Death certificates are valuable in genealogy.

[benny1982]

Hi

I dont get why some people think that death certificates aren't good in aiding family history research. i think their assumptions are very unrealistic.

Death certificates point towards a bapotism or birth certificate, they give the cause of death, they help narrow down your search for a burial, they can help in finding a will and the informant is often a relative. Sometimes it is a neighbour, workhouse master or doctor but a lot of the time it could be a wife, husband, brother, married daughter, sister, son, parent, grandchild or other relative. Death certs aid a lot in family research so never discount them.

Ben

 

[juliejtp]

Hi Benny,

I havn't obtained many death certificates, but what I have got has helped
to tie in loose ends (brick walls), they are a valuable part of research.

 

[DaveHam9]

Hello,

I have obtained a few Irish ones and they had a lot of detail. My second NSW one should be in the mail and I hope it has more details on it than the previous one. The Australian ones are so expensive at $26. Even transcriptions cost $17.

I've now reached a point in the research of one family line where the purchase of a marriage and /or a death certificate seems the only solution.

Regards,

Dave

 

[JMR]

I agree Ben, I've found it intriguing to see what my ancesters died of as well as who was present at their death. It completes the sociological picture for me.

Cheers,
Jill

 

[benny1982]

I have come across many surprises when I have obtained death certs such as a coroners inquest and such.

 

[gibbo]

The Queensland death cert. contain a whole host of info. I think they are brilliant. Beside the usual name, age and death place and cause of death they also have every marriage the deseased had and who to and for how long. If they were not born in Australia it states how long they were here for. They also list all the children the deseased had and the childrens ages at time of parents death and states whether those children are living or not.

gibbo

 

[p.risboy]

I seem to get the short straw as regards death certs, the only info I get thats worthwhile is the name on it, and the expected informants.

Steve.

 

[Ellie]

Well, so far I've found them quite useful, it helped to clear up part of the William Hollins mystery!

 

[juliejtp]

After sending off for 3 certificates one being a death certificate, I received it today. When I looked at it my first though was I had ordered the wrong one. The informant was a married daughter Called Emily Crook, but my lot didnt have a daughter called Emily. Found her on the census with her husband and u/m on the 1881 census under the familys surname, but couldnt find a birth, she wasnt with the family on any of the census. This lady would have been my gt grans sister. Gt gran was born at the end of 1859, but Emily was born abt 1858. Then the penny dropped and the little grey cells started working. Gt gran parents married after she was born. I looked for Emily under the surname Jones (her mothers maiden name) and there she was with gt gt grans parents, so Emily had a different surname to the family and by the looks of it never lived with them at all. If I hadnt got the death certificate I wouldnt have known about Emily.

 

[JMR]

I just received the death certificates of my 4xGt Grandparents today and it was lovely to see that after his Dad's death my 3xGt Grandfather took in his Mother and cared for her until her death.

I love the way that they all seemed to care for their elderley, or those family members who fell on hard times. My 4xGt Grandfather died of chronic bronchitis which he'd had for many years, interestingly my Dad has suffered from the same thing for years as well.

Jill

 

[JMR]

After sending off for 3 certificates one being a death certificate, I received it today. When I looked at it my first though was I had ordered the wrong one. The informant was a married daughter Called Emily Crook, but my lot didnt have a daughter called Emily. Found her on the census with her husband and u/m on the 1881 census under the familys surname, but couldnt find a birth, she wasnt with the family on any of the census. This lady would have been my gt grans sister. Gt gran was born at the end of 1859, but Emily was born abt 1858. Then the penny dropped and the little grey cells started working. Gt gran parents married after she was born. I looked for Emily under the surname Jones (her mothers maiden name) and there she was with gt gt grans parents, so Emily had a different surname to the family and by the looks of it never lived with them at all. If I hadnt got the death certificate I wouldnt have known about Emily.

Good detective work Julie, it's always exciting to find another piece of the puzzle!

 

[leefer]

Hi Jill...anymore news on the Pawsons?

 

[benny1982]

See what I mean, death certs are a must.

 

[JMR]

Hi Jill...anymore news on the Pawsons?

Alas, no Lee! They were an illusive bunch and we may never know just which Pawson family my Gt Gt Gt Grandmother belonged to. Although she named her Father as John Pawson, Farmer, on her marriage certificate, my cousin has been through all the Parish records on microfilm and she suspects that the most likely Mary Ann Pawson to be ours was born the illegitimate daughter of an Ann Pawson with no Father named in the records! I guess it wouldn't be unusual for people to lie about their background, especially as it seems that she married someone more well to do.

I'm in England for 6 weeks over December/January and am going to launch another attack on them then. I'm going to Green Hammerton, where the records say she was born, to see if there are any local records that may give me a clue.

Cheers,
Jill

Cheers,
Jill

 

[leefer]

Well i hope you uncover who the blighter was Jill...regards to you...Lee

 

[JMR]

Well i hope you uncover who the blighter was Jill...regards to you...Lee

thanks Lee - fingers crossed!

 

[JMR]

See what I mean, death certs are a must.

Help needed please!
I have just made a decision not to renew my subscription to Ancestry until my Find my Past subscription expires. They have all gone up in price and so have all the household bills and I'm saving to go to England in December etc etc!

Bad decision! And now I need some help! I got the death certificates of my 4xGt Grandparents James and Sarah Coultas, the other day and keep looking at them repeatedly, as you do. I saw the name Mary Hillam listed as the person present at James death, thinking she might have been a nurse or something and dismissing her. WHen I showed the certificate to my Mum she assumed that Mary would have been their married daughter - how could I have missed that!

I checked if they had a daughter Mary - they did! Mary Coultas b.abt 1821 in Bowling, showing with them on the 1841 census, she's gone from home by the 1851 census. In the 1861 census there's a Mary Hillam listed living in Bowling, born about1821, married to Joseph Hillam and with a brood of children all with "Coultas family first names".

I'm stuck finding a marriage to confirm my suspicions now though, as Find my Past does not have the sophisticated databases that Ancestry does and I can't see both people on the same page. Would some kind person have a check to on Ancestry for me to see if there is a marriage listed for Mary Coultas and Joseph Hillam some time betweem 1841 and about 1843 when their first son, James was born please?

Thanks,
Jill redf)

 

[p.risboy]

Hi Jill,

I think this is the one.

Name: Joseph Hillam
Year of Registration: 1842
Quarter of Registration: Jul-Aug-Sep
District: Bradford
County: Yorkshire - West Riding, West Yorkshire
Volume: 23
Page: 169

One of the brides listed is Mary Coultiss.

Steve.

 

[juliejtp]

Hi Jill,

1842 Marriage Index

Mary Coultiss
Jul/Aug/Sept 1/4
District Bradford
Vol 23
Page 169

One of the grooms listed is a Joseph Hillam.

Jill you can check this out on the free bmd site.

http://www.freebmd.org.uk/

 

[juliejtp]

Snap