Thomas Musgrave. Death help please. Pennsylvania.

[johnnyboy]

Have you gotten enough this go round, Ben? Well, here's a bit more, and very important. So important I'll put it in bold. On my way to Robinson Run Cemetery, I went to the Register of Wills at the Washington County Courthouse to look at the death registers for the years 1900 to 1906. Thomas Musgrave's death is not recorded by Washington County in those years. That means he may have died in Washington County but was not recorded there. That's not likely. Dying and being buried was a highly bureaucratic business in turn of the century Pennsylvania.

I think that two other explanations are possible. First, Thomas Musgrave and Elizabeth's Musgrave's first husband, Thomas Wilson, died and were buried when record-keeping at cemeteries like Robinson Run was not very good. The other possibility is that Thomas Musgrave died in North Fayette Township and his death was recorded (or possibly not) in Allegheny County.

I'm stopping now.

John 

[coombs]

Hi Johnnyboy

Many thanks for the past few posts. Gosh it is amazing to finally see photos of the graves and where Thomas Musgrave is likely to be buried. I shall be spending all night adding to my family trees.

The net is closing in on Thomas's death. If the family (his daughter and her husband) were in Washington by March 1906 but in Fayette in 1900 when Thomas was 72 and living with them and you cannot find a death in Washington then this indicates that he may have died between June 1900 and March 1906 in Allegheny.

Thomas Musgrave must have died shortly after the 1900 census, or at least a couple of years. Maybe 1902 or 1903.

Ben

[*Sandra*]

Hi Ben & John,

I have been full of excitement and waiting for you to log on all day Ben, knowing the lengths that John had gone to in travelling and investigating, to produce these beautiful photographs and other records for you. A truly amazing Gentleman  - you must be absolutely over the moon. 

Absolutely brilliant John. 

Regards.
Sandra

[johnnyboy]

The net is closing in on Thomas's death. If the family (his daughter and her husband) were in Washington by March 1906 but in Fayette in 1900 when Thomas was 72 and living with them and you cannot find a death in Washington then this indicates that he may have died between June 1900 and March 1906 in Allegheny.

Thomas Musgrave must have died shortly after the 1900 census, or at least a couple of years. Maybe 1902 or 1903.

Ben

Hi Ben: You're welcome for the pix. There are still a number of possibilities concerning the death of Thomas.

1. Though it's unlikely, he might have died in Washington County before 1906 without his death being recorded by the County. If that were to be the case, it would be very difficult to find his death date.

2. Likewise, he might have died in Allegheny County before 1906, with the death NOT being recorded by the Allegheny County Register of Wills. If that were to be the case, it would be very difficult to find his death date.

3. Note that death records in Allegheny County only cover the period July 1874-1903, according the Allegheny County website. He might have died in Allegheny County before 1904, with the death recorded by the Allegheny County Register of Wills. If that were to be the case, then the registers that were given by Allegheny to the Carnegie Library would contain a record of his death.

4. He might have died in Washington or Allegheny counties after 1906, with the death recorded by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Vital Statistics (or whatever it was called in 1906). If that were to be the case, you could order a death certificate from the state.

5. There is a two-year gap, 1904-1905, in the death records of Allegheny County. That could be an insurmountable problem.

I will send you a PM with the e-mail address of the person who is posting obituaries from the newspaper in McDonald online.

I will probably have to go out to Washington County at the end of September, so if you want to wait that long, I'll visit both the Allegheny County Courthouse and the Carnegie Library.

John  

[johnnyboy]

I have been full of excitement and waiting for you to log on all day Ben, knowing the lengths that John had gone to in travelling and investigating, to produce these beautiful photographs and other records for you. A truly amazing Gentleman  - you must be absolutely over the moon. 

Absolutely brilliant John. 

Regards.
Sandra

Thanks for the kind words, Sandra. It's nice to called "amazing' and "absolutely brilliant," but I do wonder about that "gentleman" bit sometimes .

And unfortunately, while I was able to help Ben on this trip, I have to send a PM to another Rootschatter who has family buried in a cemetery in Washington, Pa., saying that there does not appear to a be a gravestone on her relative's grave. 

Regards,
John 

[coombs]

Hi Johnnyboy

You are a gentleman. Dont forget that. I am sooooo grateful for the pics.

I am 95% sure Thomas is at RRC with his daughter. It is hard to know if he died in Allegheny or Washington.

So if he died after 1 January 1906 it will be a lot easier to find a death date. I think he died either after 1906 in Allegheny or Washington or before 1906 in Allegheny, not before 1906 in Washington even if there is a remote chance.

Knowing my luck I bet the bleeder Thomas Musgrave died in 1904 or 1905 in Allegheny to annoy me lol. 

As you said if he died in either before 1906 obituaries may be the next step. I remember you suggested he may have been buried through a church before being interred at RRC. That is wishful thinking though.

I am sure there is a reference to his death somewhere. Amazing that we seem to have found his burial place but not his death date.

Ben

[johnnyboy]

Hi Ben: Just got your PM. Good luck with the obits.

As for finding the grave of Thomas Musgrave, but not finding a death date, Robinson Run Cemetery apparently wasn't strict early on in its record-keeping.

John 

[coombs]

Hi Ben: Just got your PM. Good luck with the obits.

As for finding the grave of Thomas Musgrave, but not finding a death date, Robinson Run Cemetery apparently wasn't strict early on in its record-keeping.

John 

The grave of Thomas Musgrave, a ring to it. 

[johnnyboy]

I hope Thomas didn't quote Mercutio from Romeo and Juliet, who after he is stabbed says to Romeo, "Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a Musgrave man."

Couldn't resist. 

John