Genealogy Chat

Hi...me again! Can someone point me in the right direction to find out about a death..and please don't say 1837online, cos I've looked there already! I've found a rellie who is on the 1881 census but not on the 1901 so I'm assuming she died during that time. Would this assumption be correct?? If so, why could I not find her on 1837online? Is there another site that specialises in just deaths and would give me all the info I need? Thanks in advance Caroline

Just becasue you can't find somone on the 1901 census does not mean that they are not there. Unfortunately the people that transcribed the census were not the most literate, nor able to understand old writing and thus there are more errors than we care to see! eg, my Reese is listed as Keeves, Hartus is listed as Hartees. I even have a Smith listed as Mith So your ancestor may be there you just have to think outside the box and try every possible permutation to find them. You could for example put in the first name, the age the place of birth and see if that brings a result. This might involve trawling through a lot of pages! Believe me though it is worth it when you finally find the person after days of work! 1837 has near enough all the bmd so if you cannot find your person its possible the death is not recorded then. Does your library have the St Catherine House recrds? these are the same bdm but of course you can look at them for free and they are complete - if your library has the full set! The family centres at the Church of the Latter Day Saints also have the St Catherine House records on fim and fiche Good luck! Babs

Dont assume that she is dead because she is not on the 1901. I could not find the majority of my rellies on the 1901 until someone me to check all spellings etc. Hicken was on the 1901 as Hichen Proctor was Procter or Prockter or Prokter Callear was Coleer or collyer or Caller or Culleer Dont forget that a lot of people were illiterate and so the census chap wrote down what he thought the spelling was. Also a lot of names were transcribed wrongly. I cannot think of any better site that the 1837. Have you tried the LDS site, they dont have a lot of deaths. Have you also checked free bmd? failing that I can only think of the parish registers. Let me know if you need any site addresses. Regards Helena

Hi Thanks for your advice. I think I'll try the local library first although I've been trying to get as much info as possible first without having to go "out in the field" but it looks like it'll be happening sooner than I thought. Thanks again Caroline

Try the FreeBMD search, and use the phonetic for surnames. If it gives too many results, try and specify date paremeters, it may find what you want. Plus the fact, was the person even in the country at the time? Paul

Hi Caroline. I think you get a lot out of going out and about to find your info. I started 20 months ago and my first port of call was the LDS centre where they gave me lots of tips. As I knew my grandfathers family came from the area I live in , I went round all the graveyards in search of the name. Since then with the help of library records and microfiche from family history societies which I read at the library, I have found the graves of my ancestors going back to the 1700's Its more rewarding to actually find them in the flesh so to speak. Plus gravestones give me lots of other leads. Certainly you find out the names of children who may never have made it to census returns because they died so young. I bought a lot of fiche for the monmouthshire region and was able to piece together the history of another string of my family which lead me to tracing a number of distant cousins Its a long and rocky road and the internet only has half the answers - if that many! Buts its worth it! B

Thanks again for your invaluable advice, I suppose cos I'm fairly new at this I want to find all the information NOW! hahaha Anyway, thanks again, I'm sure I'll be back with more questions! Caroline

Please dont try to find all the information now and do go out on field trips. You will be surprised how lovely and different it can be. There can be the lovely Sunday afternoon going round a country churchyard, the odd drink and sandwich in the local pub listening to an old man in the corner telling you he actually knew your great uncle. Attending easter service in the church of your ancestors with the "Brigadier" explaining how another great Uncle served in the 1st world war with him. Seeing a memorial stone in a church to your great grandfather. I think family history is not about numbers and lists of names. It is being able to see a little of the way they lived and their background. Have great fun! Regards Helena

Caroline, The 1901 census is far from perfect, there was a lot of trouble launching it, 2 of my relatives are not there but I know they were alive because thay married within weeks, and later had a child. Also when I put in the name of my greatgrandmother nothing showed and I thought she had died but at a later date I put in the name of my Greatuncle , there was my greatgrandmother at the same address. Just keep trying.