RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => Topic started by: Sue in Aust on Wednesday 09 July 08 02:53 BST (UK)
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I've puzzled over this for quite some time and thought I would ask the advice of others ;).
The death certificate of my 4 x G/Grandmother records her death as 28 June 1845 but her headstone inscription clearly says 5 June 1845.
Her son-in-law was the informant and the death was registered on 28 June 1845.
I haven't any other death certificates that have the same death and registration dates and wonder if the date of death was mistakingly recorded as 28 June rather than 5 June.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Sue :)
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It is not uncommon for errors to occur on headstones, I have come across several. There is a considerable time delay between burial and the erection of a headsone to allow for settlement, this increases the chance for errors to creep in, I would put my trust in the certificate.
Jebber
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Is there a death notice in the local newspaper? The death certificate and newspaper notice were done right away where as Jebber says there is always a delay in either getting the headstone erected or putting the name and date on an existing headstone (have seen some headstones wrong by a few years).
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A number of gravestones I've found for my lot have differed from the certificates. One has the right date but is a couple of years out!
I agree with the others: I'd go with the certificates.
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Have you looked at cemetery records as opposed to MI's
Cemetery records often give date of burial -as opposed to date of death
As at that time burials usually took place 2-3 days after death, they should give a bigger clue as to when the death occurred
Suz
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you had to register the death within 8 days of it occurring.
5 June - 28 June = more than 8 days
mistakes can be made on inscriptions and costly to correct.
my grandfather was born in 1919, he has died now
there was a mistake with his inscription and although it was corrected on his headstone it was not corrected on the plaque on the coffin, it was too late.
i can't remember the exact mistake but it was either his y.o.b was a year out or the date of death was a day out he died on 19th May one of the 19's reads 18
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Thanks Jebber.
I hadn't really considered the time difference between the burial date and the placement of a headstone.
I'm encouraged to think the death date on the certificate is correct.
Sue
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I'm further encouraged by all your replies to go with the death date on the certificate.
I have been through the burial records for the church concerned but either missed this one or failed to record the details, another trip to my local LDS centre is called for.
The headstone inscription wasn't from MI's, I stood before it myself and took the photo but I do remember at the time thinking something isn't right ::).
I've not gone down the track of looking for a death notice in a local newspaper mainly because they are not accessible to me, but it may be something to do on a future visit to Cheshire.
Thanks everyone for your help.
Sue
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The reason I suggested the local paper is that I have found one or two death certificates with the wrong date but that may have been to avoid paying a late registration penalty. Mr great-great-grandfather's death notice appeared in the newspaper before the date on his death certificate.
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We have come across a wrong date of death on a grave in a Nottingham cemetery
We had birth, marriage, death certs of the person -yet the date of death was 10 years out ! It was a family grave, so the headstone was there before the date this person died -his name was just added to the stone.
looking at the burial record -the burial took place 3 days after the death was registered!!!!
its not making things easy for future family historians!!!
I think it would be a wise move to look at the burial records
Suz
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Several years ago I was in the house of a family connected to mine by marriage. In the room were a man, his wife, brother, sister and several children. As the man's mother had been married to my grandfather's uncle I asked when she died (I didn't have a date in my records as she had remarried after uncle died) and I've never seen such panic. First they could hardly remember if woman or 2nd husband had died first, children were sent to look under stairs for date house was built once they decided mother had died before they moved into house and on it went. Never did get a date from them but they all agreed they should put up a headstone some day!