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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: caroline_forster on Wednesday 09 May 18 15:18 BST (UK)
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Hello,
I'm hoping somebody can help me unravel a bit of a puzzle. The outline is as follows:
15 March 1851 Hannah Duffield dies (date from death certificate)
30 March 1851 Hannah Duffield is listed with family on Census
14 May 1851 Hannah Duffield death is registered (date from death certificate)
18 May 1851 Hannah Duffield buried (from parish register transcripts, Edale, Derbyshire)
There is a small notation "2" on her death certificate by the date of death (I got the death cert from GRO online). I contacted the local register office but they said there was no more info to be gained from their records.
My gut feeling is 2 months is too long between death and burial. The burial and registration dates seem to "tally" (but could the burial transcript be incorrect?). Why is she listed on the census 15 days after her death (was the census taken that far in advance?). I haven't come across anything in the newspaper archives.
Over to you guys, can anybody throw light on the chronology here? I'm open to all theories or pointers. I'm very puzzled, but that's nothing new!
Many thanks in advance
Caroline
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What was the cause of death and where did she die, according to the certificate (home, or somewhere else)? Is the coroner involved?
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The "2" will be a numbered correction made during registration ( being the second one in that register) - can you post an image of the relevant parts of the certificate .... (the date of death column and the date registered column).
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She died at home, abscess on leg (not certified). I don't know how to tell if the coroner was involved.
Hannah was a child (11 years old, though her death cert says 8 years old). She had been working in a mill but on the census "Work in Factory" had been crossed out and replaced with "Nothing".
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If the coroner was involved he would be the informant.
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If an inquest held then the coroner will be shown as the informant. However, coroners inquests happened within a day or two in those days so would not account for the delay.
My guess would be a transcription error and the 15th March should read 12th/13th May ?
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It sounds as though the informant (whoever it was) was unreliable, given the discrepancy as to her age, so the date of death - which I agree looks unlikely for the reasons you have identified - can perhaps be taken with a pinch of salt.
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I'm having problems adding the attachments for the date of death and registration, I'll keep trying.
Agreed the informant seems unreliable!
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Who was the informant?
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The informant was her father. Death certificate says her age was 8 years yet her burial record says 11 years (11 is correct given her date of birth). So he was a long way off on her age!
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The image for the burial entry is available on Ancestry:
Burials in the Parish of Castleton in the hamlet of Edale -
Hannah Duffield of The Hollins, Edale, aged 11 years - 18 May 1851
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Thanks BumbleB, that's what I'd seen previously for burial.
I wonder if it's worth asking for a lookup from the original registers as I know once in a blue moon there is an error in the Transcripts?
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That was the parish burial records book image that I quoted, not a transcription (other than by me).
Her father is buried 23 November 1851 - Henry Duffield of The Hollins, aged 34.
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OK, somehow I managed to post the image of the death date and marginal notes above.
The "twenty eight" in the margin relates to a notation made by the fathers profession. I can't make out what it says in the margin after "Two - ".
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Thanks BumbleB,
yes, the family lived in Edale for less than a year yet Hannah and her father both died in that time. 1851-1852 wasn't a good spell for the Duffields!
I know that I often use the "Bishops Transcripts" for Northumberland lookups (my tree is mainly Northumbrian) and occasionally the transcripts differ from the original Parish Registers. But if that burial is from the original parish registers then it takes me back to 2 months between death and burial (I just can't imagine the logistics of that back in 1851!).
Thanks again
Caroline
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The snip for Hannah:
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And Henry:
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Thank's BumbleB
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The certificate image has a number of issues - in that there are three corrections (numbered 2, 3 and 28). The annotation in the margin has them correctly written out and initialled, but the corrected information doesn't appear to be shown.
Correction 2 definitely relates to the date of death but hasn't been overwritten with the correct details.
I wonder whether there was another marginal note on the right hand side (which hasn't been scanned) alternatively the corrected information wasn't included when the quarterly return was copied and sent to GRO.
You say that the local office couldn't help - but did they actually check the original register entry ?Ordering a certificate from them might get a copy which shows the corrections properly.
Having a correction numbered 28 on the entry is also odd - numbered corrections should only really be used during registration and before the entry is signed by the registrar so should all be consecutive - that suggests that a correction was made later, although both 3 and 28 both seem to relate to the father's occupation.
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Thanks for your help Antony, I will contact the local office again and see if I can speak to somebody about this entry.
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Just an update on my date of death confusion. It seems I have hit the end of the road on this one (for now at least). I have been unsuccessful in getting any more info from the local register office. I contacted GRO again but they informed me that "In this instance we would not require an occasional copy from the local Register Office as the entry they hold will be the same as the one held here at The General Register Office".
So while I have reasons to doubt the date of death (it being 2 weeks before Hannah was listed on the Census and 2 months before registration & burial) I will have to set it aside for now.
Many thanks to all who gave their time and advice,
Best Wishes
Caroline