Genealogy Chat

I've read other posts on here that say that birth dates can be out by as much as 5 years, but this seems to be only in the early 1800s. However, I have my great granddad's death certificate (John Burgess, d1958 aged 80), so I've searched for him with a birth date of 1878, and my mum knows he was born in Leeds. However, the only John Burgess I can find at about this time has a birth year of 1873 (according to 1881 census) and has a middle initial of E, which isn't shown on the death certificate. I've also searched for him on 1891 census, and he isn't on that one at all! John E Burgess appears again in 1901 in Pudsey as a confectioner/baker (which fits as my great granddad was a hotel chef when he died). Help! Is his death certificate likely to be wrong with age/name or am I barking up the wrong tree with John E Burgess?

Death certificates are often wrong where the age is concerned. The person who registers the death tells the registrar how old the person was and if they aren't particularly close, they may not know for definite!

Do you know his parents names which will help find him on the census?

Sam x

There is this one born 1877:

Yorkshire Birth indexes for the years: 1877
Surname Forename(s) Sub-District Registers At Mother's Maiden Name Reference
BURGESS John Yeadon Leeds YEAD/31/430


Sam x

Hi Sam

Blimey - where did you find that one! I never found that! Unfortunately, i don't know his parents names, thats what I'm trying to find. His death certificate does say Jack Burgess otherwise John, but my granddad's marriage certificate shows him as being John Burgess, so there is definitely some confusion!

That birth is also on freebmd (I found the first one on www.yorkshirebmd.org.uk):

Surname First name(s) District Vol Page
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Births Mar 1877 (>99%)
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Burgess John Wharfedale 9a 174

Wharfedale registration district covered Yeadon which is about 10 miles from Leeds.

You really need to get his birth certificate or his marriage certificate to be able to find him with certainty on the census.

Sam x

Some people lied about their ages on the censuses.

My 2x great grandmother Sophia married a man several years younger than herself. As each census came round her age got closer to his. By the time of the 1891 they were the same age.

I started my research for her ancestry about 10 years ago and I started with the 1891 census. I then spent ages looking for a Sophia baptism in her place of birth and for a Sophia in the 1841 and 1851 censuses but couldn't see her because she was considerably older than I realised.

I did eventually track her down plus discovered that her first born child was illegitimate and didn't really have her husband's surname.

Not all ancestors told the truth. Not all details from certificates and censuses are correct. In an ideal world we need several proofs before we can be sure that we have the right information.

Sue

Thanks for your help. I never realised it would be so difficult! I'll get his marriage certificate and take it from there. Thanks for your help.

sharon x