Any suggestions on how to find out the father and mother of William Mackereth who married Emma Whitehead in 1834 in Helsington, Westmorland? He must have been born in the early 1800's. In my research I ran across a William Mackereth born in 1808 whose mother is Elizabeth. No father is listed. What does that mean? Since civil registration started in 1837, I have no was of going further back than his marriage.

Hi Carol,

Lack of a father's name on a record normally indicates illegitimacy.

Have you tried using the search at Family Search? They have many parish records there (on something called the IGI) - it's free and may give you the answer you're seeking.

http://www.familysearch.org

Good luck!

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Cheers,
Anne, Board Admin

Hi I have in my family tree a William mackereth, son os Thos and mgt mackereth born 1827. in 1841 they were living at Crook Mill and he worked in the woolen industry.
Is this your William?