Missing death index and certificate [Brickwall]

[JenB]

I have found a St Andrew & Jesmond cemetery burial record 17 March 1904.  However, can't see a death registration for this quarter.
However, there may be an earlier death registration in the December quarter 1903 Volume 10b page 92.

Did you notice that three other people were buried on the same day and in the same grave, L220? Checking on their death registration dates, they were all registered in the 4th quarter of 1903. The name in the 'order' column is the same for all four, W. Warwick. The other three all died in Gateshead Workhouse.

A couple of pages earlier there is another group of people who all died in a workhouse, buried in exactly the same grave (L220) in February 1904,  these deaths all registered in the 3rd quarter of 1903.

In all cases the order for burial was given by a W. Warwick.

My suspicion is that these were bodies which were 'unclaimed' and were used, under the Anatomy Act, for medical research.

I know someone who is quite an expert on this subject so have asked for their advice (not that it advances the Battista cause any further).

 

[JenB]

Just following this us, although it has nothing to do with the topic.

In all cases the order for burial was given by a W. Warwick

William Warwick was for many years the Head Janitor at the Medical School in Newcastle (he liked to call himself the 'curator'). It seems that the Janitor was in charge of the dissecting room.

There are numerous examples, from 1888 onwards, of William Warwick giving direction for the burial of bodies which had come from the Infirmary, the Workhouses at Gateshead and Newcastle, the 'Dead House' and other locations.

It seems likely that the medical school was acquiring these bodies, possibly unclaimed by any family, and using them for dissection work by students, and that when they were not needed any more Warwick was arranging burials at St Andrews. This could have happened under the Anatomy Act of 1832 which wasn't repealed until 1984.

But why the late burial if these are the same person?  Might he have gone to medical science or might there be some other reason?

Looks like your medical research theory is correct.

This doesn't help at all the the subject of the thread, but it's interesting all the same.

[Tickettyboo]

As Jennifer says, this explanation of the late burial is very interesting,  according to William Warwick's Obit, he was 'janitor' at the School of medicine for 35 years, so there are probably a lot more instances in the burial registers for St Andrews

https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-chronicle-w-warwick-obit/151613657/

Boo

[JenB]

according to William Warwick's Obit, he was 'janitor' at the School of medicine for 35 years, so there are probably a lot more instances in the burial registers for St Andrews

I've been looking through and there are hundreds of instances, the first I've found being in November 1888, annotated 'From M[edical] College' https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-L3VC-K9SH-Q?cat=828268

I am being seriously side tracked by this.

[River Tyne Lass]

Thanks Jen and Boo.
Yes, since I posted the other day I discovered that this Michael died in the December quarter the previous year.  I also then looked again at the burial entry on Wednesday and noticed the others in same grave, then checked them out too and came to the same conclusion as you that they all must have been donated to medical science.
Since my first post re this Michael someone else has since kindly sent off for this Michael Whelan's death cert which I have seen.   Unfortunately the death was reported by the Coroner and not a relative so unfortunately there is no evidence to link him to Giovanni.  So no further forward.
Cause of death was thought to be due to 'natural causes probable syncope' so no sensational inquest which might have been considered worthy of being reported in the newspapers.
He died on 24 Oct 1903 and was a hawker.
I agree though, it is all very interesting.
Awful to think though that this likely wasn't a prior choice by any of the deceased and they were  sent for medical research only because they were poor.