Whilst
I will agree with Mike on the theory behind his list from
having looked at so many certificates over the years there
are pitfalls with all certificates
I
remember helping at the FindMyPast stand at the last WDYTYA
Live event and being asked by someone why her husbands entry
in the 1939 register was not unlocked.
He had died in 1985 so there was no real reason that I could
see other than the data from the certificate did not match
the register
Then she suddenly said “Would it matter if I got his date of
birth wrong on the death certifacte”!!
So I sent her to go and talk to the GRO about how to change
it
I
also remember when I went with my mum to register dad’s
death in 2001 being asked about his place of birth
So I gave the address – was not what they wanted. They
wanted the registration district
The one that it actually was did not appear on her list so
had to talk the modern equivalent which could lead someone
who didn’t know any better to the wrong person
Death
certificate in fact often have more errors than most as the
person who really knows the answers is the one who can’t
answer them – the deceased
Regards
John Hanson - researching the Halstead/Holstead/Alstead names
Researcher, the Halsted Trust - https://www.halsted.org.uk
Research website - https://www.halstedresearch.org.uk
Whether
a Marriage or Death certificate gives better information
depends on a number of factors.
The
following refers to the UK.
Many
early Marriage Certificates simply say of Full Age which
only tells you they are older than 21.
Whereas
a Death Certificate or Burial record gives a specific Age at
death.
Later
Marriage Certificates do give the spouse’s Ages but no Place
of Birth.
Whereas
a Death Certificate gives an actual Date and Place of Birth.
So
in my opinion a Death Certificate is usually better than a
Marriage Certificate.
Also
a Census record for a child usually gives an accurate Age
and Place of Birth.
Regards,
Mike Tate
I would say
any marriage certificate would be before death certificate.
These would be more important than census details which you
can think of as being supplementary to the certification.
This is the
first message I have received via the new system and would
say it is better than the old one
On 3 Feb 2020, at 18:25, "David.potter5
via Groups.Io" <googlemail.com@groups.io
target=_blank>david.potter5=googlemail.com@groups.io>
wrote:
Hi Forum.
I'm looking for advice on how to 'weight' birth sources in
degree of importance. Of course not all will/may exist in
my list below, and some will contain lesser info that
others. But I'm looking for a recommendation on how to
Rank the following types of Sources that support the Birth
of an Individual.
I have one order of importance in mind: Birth Certifcate
(if exists), Baptism, Death Certicate (if exists), Burial,
Census - 1939, Marriage Certificate (if exists)
Can I have your views please.
Thank you
David Potter
