Answering one query seems to bring more

[LizzieL]

Hi Pheno, yes her surname was Shiel.
Monical, a good idea but her poor husband got run over by a train eight years earlier. I suppose one of her sons could be known as Alex, but I can't think how I can confirm that.

I have two children (brother and sister) in my tree whose parents were drowned in a boating accident when they were quite young. The boy added the father's name to his original name and his sister added their mother's name to hers. Perhaps one of your lady's sons did that in honour of his deceased father.

[antiquesam]

Thank you LizzieL. I think that must be the only answer as none of the males have Alexander as a middle name. The only other possibility is that it could have been a grandson, but I haven't managed to pin down all the descendants.

[rosie99]

Maybe it was just that the registrar or son got confused. Perhaps the fact that she was the 'widow of Alexander' was mentioned and his name was entered in error.

[heywood]

Maybe it was just that the registrar or son got confused. Perhaps the fact that she was the 'widow of Alexander' was mentioned and his name was entered in error.

I wondered that too. Did both sons have names beginning with ‘A’. I think I saw that.
Were both or one living with her or close by?

[antiquesam]

There was two sons with forenames beginning with "A", Albert and August. August had a son named Alexander, but as he would have only been five at the time it's unlikely to be him.

[jonw65]

Alexander was living in Cleadon when he died in 1931?
Don't have access, but England & Wales, Electoral Registers 1910-1932 has
1930 and 1931, Cleadon
Alexander Shiel
Alexander, Jun, Shiel
Mary Shiel
Harry Shiel

[jonw65]

All living in Garden Lane?

[candleflame]

You have my sympathy. I dithered for years over buying a death certificate for one of my lot as the lady should have been just Elizabeth ( from birth and marriage certs which I'd bought) but the only death entry  that fitted was down as Mary Elizabeth. Even the newspaper announcement said Mary Elizabeth . However when I was able to get the newspaper announcement and article from the library microfiche of her husband's death  which had been a few years before and was quite a substantial article, I knew I was on the right family as all the mourners were the whole family of brothers and sisters etc so it was def the right family. So at some point between getting married she'd added a Mary to her name. Who knows why - if she didn't like Elizabeth as a name possibly.
I had another one where a stepson had been the informant and he didn't get a name quite as it should have been .
I hope you manage to prove one way or the other that the death you've found is or isn't the correct one.

[antiquesam]

Candleflame I am known to the world as Sam but it bears no resemblance to my given names of David Rennie Malcolm.