Any family history researcher has visited a lot of monuments in their search for more information.
My one wish upon death, is to have a headstone that will last centuries so my descendants can read it!
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| Winiam Cemetery - where many of those interred are related to me. Photo taken 2009 |
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| Grave of James E Pilgrim (my great grandfather) Winiam Cemetery 21 Aug 1950 |
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| My Great Great Grandparents Grave Maryborough (Vic) Cemetery |
As researchers, we are taught to verify information, which is why I like to order certificates (which are often incorrect too!) . Alexander's death certificate states he died a day earlier, 11th June 1930.
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| Alexander Walker death extract Source: www.bdm.vic.gov.au |
The date is confirmed elsewhere on the certificate too as the death was also registered on 11th June 1930 and Alexander Walker was buried on the 13th June 1930.
When I started researching I was doing it "on the cheap" and was only interested in free information. However, I soon found that certificates (especially Australian certificates) provide so much useful information, which is unavailable elsewhere. Now I have a monthly budget for certificates. So what does it cost me? Nothing really. I just take my lunch to work everyday instead of buying it!
In addition to the date and cause of death, the certificate also provided me with the following details (or confirmed details already held):
- Age on Death and therefore approximate Birth Year
- When and where buried
- Occupation
- Parents names (and mothers maiden name)
- Fathers occupation
- Religion
- Wife and 15 Children's names and ages
- Where Born
- Number of Years in Australia (therefore approximate immigration date)
- Where and When Married
- Son's address
- Place of Death (and residence)
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| Alexander Walker died at 30 Napier Street, Maryborough, Victoria (Picture taken 2012) |
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| Click to visit more Sepia Saturday posts. This weeks prompt relates to statues and monuments. |
Interesting. I had an uncle who was having trouble getting a birth certificate. He had the wrong day. Seems his parents had told him his birthday was the day he was named and baptized, a few days after he was born. If he hadn't enlisted in the Navy, he might never have known.
ReplyDeleteWhen we applied for my husband's birth certificate to obtain a passport, we found that his name had been registered wrongly by his godparents!
DeleteI stick with the free genealogy information because I am not really a genealogical researcher. I tend to get frustrated by all the newspaper articles I find on a Google search and then can't read unless I pay (which I haven't done yet).
ReplyDeleteWe are very lucky in Australia as access to Australian newspapers is (currently) free and the papers being digitised are being added regularly.
DeleteI grew up near a beautiful cemetery laid out (excuse the pun) on a gentle hillside with manicured lawns, copious flowerbeds, trees of many varieties, two waterfalls, & a little stream winding through the whole place so it was not only a cemetery, but a lovely peaceful place to walk & I stopped often to read the inscription on a headstone or plaque along the way. Some were sad, some poignant, some even funny, & I had my non-related favorites on which I placed flowers every now & then 'just because'.
ReplyDeleteYou have certainly painted a lovely picture with your words. How nice of you to place flowers on non related graves.
DeleteIt was interesting to learn what detail Australian death certificates give family history researchers - more akin to the Scottish than English equivalents. I have been so frustrated with my brick wall ancestor - my grandmother, as I cannot trace a birth certificate to find out the name of her mother. The death certificate I have gives minimal information and is not help at all with my search. So I do admit to a touch of envy for what you have.
ReplyDeleteThe problem could also be solved if your grandmother had a sibling who migrated to Australia :) You could apply for a copy of their death certificate to get the names of both parents. The same information would be on a marriage certificate if they married in Australia.
DeleteI have been very disappointed in the information available on English Death Certificates. I don't even bother ordering them anymore!
DeleteThat's a nice and clear tombstone even if it is a day off.
ReplyDeleteI haven't looked it up, but I would say that it was added by ancestors years after their deaths, which is why the date is wrong?
DeleteExcellent advice. I have seen a number of headstones where the year is wrong. I suspect that in some cases the stonemason made a mistake (or was given incorrect information) when he created the headstone many years later after the death of another family member.
ReplyDeleteYes my thoughts too Judy.
DeleteI love how the little house is probably pretty much as its always been. Yes not all death certificates are as full of information as Australian ones...more's the pity.
ReplyDeleteA typical miners cottage. I would have loved to go inside and see the layout but I am afraid that I did not feel comfortable asking the current resident.
