Saskatchewan Death Certificate

[Kcop]

I have been researching a Great Aunt who emigrated to Saskatchewan in 1911.

She died on 3 May 1911 and is buried in Forest Bank Cemertery, near Maidstone.

I have found a record of her death through the Genealogy Index on Saskatchewan Ehealth but really would like to establish the cause of death. I understand this should be done by a separate application but would like to know how likely am I to meet the criteria required. Is it practical to pursue this bearing in mind the cost factor involved.
Any advice will be appreciated.

[jeffster]

Hey kcop,

You would need to request a Long copy also known as a Genealogical Copy of the Death in question.  The fact that you have her Date of Death, and place does help.  Make sure you have the index number if one is included in the index.  The long copy or Genealogical copy I believe will have what was on the original form back in 1911 if it was known. I am not sure the cost factor but it should so on the form when you fill it out.  I would think you would qualify, as the death occurred over a hundred years ago so there would be no privacy issue forthcoming..

Good luck,

Jeff

[Kcop]

Hello Jeff

Many thanks for your reply.

I seem to be going round in  circles with trying to get a copy of this certificate.

I have approached Saskatchewan E health and received the following as my course of action.

“”

Genealogy

eHealth Saskatchewan registers births, deaths, marriages and stillbirths that occur in the province.

You can search eHealth's Genealogy Index at no cost for:

Births registered in Saskatchewan more than 100 years ago
Deaths registered in Saskatchewan more than 70 years ago
Marriages registered in Saskatchewan more than 75 years ago
Or you can request a genealogical copy of a registration by applying online or by completing the appropriate Birth, Stillbirth, Marriage or Death application forms.

Copies of these original records can be ordered for genealogy purposes.

All vital events are registered individually and no cross-references are made between events to establish family relationships.

Please note that the genealogical copy of a death registration does not include cause of death. Information regarding eligibility for cause of death can be found here. 

Genealogical Copies are usually processed within six to eight weeks of eHealth receiving your application. This does not include mailing time.
To avoid delays, please ensure identification is included with your application.
                                                                                                                                “”



It appears to be quite strict criteria required regarding eligibility for cause of death, and at a cost of 55 CD.

I have also messaged the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society twice for advice but have not received any response.

Can you expand on a “long copy” in relation to the above please.

All help is gratefully received.

Regards Kcop.

[bbart]

The cause of death would be on the "Medical Certificate of Death".  Saskatchewan has very strict rules on who can access them;  read the bottom part of https://www.ehealthsask.ca/residents/deaths/Documents/Who%20Can%20Apply%20for%20a%20Death%20Certificate.pdf

Given the year of her death, the first thing that came to mind was TB, rampant at the time.

If you care to give her name, we can take a peek through the newspapers in the hope that there is some mention of her.

[Kcop]

Hello bbart

Thank you for message.

You have confirmed that in reality it does not seem to be viable to pursue trying to obtain a death certificate, you are the first person since I have been searching to say Saskatchewan has “very strict rules”. From this I’m assuming each state has different rules?

My great aunt was Nellie Wesson., wife of John Henry Wesson.

We have always been led to believe she took her own life, hence my reason for trying to find out more. It is a very sad tale, she married here in England on 5 April 1911 before travelling to Canada arriving in Halifax on 22 April 1911. She died on 3 May 1911, less than two weeks after arriving.

If you think there might have been anything reported at the time that could be found then it would be of real interest.

Thank you

[bbart]

Each province in Canada has strict rules for the the number of years that must pass before birth/marriage/death records can be made public.  Some provinces then have free access to view these documents online, other provinces charge a fee for them.
Each province adopted the division of death registrations and medical registrations at different times, I believe.  Being that it is 1911 in question, there might be the very slim chance that the registration would contain cause of death, but as their site states outright that it will NOT state that, makes me think they would redact that part.

As to newspaper articles, there is no mention of Nellie in Saskatchewan (so far), and the numerous articles on John Henry Wesson that are of a biography style cover his early life, then jump to 1912 when he married.  There is no mention that the 1912 marriage is his second.

Looking in the British papers, there is an article on the wire being sent of Nellie's death. In it they state that she made the trip well, and was in good spirits and the cause of death they could not state (I take that mean they weren't told?).  I would think your suspicions could well be right.

The British papers also have an article on their wedding.

I will take a longer look tomorrow in case I missed something, (it's late here!).  If you cannot access the British papers and would like the articles, do let me know. (I can't post the British articles here for copyright reasons).  As John Henry Wesson is technically not related to you, you may not want any articles on him, but should you wish to see them, I will gladly clip them and send you a link.

JH Wesson became very well known and did well for himself;  how very sad that Nellie couldn't be a part of that.

[Kcop]

As part of my researching I have found lots of information on John Henry Wesson and his life in Canada. I also have the reports from the local newspapers here. I know she is in an unmarked grave and it appears that as would have been common at the time her death would have been hidden away. But I still wonder why after just such a few days !!!

[bbart]

If she did take her own life, it is possible that she was just so overwhelmed with the change.  She had left her family behind to become a farmer's wife. That's HARD. 
After WW1 and WW2, many British girls came over to marry a Canadian soldier they had met, and the stories they told of just how very hard it was to adapt would make you cry.  Sometimes it was because the new family was hard on the "new girl", others because they didn't realize hubby would be away all day, leaving them alone with farming chores that they had no idea of how to do. While most learned to adapt, many did commit suicide.
It's unfortunate that they just didn't return home, but I suppose in that time period, women just felt they couldn't, or didn't have the means to leave.
Sadly, I don't think you will ever know her mindset, if indeed that was the issue. 
I will scour around the papers again tomorrow, but I don't hold much optimism. 

[Kcop]

Thank you I’ll reply more later as well. The day calls !
And please go get some sleep😴