Statutory Records: Summary [8 of 8]
FAMILY HISTORY
It can seem overwhelming in the beginning tracing one’s ancestors. Try not to be downhearted as there is a tremendous amount available – as you have seen. A methodical approach will pay dividends as you try to go further back in time.
Statutory Records: Summary
In summary, it can seem overwhelming in the beginning tracing one’s ancestors. Try not to be downhearted as there is a tremendous amount available – as you have seen. A methodical approach will pay dividends as you try to go further back in time. Strangely, our ancestors did travel more widely than we might initially think – perhaps on the promise of free land, perhaps looking for gold, or perhaps just looking for a better life for themselves and their families. Accurate record keeping is key, as is involving relatives more widely. You never know where the next clue is coming from ...
… perhaps something like the story of Elizabeth HARPER. A young woman who suffered a terrifying ordeal partially recorded above. I learned from her story that death at sea often (usually?) means that the death is not necessarily recorded in a Death Register where you might expect to see it. It’s worth looking in the Marine Register.
A final word here on Death Certificates. When someone dies unexpectedly and in, say, a work accident, then this will lead to an Inquest. When the death is first reported the Coroner will issue a certificate called the Coroner’s Certificate of the Fact of Death (the Interim Death Certificate), indicating that the cause of death (mandatory on a Death Certificate) has not yet been established. To allow the usual routines to be followed once a person dies, this Interim Death Certificate can be used in lieu of the real Death Certificate, which will be issued once the Inquest has established the cause of death. The image below shows the top portion of the Interim Death Certificate. The Registrar of Deaths cannot issue a Death Certificate until the Investigation has been completed (The National Archives, 2013).
