Were middle names often omitted from death certificates in the 1880s?

[jamie300]

I am wondering how common it was for middle names to be omitted from death certificates?

I know that this John Thomas Parker b1842 Lichfield died in England between the 1881 and 1891 cenuses, because his wife is listed as a widow in 1891. However, looking at the GRO index there's only two John Thomas Parkers who died in this decade, one being his father (1883) and the other being a guy from Northamptonshire who died in Islington 1889.

I'm guessing my JTP died in Staffordshire or possibly in Lancashire where his wife ended up. There are several called "John Parker" who fit this bill, but I can't afford to splash out money on certificates if there's little chance they had an unrecorded middle name.

[jamie300]

 

After thinking about the wording of my post I had a look through some newspapers and just now found that he died in Jersey City, USA in 1886

I guess my point still stands - if no one with a middle name is recorded in the GRO index, is it best to look elsewhere or trawl through the matches for first-name & surname?

[Jebber]

So much depends on who the informant was for a death, the information is often unreliable because the informant didn’t know the full name or age of the deceased.

Some people are alway known by their middle name, especially if their name is the same as their father. Sometimes their death is recorded with that, their first name omitted completely.

I have several people whose first and middle names are transposed on the  death certificate.

My own mother-in-law registered her second husband with a totally different middle name to that on his birth certificate.

[AntonyMMM]

The name is recorded as whatever the informant gives - if they aren't aware of a middle name it won't appear.

So you should always consider alternatives without a middle name entered.

[Sandblown]

The UK GRO normally states the Age of the deceased. Therefore if the Birth Year of the deceased is known, then a certain amount of identical deceased names, around the time of death, can be eliminated.

[AntonyMMM]

Ages can be even more unreliable than names though.

I registered quite a few deaths where family members really didn't know how old their parent/grandparent actually was ....

[Rosinish]

After thinking about the wording of my post I had a look through some newspapers and just now found that he died in Jersey City, USA in 1886

I guess my point still stands - if no one with a middle name is recorded in the GRO index, is it best to look elsewhere or trawl through the matches for first-name & surname?

I'm unsure of the wording/meaning as to whether you're looking on GRO for a death entry for your John Thomas Parker?

If so, his death will be recorded where he died, not in England.

https://www.nj.gov/state/archives/pdf/ReferenceFees.pdf


Annie