indexes are not always clearly printed. Indexes dating to the 19th century were
mainly handwritten in a flowing script and can be difficult to read at times.
Those of the 20th century are not always clearly transferred to fiche/film and
can be equally difficult to read. Where a question mark appears in the index -
? - this indicates a query on the overall word (place, name or number)
which precedes it. Where a question mark appears in brackets in the index - (?)
- often in the middle of words this indicates a query on the letter/number immediately
preceding it. Neither of these notations are actually present in the original
indexes. The word or number which seems most likely is the one which is included
in the transcription.
If you are unsuccessful...
If you cannot find a specific entry and you know the person's exact date and place
try looking for other spellings, either within these listings or in the registration
indexes for Jacob/Jacobs etc. in a local record office.
Example:
After trying to locate a certain Philip Jacomb and failing to find him, checking
through the Jacob entries uncovered him with his surname misspelt. Upon acquiring
his birth certificate his surname has been further misspelt - Jacobs. This shows
that it can happen!
Best practice before
ordering certificates
If you have
found an entry in the Birth, Marriage, or Death indexes on Jacomb.com it is wise
to double check the details on the actual index at a family history centre or
library/record office. Whilst the details in the indexes transcribed here on Jacomb.com
are believed to be highly accurate, they cannot be guaranteed 100% so. This will
save any inconvenience later on if a register entry cannot be found and your postage
fee is retained by the GRO, or if the wrong certificate is produced.
Births
- Marriages - Deaths
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