She must be dead by now...

[Jan1954]

May I prevail upon the collective wisdom of the members for some advice, please?

Mary Ann Payne was born about 1833 in East Grinstead, being baptised there on 6th April 1834. She married Caleb GOLDSMITH on 13th April 1857 in Eastbourne Parish Church. Caleb and Mary lived out the rest of their time in Eastbourne, where Caleb was a greengrocer's assistant for most of it.

Caleb died on 1st November 1905 and is buried in Ocklynge cemetery, Eastbourne. He shares his grave with 2 others, neither of whom are Mary.

Now, I have not found Mary's death or burial.

These are the possibilities:

June quarter 1904
Goldsmith Mary 72 Steyning 2b 179

September quarter 1907
GOLDSMITH Mary 73 Battle 2b 25

December quarter 1916
Goldsmith Mary A 84 Hastings 2b 35

As far as I can make out, the family all stayed in Eastbourne, apart from one son (also Caleb) who moved to Redhill in Surrey, and an unmarried daughter who died in East Hoathly in 1934. East Hoathly falls into the Uckfield District.

So, you can perhaps see why I am in a bit of a quandry as to whether any of the above are the right Mary.

The only Eastbourne death that I can find is:
June quarter 1913
Goldsmith Mary A 72 Eastbourne 2b 101 - which would be too young.

All advice gratefully received, as I really would like to bury Mary Ann GOLDSMITH once and for all. Thank you.

[Davran]

Have you tried familyhistoryonline? I don't have any credits at the moment, but there appear to be 2 burials in Hastings and Rother between 1916 and 1924.

[Jan1954]

Davran, no I have not used them. What sort of information do they provide on that site? Would it help me to identify that I have the right Mary Ann Goldsmith?

[bumblebee]

I have some information.

Mary Ann Goldsmith aged 84 buried at Hastings, Christchurch, Blacklands, Sussex,
Died 10th December 1916

Bumblebee

[Jan1954]

Thanks, Bumblebee - that ties in with the thrird death reference that I found. However, I still have no immediate family connection to Hastings - well, not that late in the game, just in the early to middle part of the 19th century, and a completely different branch.

[bumblebee]

Perhaps she was just visiting - wonder if she died in Surrey visiting her son.

Bumblebee

[Jan1954]

It is a possibility, however Caleb and Millie were hurtling all over Sussex, Kent and Surrey producing 13 children. I have heard no tales from my family that she ever visited them, but it is not impossible.

I may just have to wait until the 1911 comes out and see if I can find her then. It might show that one of their other children moved and she was with them.

Before Geoffers sees this and asks about a will, Caleb senior died and left £112 to his son Ernest, with no mention of anyone else.

[Davran]

Davran, no I have not used them. What sort of information do they provide on that site? Would it help me to identify that I have the right Mary Ann Goldsmith?

Sorry, my computer did an update restart, so was off line for a few minutes.

Although pay-per-view, familyhistoryonline is not too expensive. You pay £5 for credits, but they last for six months and each 'view' is a matter of pence.

This is a sample of available databases for Sussex (links won't work from here!):

Sussex Baptisms205 places (1508-1940)298,428 entries13May2006
Hastings & Rother Baptisms 1 place (1675-1919)*1,558 entries24Mar2005
Billingshurst Baptisms 1 place (1584-1841)6,572 entries18Jul2006
Tunbridge Wells area Baptisms 1 places (1545-1881) ongoing8413 entries20Dec2007
Billingshurst Marriages 1 place (1575-1899)4,958 entries18Jul2006
Tunbridge Wells area Marriages 1 place (1544-1881) ongoing2,178 entries20Dec2007
Sussex Burials 237 places (1530-1995)497,040 entries13May2006
Brighton Burials 2 places (1842-1893)4,242 entries14Dec2005
Billingshurst Burial and Probate 1 place (1508-1857)5,620 entries18Jul2006
Tunbridge Wells area Burials 1 place (1543-1881) ongoing6,241 entries20Dec2007
Sussex Strays31,573 entries13May2006
Billingshurst Land Tax (1780-1832)8,540 entries29OCT2003
Sussex Will Index various places12,300 entries05Jun2007
NBI - Hastings & Rother FHS 19 places (1558-1999)*41,926 entries10Feb2005

[Barbara Wilkinson]

Have you tried familyhistoryonline?
So far as I understand it, familyhistoryonline is a collection of data from the Federation of Family History Societies (and possibly some other sources!). From my experience, most of the data held by the Cornish Family History Society on their databases, that you can search in their library, is available there - on a pay-per-view basis.

[Davran]

Yes, that's right Barbara. Some counties have more data available than others, but it is certainly worth looking at - you don't have to pay to search, only to view anything you find.

[Mutley]

I would not know which of the three to try for.

Have you tried the Eastbourne Gazette. I don't know if they have obituary records. She may be there as a past resident even if she did not die there.

[arthurk]

Remember too that if you apply to a Register Office for a death certificate, the £7 fee covers a 5 year search. Give her year of birth and specify that she was wife or widow of Caleb, and they'll only send you the certificate if they find a match. And if they don't find it, you'll get your money back.

Arthur