Confused by death certificate of 1949 abandoned child.

[Samantha Pratt]

I have a death certificate for an aunt (Mary Tuck, aged 13yrs) who died as a child in 1949. It states she died in the General Hospital (not named), her address was Fishburn Terrace, Fishburn, Sedgefield, Durham. She died of heart related issues. Occupation is 'daughter of Minnie Tuck' (her mother, my grandmother). Informant is given as 'causing the body to be buried' (I've researched that term so understand the person wasn't next of Kin.

The address given for the informant and Mary are the same and Mary's surname hads been changed to that of the informant, stating Mary (new surname) formerly Tuck.

I'm confused. I thought she might have been fostered or adopted (she was left by her mother). A younger sibling definately had and another may have been(I've yet to find that one).

Why would her 'occupation' be as 'a daughter of Minnie Tuck' if she was fostered/adopted? If she fostered why would her surname have been changed? and why wasn't the informant classsed as her next of kin if they were bringing her up as their child?

PS I haven't put the informants details as I know nothing about them and no idea of the rules around that. Mary & Minnie were my relativesw and are both deceased.

[Tickettyboo]

I do hate to see an unanswered post :-)

I can't say with 100% accuracy, but can offer an opinion

 from experience a death cert  for a child would have in the occupation col 'son/daughter of..'
just as those for women would say 'wife/widow of [Name and occupation of husband]
(More recent certs when women more commonly had careers may say something different but certainly those I have for the 1940s/50s still would)

So in this case, maybe the child was generally known by the adoptive/family name but unless it had been a formal adoption her official next of kin would still be her birth mother?
The informant may just have been doing their best to give a truthful answer to the registrar's questions?
The upside is that this means you have definite proof of her birth name and the name she was known by, very often informal and formal adoptions are very difficult to find out about and document.

Boo

[heywood]

At first I thought that the informant would be a hospital employee but looked up the ‘causing the body to be buried’ you mention.

I may be totally wrong here but it would be a big coincidence going from the names. It is difficult without names from the record you have.

I can see a birth for Mary Tuck, June 1935 mother’s name Tuck.
There is a marriage in 1937 - Minnie Tuck and Thomas Handslip.

This name is found in 1939 register but we can’t give further information.

Does any of this fit with your research?

[Samantha Pratt]

Hi, Minnie Tuck was my grandmother. I already have her details. I'm trying to trace the children she left behind. I knew Mary had died, my mother is named after her. I just believed she had been in her mother's care and a young adult when she had died. I was surprised to find out she was a child and in care. I've found one of the siblings, a brother (which was the first time I'd heard the 3 siblings had been put in care), not sure where the sister ended up but the brother and sister did have contact as adults.

I've since found another sibling that no-one knew about. That birth certificate states that child was adopted. Not much hope of finding her or her family nor how to even begin to look for them. Would be nice to know that they had a happy life though

[Rosinish]

I've since found another sibling that no-one knew about. That birth certificate states that child was adopted. Not much hope of finding her or her family nor how to even begin to look for them

DNA?

Annie

[Radcliff]

Burial record Fishburn,
Mary Tuck in brackets (Welch)
a minor,
aged 13 years,
died 12/02/1949
place of death General Hospital Sunderland,
burial 16/02/1949
situation Section a grave number a 33, consecrated ground,

as the name Welch is in brackets one could assume that is the name Mary went by and perhaps was fostered to a family named Welch, rather than adopted, so her mother would still be her next of kin legally

[Radcliff]

Samantha if you know the missing Childs date of birth you may still have a chance of finding her,

[Radcliff]

there appears to be 6 children born Handslip to mother Tuck between 1937 and 1954
Durham various registration districts,
And your Mary Tuck mother Tuck Houghton June 1935,
and this is the same registration as Minnies marriage ,

[Samantha Pratt]

I did a DNA test a few years back. It's not really thrown a lot up for this side of the family.

Thank you for the replies.

It's been a while since I checked in here. I tend to look at family history over Xmas and into January.