Narrowing Down Death Certificates

[t@nya]

I know you can ask the GRO to send you a birth certificate for a particular person, but ask them to only send to you if the parents are such-and-such (taking longer but getting you a refund if they don't find it).

Can you do a similar thing for death certificates? That is, ask them to send you the death certificate of Joe Doe, but only if he's (say) 68 years old. And if you can, how to you apply for the death certificate? Previously, I've applied online, but I'm not sure if you could you that method for a service like that.

[Jan1954]

Hi t@nya - I am not sure if you can or not, but death certificates are only as accurate as the information known by the person registering the death.

In birth certificates, it is usually the mother who registers the birth and so the details are pretty accurate. However, the death may have been registered by the Coroner working on 3rd hand information, a cousin, a child, a spouse - all of whom will only be able to provide the "facts" as they know them. If the deceased lied about their age to them or it was an approximation, then it will not be accurate.

[t@nya]

True. But I'm looking for the death of Mary Ann Hill and I can't afford to send for all the possible death certificates, even limiting it one area (Bristol) and one time period (1837 to 1851). And that's assuming she didn't move and die elsewhere.

[Peter Goodey]

If she was a widow or married, the death certificate that you want should give her occupation as "widow (or wife) of [insert the right name here].

If you must give an age, supply a range (eg 65 to 70)

[t@nya]

I'm not sure that she ever married (by she I mean the Mary Ann Hill that isn't my ancestor). I haven't been able to find a marriage in the Bristol area at any rate. I'm thinking she died relatively young, maybe in her 20s or 30s.

Thanks for your advice.

[jac65]

Hi

How do you know when she died? Often the only way to know is when a spouse was married in one census and a widow(er) in the next but that doesn't appear to be the case here. If she has just disappeared then she could be in a defacto relationship and using his surname.

The problem with death certificates is that you can get a certificate and still not know whether it is your relative or not.

Andy

[t@nya]

I don't. She (the other Mary Ann) just disappeared. My Mary Ann ended up in Australia, dying there in the 1880s. If she did end up in a defacto relationship, than I'm afraid that I may never know which of the couples my Mary Ann Hill belongs.

I suspect she's the daughter of couple 1 (since she names two of her children the names that were given to that couple's sons), but I don't want to assume so. I may have to, though, if I don't get more information.