Researching William Greener
Explore the detail of William Greener using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
 | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 872 people with the Greener surname? In that year Greener was ranked number 2712 for popularity in the UK. |
Good news! There is already a One Name Study on the Greener surname.
The name William means "resolute guardian" and is of German origin.
Records of William Greener on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of William Greener in your family tree. Many large databases are available to search covering from births, deaths and marriages, military records, census records and immigration records with many other smaller collections too. Free trials are normally available and are a good way to fill out a lot of your tree quickly.
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Ancestry.com Global records search results for William Greener. |
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Ancestry.com US records search results for William Greener. |
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Ancestry.co.uk UK records search results for William Greener. |
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Ancestry.ca Canadian records search results for William Greener. |
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Ancestry.com.au Australian records search results for William Greener. |
DNA
Sometimes you can run into a brick wall in your tree and you just don't have enough evidence to make that next step back in time. A DNA test can sometimes help to make a link to a particular family name if you find you share common DNA with people who have the same or similar surnames as each other. If you are lucky then you may get a match within a few generations and discover some Greener ancestors. Additionally, the modern DNA test can give you a breakdown of your ethnic mix - you may be surprised at the results!
Have you reached a brick wall in your Greener Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for William Greener and the Greener Genealogy
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Greener Genealogy that will form part of your family tree. Although records vary from country to country, they are normally the most formal record of a person's relations. From the sources below you will be able to find a birth record and, from that, a birth certificate can be ordered which lists the names of the mother and father, taking you back another generation in your tree. A marriage certificate may also list the names of the respective fathers of the bride and groom which may then help you to find them earlier in life on a census record enabling you to fill out more detail in the Greener family tree.
Study Parish Records for William Greener at Find My Past.
Study for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of William Greener using the FreeBMD database.
Investigate Genealogy Bank for William Greener records.
Search MyHeritage for William Greener information.
Investigate the LDS Database for records about William Greener.
Research the Greener surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Greener Military records.
| Did you know that there are currently 1444 people with the Greener surname in the UK? Greener is now ranked number 2730 for popularity in the UK. |
Greener Family History Databases
Another way to build your tree quickly is to use the research other people have already done. This can help to confirm or refute your own deductions - however, be wary of taking this data at face value as other researchers may not have been as meticulous as you. Always try to back up deductions with some definitive sources rather than relying too heavily on others.
Look at the WikiTree database for user contributed records for William Greener.
Study MyTrees for information on the Greener family and people looking to contact living Greener relations.
Search One Great Family for Greener records submitted by people who are already researching the Greener Family Tree.
Find William Greener from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Greener Forums
There are a number of forums which are dedicated to rearching particular surnames. These can be good places to share your findings and also to tap into the knowledge that others may already have. These can sometimes be a good way of finding living relations as these tend not to show up on the other sources of information for privacy reasons.
Research the Greener surname using Genealogy.com forums .
Miscellaneous Greener Databases
Look at the Ellis Island Database for information on William Greener. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called William Greener
William Greener
William Greener (1806–1869) was an English inventor and gunmaker. He developed a self-expanding bullet in 1835, an electric lamp in 1846 (patent specification 11076 of that year) some 33 years before Thomas Edison's patent in 1879. William Greener also invented the percussion system for firing cannon, made improvements to the miner's safety lamp and won a prize for designing a mechanical device by which four gates at railway/road level crossings could be opened or closed simultaneously. He also invented a self-righting lifeboat, which was exhibited with a rocket gun and several of his famous percussion muzzle-loading shotguns and rifles at the Great Exhibition of 1851, where he was awarded a gold medal.
The Greener bullet had a hollow base which was fitted with a plug which forced the base of the bullet to expand and catch the rifling. This allowed the bullet to fit easily into the muzzle of the rifle so that it could be easily loaded, but then expand upon firing so that as little of the explosion as possible leaked out the muzzle. Thus the bullet's velocity was not damped. Tests proved that Greener's bullet was extremely effective but it was rejected because, being two parts, it was judged too complicated to produce. The Minié ball, developed in 1847 by Claude-Étienne Minié, was based on Greener's ideas.
Greener was born in Felling, Northumberland, England. He died in 1869. His son, William Wellington Greener (1834-1921) trained under his father but later left to set up an independent firm, which took over most of Greener's business after his death.
Source: William Greener, Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaOther names that sound a bit like Greener
Family names can get corrupted over time, particularly where literacy was not as good. The following list contains some names that have similar sounds so you may want to also look at one or two of the more likely possibilites.
Garnar Garner Garnhart Garnier Germer Gerner Gernert Gernier Goerner Gornar Gorner Grahmar Grainer Gramar Gramer Grammar Grammer Granara Graner Granero Granieri Greenarch Greenard Greenier Greenrde Greenroa Greenroad Greenrod Greenrodd Greenroyd Greiner Grenier Grimard Grimer Grimmer Grimmert Griner Grinyer Grombridge Gromer Grommers Gronauer Groner Groombridge Groomer Gruener Grumbridge Gruner Grunert Guarnera Guarnier Guarnieri Guerner Guerneri Gurner
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