DeleteFor several decades we celebrated my younger brother's birthday on the wrong day. We were one day out and no-one can work out how it happened!
ReplyDeleteI cannot imagine finding out that my birthday was on a different day than I had celebrated for years! On the other hand, I would be happy to know that I was younger than I thought!
DeleteSadly not all Aussie certificates are so helpful. I'm in SA, and until the last 60 or so years they contained very little information at all yet are some of the most pricey in Australia. :( My favourites would have to be NSW, Qld and Vic ones - loads of great stuff (and in the case of Vic ones, not that expensive either!)
ReplyDeleteTrue. I have a couple of SA certificates to order but have left them to last as they are about double the cost of Victorian certificates. I didn't realise that they were not as thorough so wont be disappointed now when I order.
DeleteThere's a very good page on Graham Jaunay's website which lists exactly which information you can typically find on each certificate: http://www.jaunay.com/bdm.html As you can see, older South Australian ones are not very informative at all.
DeleteAnother good trick if you want to get the information without spending quite so much is to order a full transcript of the certificate from GenealogySA: http://www.genealogysa.org.au/
Thank you for the tip. I appreciate it.
DeleteWith the trend towards cremation, soon there will only be certificates to provide the facts, But who can guarantee they are always right.
ReplyDeleteI have a phobia about fire and don't like the idea of not having a headstone so unless laws change, I will definitely not be cremated!
DeleteThe Australian death certificates have much more information than do American ones. Those gravestones are enormous, especially compared to my mom's and my husbands.
ReplyDeleteI only have one American ancestor and cannot locate any certificates for him unfortunately.
DeleteI've always enjoyed wandering through cemeteries, and meeting the folks who reside there...and now I'm trying to untangle the lives of some of my ancestors...with mixed results. I wish Ancestry wouldn't just publish anyone's postings, they make the accurate ones get messed up with dual facts and many cousins becoming brothers etc.
ReplyDeleteI dismiss most Ancestry trees now. I always look at ones where the date is slightly different and also look at the sources. All information is a guide and must be verified before it is attached to my tree. That said, I do have some "copied" information from my earlier days of researching, which I have not yet verified. So much to be done!
DeleteLooks like 30 Napier Street is still well taken care of.
ReplyDeleteIt is listed as one of the historical houses of Maryborough. I was very happy to see that it was still there.
DeleteYes I agree, very important to have a headstone made of hard, durable material (like granite or dolerite aka blacl granite) with the letters deeply etched/carved into it, not letters just painted or glued onto the surface.
ReplyDeleteYes my husband and children have been told of my wishes and I have included a note with my Will too!
DeleteYou are lucky to have these magnificent headstones (and the pictures) of your ancestors’ graves.
ReplyDeleteIt was pub crawls in my younger years but now I often go on cemetery crawls!
DeleteSo true about errors Sharon, my father always thought his birthday was the 22nd and didn't find out until middle age that it was actually the 21st. I agree certificates are often the only way to properly verify information in conjunction with other sources. I'm sure most of us have found death certificates with errors.... frustrating but adds to the interest.
ReplyDeleteI also found a birth certificate, which I believe was registered wrong...about 2 months. And no, not because it looked better! It looks like the nurse registered four months of births on the same day and mixed up the dates! Not sure how I prove it and get it changed though?
DeleteThat is the sweetest little house.
ReplyDeleteThis was a typical style of early Australian house. Often called a miners cottage.
DeleteGreat info on the death certificates but sometimes a bit dubious - especially when someone lives to a great age and the informant doesn't really know, or remember who their parents were, etc, and maybe leaves a first wife off!
ReplyDeleteAll good fun and games!
I agree Jackie. I have found many death certificates where the informant mixed up the parents (put the given names of the mothers parents and maiden name on the fathers death certificate)
DeleteNow why didn't I think of grave monuments in connection with this week's prompt? Excellent post Sharon, and of course you are right that there can be mistakes on them and on death certificates, as the information is only as good as the informant who provides it.
ReplyDeleteAs I looked through my photos, grave stones were the only monuments that I could find so it was a natural choice!
DeleteProbate and Administration documents can also be used for confirmation of a date of death. Hopefully the information matches at least one of the other sources!
ReplyDeleteYes, I just need to get the Public Records Office. Think I could spend a week there!
ReplyDelete