Query about 1939 register

[Brie]

I was looking at a Joseph C Irwin born c1850 on the 1939 index. When you click through there is a message that all the people in this household are either living or not confirmed to be dead. I had thought that if the person was born over a 100 years ago the record could be opened anyway.

Has this happened to anyone else?

Brie

[dawnsh]

is he the one in Watford?

if it is, I can see the image.

Make sure you are logged in.

[Brie]

Thanks Dawn. It is that one. I don't have a sub to the 1939 only FindMyPast but usually one can work out quite a bit from the index. However, it doesn't matter, it is presumably just some sort of glitch but now I know the record is accessible I'll add his name to my very long list to be looked up some day

Brie

[dawnsh]

Hi Brie

It isn't a glitch, you need to be signed in to FindMyPast with a valid sub to see the one you are interested ain and the rest of the entries on the page as it's an institution.

[Brie]

I just typed a reply and lost it!

Anyway it is the preview I can't see. I can see other households' previews. For example on one set of grandparents it says

H B S 1887
E S is also on this record (I can see the full names though)
1 more person who is officially closed

then there is the "unlock this household key" below.

In contrast on Joseph's preview it says that the household is officially closed as everyone is either still alive or not confirmed to have died. I just would have expected to see his name and year of birth and his wife's name if she were still alive/with him as I can on other previews.

Anyway, it will teach me patience

Brie

[RaeUK]

Just to add to the debate, my understanding is that a closed record doesn't necessarily mean the person is still living. Just that at the time of digitising the records they thought they could be alive / had no proof they were deceased.
For example, my Mother's record was closed. This was thirty odd years after she had died. I contacted them, provided a copy of the death certificate, and had the record opened.

[Brie]

Thanks Rae,

That is what I thought, so I guess the person digitizing Joseph's record had rather an optimistic view about longevity! Joseph was 89 in 1939 and died shortly after the register was taken.

However, it seems from what Dawn says that if you are a subscriber you can see the record which is the important thing, so the problem only seems to be with the preview. Not a great worry, I was just a tad puzzled.

Brie

[Brie]

Oh and welcome to rootschat RaeUK, I only just noticed it was your first post.

Brie

[dawnsh]

Hi Brie

So, I've logged out of my FindMyPast account and done the search.

I've attached 3 images, the first is the search result, the second is the next screen when you aren't logged in, the 3rd is a cropped result when you are logged in.

Yes, I agree you can't see him from the preview but that might be because of where he is.

You could ask FindMyPast on Monday morning when Live Chat is available again.

When you are logged in you can then go to the image and see the rest of the result which are other entries from the institution. He is not with any other family members.

In accordance with the terms & conditions of my FindMyPast membership and to prevent breaches of copyright I must delete the attached images as soon as you have seen them.