Author Topic: Death Certificate Informant - What does this mean?  (Read 14423 times)

Offline LizzieW

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Death Certificate Informant - What does this mean?
« on: Saturday 13 October 07 01:21 BST (UK) »
I've just received the death certificate of my grandmother's brother.  I understood he was in Prestwich Asylum somewhere around 1920 and maybe later and he did, in fact, die in Prestwich Hospital in 1964, but there is nothing to suggest the cause was anything other than a medical condition for which hospitalisation is not usual.

However, under signature, description and residence of informant it states:

"Eric Smith causing the body to be buried. Prestwich Hospital, Prestwich"

What does that mean?  Does that suggest that my g.uncle was indeed living at Prestwich Hospital, as my mum thought.  Otherwise, why would the informant give his address as the hospital.  Oddly, his occupation is given as a retired butcher.  Now I know he was a butcher in 1901, but if he had been in an asylum most of his life, retired butcher is stretching it a bit.

I cannot find a marriage for this man, so it would seem he remained unmarried and had no dependents.  By the time he died his siblings had all died and as far as I can remember, my mum and her siblings never had any contact with him.  He is not on any of the wedding photographs.

Liz

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Re: Death Certificate Informant - What does this mean?
« Reply #1 on: Saturday 13 October 07 01:33 BST (UK) »
I have an identical death cert and it means that there was no obvious next of kin so this person was appointed to oversee things. 

I have 'A Minks causing the body to be buried', he was single when he enlisted for service in WW1 at 41 and was discharged 75 days later with injuries to eyes making him unfit to be an efficient soldier and a note of 'this man is a dangerous lunatic' written on his pension records!!

He had family but they obviously didn't speak, when I compared death certs, his brother died almost 3 months to the day before him  :(
GREENWELL - Middlesbrough
TURNBULL - Houghton le Spring, Coxhoe, Spennymoor
DEVEY - Pentonville, Stockton, M'bro
MOHAN/HUN - Stockton on Tees
SCRAFTON - Darlington
BROADBENT - Saddleworth, Ashton Under Lyne
HEMSWELL - Grantham, M'bro
SIMPKINS - M'bro
SIMPKIN - Little Wratting, Suffolk
MALLALIEU - Saddleworth, Ashton U L
GOODWIN - Macclesfield Forest
SUTCLIFFE - Heptonstall, Ashton U L
PLIMMER - Pontesbury, Ashton U L
CAMBRIDGE - Goulborne, Ashton U L
SIDDALL - Ashton U L

Offline suzard

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Re: Death Certificate Informant - What does this mean?
« Reply #2 on: Saturday 13 October 07 01:52 BST (UK) »
Hi Liz,

Apparantly this hospital had its own farm, so maybe it needed its own resident butcher too???

You may find some information and addresses which are useful at

http://services.salford.gov.uk/forum/forumposts.asp?forum=22&id=65060

Suz
Thornhill, Cresswell, Sisson, Harriman, Cripps, Eyre, Walter, Marson, Battison, Holmes, Bailey, Hardman, Fairhurst Noon-mainly in Derbys/Notts-but also Northampton, Oxford, Leics, Lancs-England
Census Information is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline Ros Fornaro

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Re: Death Certificate Informant - What does this mean?
« Reply #3 on: Saturday 13 October 07 06:44 BST (UK) »
When my mother died in 1996 I  asked to be named as the informant.  Instead of being described as daughter, I was listed as disposer fo the body!!!  Undertakers believe informant is them and therefore the disposer of the body.

Ros
Bell Coatbridge Sct
Cassels Dunbarton Lnk Sti Sct
Heggie Lnk Sct
Lusty Gls Eng Lnk Sct
McLuckie Stirling Sct
Moss Leek Sts Eng Vic Aust
Pride Gls Eng Geelong Vic Aust

Census Information is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk


Offline LizzieW

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Re: Death Certificate Informant - What does this mean?
« Reply #4 on: Saturday 13 October 07 12:08 BST (UK) »
Thanks for the info and website Suzard.  It would appear that Prestwich Hospital was indeed still an asylum in 1964.  According to the website you quoted, there is another website which will give more info, so I'll follow that line now.

My mum (who died age 95 in May this year) remembered going to visit her uncle at Prestwich as a child and being a bit worried about it, but when she got there, her uncle was working in the garden and seemed, to her, fairly normal.  She was under the impression that he drank rather too much.  I do wonder whether he was in WWI and suffered from shell shock or something.

Liz

ps.  Madpants - my grandfather was also apparently "a dangerous lunatic" when discharged from the army but I've found out that he only stayed in an asylum for 6 weeks - so not so dangerous after all.

Offline suzard

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Re: Death Certificate Informant - What does this mean?
« Reply #5 on: Saturday 13 October 07 13:01 BST (UK) »
Such cruel wording for an illness which was probably caused through smeone serving the country.

You are probably correct about "shell shock"

Although my Grandfather's brother was in a similar type of hospital for some time after the Boer War - and the cause of his "illness" was through being struck by lightning while in service!!!
Found a series of interviews over a few weeks in a local paper some 10 years or so after the Boer War ended-all interviews with soldiers who had served in the Boer War -and there were interviews with 3 of my Grandfathers brothers-fascinating reading

Suz
Thornhill, Cresswell, Sisson, Harriman, Cripps, Eyre, Walter, Marson, Battison, Holmes, Bailey, Hardman, Fairhurst Noon-mainly in Derbys/Notts-but also Northampton, Oxford, Leics, Lancs-England
Census Information is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk