Help desperately needed with death

[Jean and Tonic]

Before I go and have my dinner I want to ask for the best 'pointers' to put on GRO when sending for death certs.....that you are not sure about at all!!

I have a man newly married in 1900 - living in Escomb, Co durham (auckland) in 1901 with his new wife - his daughter was married in 1906 and put her fathers occupation on the cert (so I'm assuming he was still alive) and I can't even find a death for the wife (that fits).

William Fothergill born 1846.

There's a few deaths, the nearest being Skipton 1916 or Kendal (near where he was born) in 1915.

I don't know if his wife was still alive to put her on as next of kin, Margaret Elizabeth nee Frazer born 1848

I've sent for that many WRONG certs, thought I'd ask the experts......lol.
Jean

[Vicky the Viking]

Not sure which office or how helpful they might be, but in this instance I'd go to the local register office, not the GRO. Send a nice letter with as much info as you have & ask if they can see anything that fits. You could perhaps give them your phone no too, and ask if they will ring to discuss any possibles.


It would be a shame to name a NOK & find out it was the right person but the GRO wouldn't send the cert because someone else registered it (eg if there had been an inquest it will have the coroner as informant)

[Jean and Tonic]

Yes that's also happened to me Vicky .... I named a wife previously and now I'm not sure, but had to pay the £3 for nothing (not this man).

the trouble with the local register office .... I'm not sure which one as I've searched through the BMDs and can't find a death that fits in Auckland, Co Durham even on FreeBMD, which goes well into the 1900s.

Thanks anyway .... I may give Bishop Auckland a ring ...(which is regional the office) and see if they can come up with anything, after all they've had enough money out of me in the past.

Jean

I can't wait for 1911 census

[Vicky the Viking]

I don't think a local office would give you any info over the phone.
Nor are they likely to offer to trawl several years worth of records. He could very well have been much older when he died. Do you have any dates that are a definite cut-off?

Don't rule out a death before daughter's marriage, as they didn't always remember to put "deceased".

I'd go to whoever has the Kendal & Skipton records and specifically ask about the ones you've found. And unfortunately I think a trawl of the full records are called for (unless you can wait till the 1911 is out, or can check the electoral registers)

[Olde Crone Holden]

Vicky

I quite often used to get info over the phone from local offices, but it was a few years ago now, and also was only in response to a "is it A or is it B" type question, not a general search request.

However, I have paid their research fee which covers a three year period (I think) and they were very helpful, discussing several possibilities without actually giving anything away, if you see what I mean!

I agree with you that just because it doesn't say deceased on the marriage cert, isn't proof that he was still alive when his daughter married.

OC

[Jean and Tonic]

I haven't really a cut off period ... apart from age of course.

No ... I didn't expect them to do a trawl .... there is one in Auckland in 1901 ..after the census but his age is 5 years out and he was pretty much 'bang on' through the census. .. there again ... he wouldn't be the one giving his age, would he?

then I might try the Kendal (three years out) and Skipton (correct age) .....

It's knowing what to ask ..... I probably wont know if it's the correct one myself, will I?

Oh dear.... it's a problem ......wish I'd asked my gran before she died..........in the fifties......

[Jean and Tonic]

sorry...didn't say thanks to Vicky and OC ...... for giving me more to think about.

I've been searching through the Historical Directories after 1901 ....... thinking ....just maybe......

Jean

[Guest]

William Fothergill abt 1851 1901 Apr-May-Jun Auckland Durham could be his death

[Guest]

was she defintely in Co Durham
Margaret Elizabeth Fothergill abt 1851 1902 Jan-Feb-Mar Poplar (To 1965) Greater London, London, Middlesex

[Vicky the Viking]

have you asked if anyone can find anything on the NBI?

I think sometimes you have to take a punt on a certificate & hope that there is something on it that will help you one way or the other... If the informant isn't his wife (or a daughter whose name you recognise) you might be stuck. Unless it IS the coroner, in which case an inquest report might shed some light.

1911 might help or not... if he's dead by then, where is his widow or daughter living?

At least you're not looking for a John Smith b. 1848 who died sometime after 1901 somewhere in the Leigh/Tyldesley area!

[Jean and Tonic]

I don't want to start on Smiths, Vicky.

Yes those are the two I was looking at .... but in 1901 Margaret had just married and was in Co durham ... I thought Middlesex seemed a long way off ... but the age is near.

.... and that's the auckland one for william ... but the age was 5 years out.... that would mean he was 55 on the 1901 census and 50 when he died in 1901. .... but who knows.

Is NBI the National burial Index? ..... no I haven't......could they tell me anything different than BMD?.

In 1901 he has one son still at home....another son living nearby..... his daughter is working in co durham ...... the rest of the family are still in Westmorland ..... that's why I thought, if Margaret died or left......he may have gone back to Westmorland.

Like you say...... I think I'll just have to take the chance and send for a couple of the certs.
who knows...if they're not his, it may be a relative.

Good look with your Smiths ...... lol ..... my daughter is married to one.

.....and thanks for being a sounding board ....... it helps me think a bit clearer... I was starting to mist over again

Jean