Genealogy Chat

Apparently have found that there was a court case between my grandmother Ruth Howe and the family who could include my grandfather . Does anyone know if you can look up court cases and if so how would I go about it? Thank you

When and where did it happen please ?

The national archives site would be a good place to start looking
put her name in the search boc ( as i did) and see if any of these are yours


http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/results.aspx?tab=2&Page=1&ContainAllWords=ruth+howe

local papers is good too.

If the trial was prior to 1900 then you may be able to get the details on line - via possibly your local library.

After that date then the library, local to the court case will probably have all the details in the newspaper. I would give them a ring, if you have the exact date they may well print the relevant details for you,(for a small amount). I have always found the staff very helpful.-jl

Without giving to much away its about a paternity case in the 1930s,I doubt it would have been in the newspaper ?

Would the Freedom of Information Act help?

If the records still exist in the court, the fact that they are more than 30 years old might mean that they can make them accessible. If the original hearing was private ("in camera") I'm not sure if it would still be a problem.

It's worth writing to them and asking - I wanted an old inquest file of a family member recently, so I wrote to the present coroner and asked on the offchance, and he contacted the archives department and sent me the whole file, bless him :)

.............. In England however, paternity testing was not used routinely in the courts in the 1920s and 1930s, as common law meant a jury decided child support cases. Research shows that countries that used paternity testing in the legal system in the 1920's and 1930's saw a bigger drop in fertility then those that didn't".......not sure whether this info off the net is of use or consideration- jl

can i ask, how they did paternity tests in the 1920s?x i thought dna testing was a recent thing(in the last 20yrs)x

Apparently the earliest tests they did involved blood (group) testing and serological testing - not very accurate but I guess they could sometimes rule people out, or make them a possibility.

http://www.dnacenter.com/science-technology/dna-history.html

Debbie, you seem to have at least two threads about this already

http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards.page/board/ancestors/thread/1266740

http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards.page/board/trying_to_find/thread/1266908

It may not have been pointed out specifically, but the rules say one thread per topic. You are supposed to go to your existing thread and add your new question to it.

That way, no one is guessing what it is about, no one is spending time doing things that have been done, and you have the benefit that people who have already helped in the thread, who are familiar with it, see that there is something new added.

(No one else reading here has any idea that you had other threads, or what was in them. I just did a search because you sounded like you thought we should all know what you were talking about.)

I hope that helps.

Thanks Janey . I need to ask another question and am not sure exactly where to add it . Could you let me know? Thank you x

Debbie, with due respects it is over two years since you were on these boards.

How is anyone expected to know which board to place your question if we don't know what you need to ask.

Please offer a clue then someone will help I am sure. -j

Also, you won´t get a response from Janey Canuck as she left Genes well over a year ago.

ok thank you for replying. Probably best if i start a new message. Thouhght we were on track with finding my grandfather having spoken to possible relatives but they have stopped contact so we are back to square one ! so I havent been on here although i did keep up my subscription monthly!!! AT 54 Im not brilliant with a computer and sometimes make mistakes. Certainly never intended upsetting anyone with mistakes i unknowingly made. Debbie