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Facts and famous people in our death records

Following the recent launch of our improved death records search, we’ve been delving into the records to see what we can find. As well as our own ancestors, we’ve discovered records of some famous people that have passed away over the centuries. Our research also uncovered some interesting facts around which counties have the highest number of registered deaths.

The famous people we unearthed include Florence Nightingale who died in 1910, Arthur Conan Doyle, the British author of Sherlock Holmes, who passed away in 1930 and Brian Jones of Rolling Stones fame, who died in 1969. Interestingly, John Doe, the name often used to describe an unidentified body, appears 228 times within the records.

We’ve also discovered some regional trends. Despite Greater London being the smallest county by area, it has registered more deaths per square mile than all of the UK’s largest counties due to its higher population as the country’s capital. We found 16,660 deaths per square mile in Greater London, compared with Lancashire’s 9,949. Yorkshire, however, comes in at number 10 with the lowest number of deaths recorded per square mile, despite being the biggest county by area.

Here are the full details:

Have you made any interesting discoveries while searching the death records? If you haven’t had a chance to search them yet, give it a go now – you never know who you might find…

Try our new and improved death records search

Easily find records of your ancestors’ deaths using findmypast.co.uk’s powerful new death records search

Following the transformation of our births and marriages, we have revolutionised how you search for your ancestors’ death records.

When you search, you will be presented with a list of individual names – no more searching through pages of results to see if your ancestors appeared on each page.

You can now search the following records in one go:

• England & Wales deaths 1837-2006
• British nationals died overseas 1818-2005
• British nationals armed forces deaths 1796-2005
• British nationals died at sea 1854-1890

Our new death records search will be especially useful if you’ve previously been unable to find your ancestors’ death records.

Who will you find today?

Ask the Expert – Indian mystery

Our resident expert Stephen Rigden, pictured below, answers your queries.

From Margaret Taylor in Bournemouth:

‘I am trying to trace details for Anne Singer, nee Ogilvie.

Anne Ogilvie, spinster, was married by license to George Singer, a bachelor, on 13 July 1840 at Fort William, Calcutta, West Bengal, India. No parentage or age was given. Their daughter, Emily Singer, was born at Fort William India on 20 July 1841.

George Singer returned to England between 1841 and 1851, where he was born in 1805. He appears in the 1851 census, living in Bath with his sister. He is described as a widower and pensioner of the Hon. E. India Co. Their daughter Emily Singer is missing from the 1851 census but appears in the 1861 census.

I am desperate to find any of the following:

Date and place of birth.
Parentage.
Date, place and age at death.’

Stephen says:

‘Don’t lose heart yet! I cannot provide an instant answer to your question, although I can let you in on some good news. Findmypast.co.uk is partnering with the British Library to digitise and publish online a significant part of its collection of British in India records of interest to family historians.

The records selected for digitisation include many hundreds of thousands that relate to birth, baptism, marriage, death and burial in the Indian Subcontinent and other parts of the then Empire subordinated to the India Office, as opposed to the Colonial Office. This is an important distinction – for example, Aden in Arabia, St Helena in the South Atlantic and Fort Marlborough in Sumatra all came under the jurisdiction of the India Office, while unfortunately Ceylon, tantalisingly close to India itself, was within the ambit of the Colonial Office.

As well as actual registers of vital events, findmypast.co.uk will be publishing other records which also give rich biographical information about the British in India, whether those in the army, in the colonial administration, or planters, merchants and other civilians.

‘British’ in India is significant. The Empire was not an English but a British project and, for example, Scots were significantly over-represented in Imperial India. I mention this as the name Anne Ogilvie looks very Scottish. The task you face will still not be straightforward once we have published the records to which I have just referred. As you say, the marriage register is silent as to the age at marriage and the parentage of Anne Ogilvie. Her husband would have been about 35 at marriage; Anne may have been coeval, or she may have been 16 or indeed 45.

Perhaps the best hope is that you find the death or burial of Anne Singer between July 1841 and 1851 among the Indian death records that we will be publishing (I am assuming you have checked English death indexes for this period) and that these give at least an age at death from which you can calculate her approximate year of birth and start looking meaningfully for her birth in India, or in Scotland, or in England. Depending on how prominent her husband was, there may be an informative memorial inscription once you know place of death, or even an obituary, for his wife. East India Company records for the husband may also shed some light on his wife – in particular, pension records sometimes give information about spouse and issue and we hope to be publishing this record type in due course.’

If you’d like to send your question to our experts, please register or opt to receive newsletters in My Account. Unfortunately our experts only have time to answer a few queries each month. If yours wasn’t answered this time, you could be lucky next month!

Improved search for overseas, at sea and army deaths

Searching for your ancestors’ overseas, at sea and army death records is now much easier on findmypast.co.uk

When you search these records, your results will now appear as a list of individual names.

