Age on censuses query ? .....
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tompaul55
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- Location: Victoria, BC
Age on censuses query ? .....
If I have evidence from several different censuses about a year of birth in Ireland that is more than 10 years different from the year of birth mentioned in the death record, how concerned should I be that the census person is not the death record person?
researching Paul, Nelson, McSorley, Ramsay, Taylor, McNaughton, Miller, McQueen, Wishart, Tossack, Smith, McFarlane, McFadyen, Bell, Robertson
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Laura
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AndrewP
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It's not uncommon for the age on the death certificate to be wrong. The person registering the death gave the facts as he/she knew them. The registrar did not look for proof that the information was correct. As a rule of thumb, the closer the relationship of the person registering the death to the deceased, then the better the information is likely to be.
However, a 10 year discrepancy is not so common (but not impossible). What level of certainty do you have that this is the correct person? Did the death take place in the area you expected it to? Is there a middle name? Have you any other documentation showing the parents to be the ones found on this certificate? Were the ages very consistent through the various censuses? Do you recognise the name of the person who registered the death? The more "yes" answers you have, the better the certainty oif you having the correct death certificate.
All the best,
Andrew Paterson
However, a 10 year discrepancy is not so common (but not impossible). What level of certainty do you have that this is the correct person? Did the death take place in the area you expected it to? Is there a middle name? Have you any other documentation showing the parents to be the ones found on this certificate? Were the ages very consistent through the various censuses? Do you recognise the name of the person who registered the death? The more "yes" answers you have, the better the certainty oif you having the correct death certificate.
All the best,
Andrew Paterson
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tompaul55
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- Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2005 3:19 pm
- Location: Victoria, BC
Thank you for the feedback.
The informant for the death was a son who was not living with her on the 1891 census.
She was 46 years old in Airdrie for the 1871, 57 in Shettleston for the 1881 and 64 in Shettleston for the 1891. She was 62 when she died in Shettleston in 1900. The street in Shettleston was the same in all cases, although the number varied in each record.
The informant for the death was a son who was not living with her on the 1891 census.
She was 46 years old in Airdrie for the 1871, 57 in Shettleston for the 1881 and 64 in Shettleston for the 1891. She was 62 when she died in Shettleston in 1900. The street in Shettleston was the same in all cases, although the number varied in each record.