Genealogy Chat

Hi I’ve been looking to see if I can find the death of my Gt. Grandfather Benjamin Freeman, born 1869. All I know is what my Nan told me – that after the death of her mother in January 1912 in Edmonton, her father went off with another woman and neither she or her two siblings ever saw him again. There are five entries missing in the years 1913,1914, 1918 & 1946. Can someone tell me if this information available anywhere else? Many thanks Lyndsey

www.findmypast*com also has the full indexes, but is pay to view. You will probably find that Ancestry DO have the indexes for the quarters you can't find, but they have been indexed incorrectly, perhaps because an extra handwritten entry at the bottom of the page has been noted as the final entry. I usually get round this by searching for a name close in alphabetical order to the one I want and then scroling pages forward or back to find the page I need. eg if Freeman doesn't show on the search, try looking for the page containg the surname Fredericks and then clicking page forward from there.

The June qtr. 1918 has two entries. I think the second one is a possible:- Benjamin Freeman, age 74, Battle, 2b, 67 Benjamin J. Freeman, age 46, Birmingham, 6d, 320 No entry in the June or September qtrs of 1946. NOTE - you can usually find the missing qtrs on Ancestry by viewing the image for one of the quarters that IS there. Then on the line at the top of the image where it gives the quarter and year, click on the year. This will usually bring up a list of the four quarters of the year. Click on the one that was missing. This will bring up an alphabetical list. Click on the letter your name begins with. This will bring up all the pages for names beginning with that letter. Then just scroll through the names until you come to the one you want to see if your entry is there. This sounds complicated but in reality it is quite simple. Kath. x

There is no Benjamin Freeman death registered in the June qtr. of 1913. There is one Benjamin Freeman registered in the Sept. qtr. of 1914 but I don't think he is yours as he is too old. He is 73 years old. The reference is Kingsbridge, 5b, 208. Haven't checked the other quarters yet. Kath. x

Hi Thank you for your replies and for checking for me Kath. It’s very kind of you. There’s an entry in 1930. The name and age fit and the death was registered in Islington, not a million miles away from Edmonton. I’m guessing that he didn’t stay in Edmonton as maybe Nan or her brother and sister would have bumped into him (!) but maybe he didn’t move too far away? I think that Nan said it was a female cousin he went off with, but can’t be sure! If so I might recognise the name of the informant! However, before getting my hopes up and sending off for the certificate I’d like to discount the possibility of him being in the ones that I haven’t seen. Have to go out now but will check in again when I get back! Many thanks again Lyndsey

Hi Thank you for your replies and for checking for me Kath. It’s very kind of you. There’s an entry in 1930. The name and age fit and the death was registered in Islington, not a million miles away from Edmonton. I’m guessing that he didn’t stay in Edmonton as maybe Nan or her brother and sister would have bumped into him (!) but maybe he didn’t move too far away? I think that Nan said it was a female cousin he went off with, but can’t be sure! If so I might recognise the name of the informant! However, before getting my hopes up and sending off for the certificate I’d like to discount the possibility of him being in the ones that I haven’t seen. Have to go out now but will check in again when I get back! Many thanks again Lyndsey

Hi Kath I applied for and have now received the death certificate for the Benjamin Freeman who died in 1930 in Islington as it was the only entry that matched his name and age. However, it isn’t a great deal of help as the informant is only referred to as ‘Mrs Freeman, widow of deceased’. If this is him then he must have remarried and I have been looking for the marriage, but there are some quarters missing. When I was looking for his death you very kindly gave me instructions on a way of finding missing entries on BMD but I can’t find the alphabetical list in order to click on the letter the name begins with, and I haven’t had any success with Judith’s tip either..I’m feeling rather thick (!) any chance you can give some more instructions? Many thanks & apologies for being so dopey! Lyndsey