Death notice 1884

[hensher]

My great-great grandmother Helen(Ellen) Edgcombe Beckett died in July 1884 and was buried at St Peters Observatory in Cape Town. Would there be a death notice for her? Family search records seem to start at a later date than this. Many thanks!

[Gillian Mauchan]

Only if she left an Estate, in which case there may be an estate notice indicating her heirs but not the cause of death. Civil DN's only started in 1894 in most places in SA.

[hensher]

Thank you for your information Gillian. Sadly I am in England so not able to visit and check info. Helen Beckett was married so probably would not have an estate of her own. Her husband James John Beckett died 1909 in Cape Town and apparently left a will. Would I be able to find his estate online do you think? Thanks Bev

[philipsearching]

As you may have found, James John BECKETT's Death Notice is on FamilySearch
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQX-C3SR?i=1660&cc=2517051
(image 1661 of 2143).

The file on FamilySearch is not fully indexed.  It begins in late 1883 and includes men and women, European and African, with and without property or wills.  So, it would be worth scrolling through the pages to see if there is a Death Notice for Helen.

Philip

[Gillian Mauchan]

The DN Phillip found is an Estate File DN these came into being in 1834 ans are still used today - but are only filled in when the death is reported to the Masters Office, ie when there is an estate to distribute or sometimes when a person died in an institution and the a DN was filed. I've checked the NAAIRS indexes and it would appear that one was not filed for Helen . You can use the NAAIRS indexes to assist in finding unindexed files on familysearch - Matthew Bode  had posted a number of handy videos on youtube accessing SA records 
www.youtube.com/user/matthewmarkbode