Previously, your search results showed a list of pages and only displayed the first and last names that appeared on each page. You had to check through numerous pages to find your ancestors.

Now, you should be able to find who you’re looking for straight away in the list of individual names. It is well worth searching these records again for any ancestors you were previously unable to find.

This search improvement follows the recent launch of our enhanced overseas, at sea and army birth and marriage records search.

Try our new and improved search now:

• British overseas deaths 1818-2005
• British deaths at sea 1854-1890
• British armed forces deaths 1796-2005

The other benefits to you include:

• Search for your ancestors who died overseas 1818-2005 in one go, rather than searching twice for two separate date ranges
• Perform a more detailed search: search by region to narrow down your results more easily

Here is an example of a death at sea record:

Click to enlarge

The record shows some fascinating information about the circumstances surrounding these deaths. The cause of death for several of the people on this record is ‘drowned’ or ‘supposed drowned’. For two men, Robert Waite and David Beynon, the record goes on to state: ‘vessel missing since’. Perhaps the most gruesome cause of death on this record is for Jane Atkinson, aged 33: ‘Inflammation of Bowels & Exhaustion caused by Sea Sickness’.

To be able to see in detail the cause of your ancestors’ deaths really adds colour to your family history.

This is the latest development in our project to fully name index all our birth, marriage and death records. The fully name indexed death records for England and Wales are coming very soon, marking the completion of this project.

Search these records now

How many ancestors will you find today?

Monty Don on Who Do You Think You Are?

Last night, Monty Don became the latest celebrity to get the Who Do You Think You Are? treatment.

Monty Don (copyright jo-h)

The episode focused on two branches of his family tree, his maternal Hodge and paternal Keiller lines.

One of the ancestors focused on was Monty’s great-grandmother, Charlotte Augusta Hodge. The programme revealed that Charlotte was one of nine children born to the Reverend Charles Hodge and his wife, Ann. Charlotte was left behind in England when her parents and four of her elder brothers emigrated to New Zealand in the 1850s.

While taking a look at the large Hodge family in the all-new fully searchable birth records this morning, findmypast.co.uk has discovered that there was actually a tenth child – Charlotte’s twin. The image below shows the record of Charlotte Augusta Hodge’s birth in East Retford, Nottinghamshire in the July / August / September quarter of 1846. Nine lines below Charlotte is an entry for a Harriet Vere Hodge, born in the same district.

Click to enlarge

The death index for the same quarter of 1846 reveals that Charlotte’s twin died soon after her birth. Reverend Charles and Ann Hodge’s youngest child was born four years after this tragedy and was also named Harriet, presumably in memory of the child they had lost.

Click to enlarge

This fresh information may help Monty understand why his great-great-grandmother, Ann Hodge initially emigrated to New Zealand without her husband and family in 1850. It was speculated last night that this showed a wish to escape from her husband. However, we feel that Ann’s emotional state following the loss of one child and the recent birth of another must have played some considerable part in her actions.

Please do let us know what you thought of last night’s episode and what you think Ann’s motivations may have been for leaving her family in 1850.

Ask the Expert – murder mystery

Our expert Stephen Rigden, pictured right, answers your questions.

From Charlotte Paton in King’s Lynn, Norfolk:

‘I am trying to trace the family of Lilian (Lillian) Alexander who was murdered in Edingthorpe in April 1901, aged 8. She was born in 1892. She had a sister Alice who gave evidence at the trial of her murderer who was born in 1890. Dad was the ‘late’ Matthew Alexander on Lilian’s death certificate.

I can find nothing on any of the censuses about the family, who Mum was etc. Can you find them and explain why I can’t please?’

Steve says:

‘Many thanks for your question. I think the best way forward for you is actually the simplest – namely, to purchase the birth certificate of Lilian (which you can do online at the official government website). Her death was registered in June quarter 1901 in Smallburgh registration district; the death index gives her age as 8 years, as you say, which means that she would have been born circa 1892/93.

Checking the birth index, you can find her birth in 1892 in Smallburgh. The birth of her sister Alice is also there in 1890. The birth certificate of Lilian should confirm the names of her parents. Once you have the certificate, you could look confidently for the marriage of the parents (to get their respective ages at marriage), after which you can search for their births, his death and so on, as well as finding them on earlier census returns.

Of course, you could speculate that her father is the Matthew in the death index who died aged 54 years in September 1893 but it is always best to work systematically and from what you know to be correct and true, rather than guessing or gambling and taking a wrong step.

Smallburgh is a coastal registration district and one reason why you have not been able to find Matthew in the 1891 census is that he may have been at sea, for instance if he was a fisherman or a mariner.’

If you’d like to send your question to Steve, please register or opt to receive newsletters in My Account.