My 3X great-grandfather, Benjamin Carr, seems to have been a colourful character. Born in 1792 in the North Yorkshire village of North Grimston, he became a mole catcher by trade, and working outside in the North Yorkshire air seems to have served him well. He lived to the age of 86, which very few people managed to achieve back then. Word of mouth family history says he died on a night out at a local pub! I had no proof of the truth of this until a few weeks ago, when I found the record of his burial at Ancestry uk (shown below). The record proves that the story is true! It clearly states that he died at the Royal Oak Inn in Norton, bordering Malton. The coroner was called in (unusual for most deaths back then). It seems that dropping dead in a pub for no obvious reason required the coroner. He allowed Benjamin to be buried three days later (other records show that he died on 4th Jan 1878 and was buried on 7th Jan in the village of Leavening). Living to the age of 86 in the 1800's was an achievement in itself, but dying in a pub, enjoying a good night out at the age of 86 deserves to be congratulated, I would say!
