Eh?

[Asa]

A typed death certificate arrived today for one Elizabeth Pope who I found in the indices on Jun qtr 1853.

No.377 14th April 1853 *line crossed through year* followed by 1852. Registered by her daughter in law Ann Pope 15th April 1853.

Note on side of cert says "In No 377 column 1 for 1852 substitute 1853 corrected on the 29th July 1853 by me Robert Coates Registrar in the presence of
Ann Pope
Sarah Pope
Both in attendance"

So have I got this right?

Elizabeth died in April 1853 but it was erroneously recorded as 1852. This was corrected in the presence of her daughters in law, who were both at the death in July. And either on the original or in the copying the wrong year has been crossed out?

[Olde Crone Holden]

Yes, see what you mean - the registrar entered the correct year on the original certificate....then he crossed it out out and corrected it to the wrong year!

And then he corrected it to the right year when the two girls went back in July.

How very odd!

OC

[Asa]

But she did die in 1853 didn't she?

[Olde Crone Holden]

I would say almost certainly she died in 1853 - the date of registration is a good clue.

However, if you have any niggling doubts, you could phone the relevant RO and ask them to check for you.

As death registration was not compulsory in the 1850s, and these women went to the trouble of registering the death and then going back to have it corrected, I would assume it was in pursuance of an Insurance claim, and I doubt if they would have waited 15 months to do that.

OC

[KiteRunner]

Asa, as it is a typed copy of the certificate, I would say that it is almost certain that the person who typed up the copy for you crossed out the wrong year.

[Asa]

Thanks both of you. I am sure it is an error in the typing - the first typed one I've had from the C19th & from the GRO - but I had been looking at it too long for it to make sense to me!

[KiteRunner]

Asa, one of the first certificates I ever got was a typed copy of my great-grandfather's birth certificate which had where born as Elmore End crossed out and replaced with Elmers End, and the same correction in residence of informant. In the margin it says the clerical errors were corrected on the 4th March 1918, which puzzled me no end as it was after he died and after his will was proved, and I couldn't think of any reason for any of the adults who were still alive then to have had it corrected. The mystery was solved when I was given another copy of the cert which gave the correction date as 4th March 1912.

[Asa]

Kiterunner, I've decided I'm lucky: ) It gives me another insight into their lives. I can picture Elizabeth's daughters-in-law having to bad temperedly trudge all the way to Henley to sort out the error.