Genealogy Chat

Hi everybody,

I received two death certs this morning for a mother and son. They died on the same day (in 1839). The mother's cause of death is consumption (she was aged 27) but there is no cause of death on the cert for her son. He was 4 months old. Is it likely that he would've had t.b. as well or is it common for very young children to have no cause of death?

Thanks, Jo

When did it become compulsory to put cause of death on certs? I have a feeling it was much later but could be wrong.

Christmas Bell,

I have a family with a "nurse child". Would that be the wife feeding her own baby as well as someone else's?

Phew, than goodness for formula!

Margaret

I have several certs. for Baby / Child deaths the youngest being 15 days old in the 1880s and they all state cause of death

Lulli

Thanks for the replies.

Maybe I'll never know! What would they put as cause of death if no-body knew?

I also find it strange that they died on the same day. And they were registered on the day by the husband/father. It's quite sade really.

Jo

I wonder if, when the husband/father gave the details, he registered his wife's death first and thought the registrar would know the baby died of the same thing (or perhaps told the registrar at the start that they both died of the same thing but the registrar misunderstood).

Or, as Christine says, the registrar could have just missed a box by mistake and the father didn't notice.

That is so very sad :-(

Did you get the cert from the local office or the GRO? If it's the later, it may have been missed when sent over way back in 1839. Try contacting the local register office. You never know!

Rob

It wasn´t compulsary to put a cause of death on a cert. until 1847. If the doctor didn´t put it on after that date he could be fined 40 shillings.

Nurse child is a child the woman is caring for, probably for payment. It very often doesn't mean she was actually breastfeeding the child. I find many women who took nursechildren in were older ladies clearly unable to breastfeed.