Genealogy Chat

I have recieved a death cert today for a baby of 15months, I'm puzzled though as in the occupation box there is the mothers name then her occupation (cook, domestic servant). Surely if they were to put any name on a cert wouldn't it usually be the father's even if he was deceased?

Death cert have informants details. Is that what you can see? Glen

No the informant was an aunt who was present at the little girls death. The mothers information is in the box usually for occupation thats whats so puzzling!!

Me too,couldn't tell you why. Most unusual. Glen

I'm hoping the birth cert may arrive tommorrow....I have a feeling the child may be born out of wedlock....it doesn't make sense!!

Just out of interest what year is this,i have one coming for a twin to granny,he died at about 3 months,c1911. Just in case.............. Glen

Glen its for 1890!!

Thankyou,if anything comes to light in the meantime i'll watch here Glen

I suspect that if the mother is named the father is unknown. nell

I'm so curious esp as the child has two surnames. I thought maybe she was a child from a second marriage but the mother would of been 55 & the names don't fit ..... I hope this is a mystery I can solve!!

I would think its probably because the Father was unkown. I've just recieved 2 deathc certs for young children and in both the occupation baixes it says Daughter of XXXXXXXX Caol Hewer.

Thanks thats what I thought I wait for the birth cert to prove it....though why would the aunt register the death & not the mother & why 2 surnames?

Could be that the Mother was ill or exhausted, or had to look after baby. I've got an great great (X 2) auntie who had an illigitimate baby, no father on birth or baptism - but later in life she has (what I suppose to be the Fathers name) as a double barrel surname. Maybe you do need to wait for the cert! Good luck!

Unfortunatly the cert didn't arrive today!! The first surname comes from another relatives second husband which is why I'm confused!!

Have a look at thi web site. Excellent descriptions for certificates and the boxes. www.dixons.clara(.)co.uk/ the following is from the death certificate page under occupation box (for childrens deaths): For a child it will say Son or daughter of..............(fathers name)..............(his occupation). Again there is no reference to the mother until 1969 unless the child was illegitimate in which case it will say Son or daughter of...............(mothers name)............(her occupation). Gill

Could be that the aunt was present when the baby died and the mother wasn't, or the mother was just in no fit state to register the death - remember deaths have to be registered within a few days. I have a baby's death certificate where the death was registered by his great-aunt although both his parents were living at the address. Kate.

It looks like the baby was born out of wedlock and since the child was 15 / 12, mum could have gone back to work as a servent leaving her child with the aunt (? her sister?). If the Aunt was married, no-one would have questioned the apperence of a baby in the household. Remember that children born out of wedlock were shund as were the whole family. People offten did anything they could to hide the fact that the parents were not married - even fakeing a pregnancy in the childs grandmother or married aunt, consealing the pregnant girl until she gave birth and passing the child of as someone elses baby. My grandmother was shund and accused of having lose morals because she and my grandfather were seen to be pushing a pram very soon after they had married. The child in the parm was not my grandmothers but no-one bothered to ask. The child was the daughter of a local man whose wife had just died - the older children were able to stay with their grandmother but none of the family would / could take a baby. My nan took putty on him an cared for the child in the day while he worked so he didn't have to put baby into a childrens home. The arrangement went on for years as my mother will occasionaly refer to the baby as her sister and yet mum is the only daughter. This was only 50 years ago, imagine what it would have been like years before.

Thank you its all becoming clearer...... I just hope I will be able in the next few days be able to place this little girl & her mother on my tree as yet Im unsure where they fit!