seeking a possible death in England

[unknownmale]

Hi Folks,

I have trawled Scotlands people for the death of a Leonard Smith Born Scotland( Stirlingshire) December 1913 but cannot find him. An uncle informed me yesterday that he Leonard went to England to run a B & B. I have no clue where or when. Quetions is what would be the best way to Trawl the English records I am unfamiliar with them, whereas I know my way around Scotlands people.

[larkspur]

There are 85 Leonard Smith Deaths, with birth 1918, in England. Did he have a middle name at all?

[unknownmale]

Sorry Larkspur,

 his birth was in Scotland in 1913, as far as I am aware he had no middle name. I have him marrying in 1933 in Scotland.

[groom]

Hi

Best way is to use Freebmd  

http://www.freebmd.org.uk/
 
 trouble is Smith is not the easiest of names.

Good luck

Jan

[davidft]

Are you sure he was born 1913 ?

doing a search of Scotlandspeople seems to suggest 1914

Have you seen the birth registration on scotlandspeople ? If not it would be worth looking at as then it will tell you if he had a middle name


After that you can start to look for him on English BMD records. This is probably going to mean using subscription sites like Ancestry or findmypast as his death is possibly going to be too late to be on freebmd.

However the first step must be to look up the birth registration as it would help enormously if he did have a middle name.

 Failing that if his wife's name is more unusual or if she has a middle name it may be worth looking for her death first as it could be an indication as to where he died

Finally do you know what his mothers maiden name was, was it Beller by any chance ?

[unknownmale]

davidft, hi and thanks, I recall I actually visited the registrars office in the town where he was born, I am sure it is 1913, strangely enough I did revisit Scotlandspeople today and noted the 1914 birth. Unfortunately there was also one in 1912 so I am unsure. He married Jessie Clark in Stirlingshire in 1933 I think, it was due to the good offices of Rootschat members that I found that. Initially I had identified her death in Fife, but due to the Smith name, I was hesitant about purchasing the cert. however I relented and it was. However, there is something strange about it and without being disrespectful about him, there appears to be some mystery regarding his marital status, hope that is fairly clear. P.S. the reluctance to buy the cert is due to being an Aberdonian famous for being tight fisted, actually I had purchased several which were incorrect. (Costly) I am as I said not too familiar with the English records. I appreciate the BMD are too early I just had a look in response to an answer from another rootschat member. I will have to reafirm the daqte.

[unknownmale]

Hi again davidft.

A penny suddenly dropped after your post I have a birth date of the 18th. December 1913, It is I suppose it was possible/likely the birth was not registered till 1914 due to festive season, does that sound feasable, I have a hard copy somewhere in my vast pile of paper must find it.

[davidft]

A penny suddenly dropped after your post I have a birth date of the 18th. December 1913, It is I suppose it was possible/likely the birth was not registered till 1914 due to festive season, does that sound feasable, I have a hard copy somewhere in my vast pile of paper must find it.

Yes that sounds very likely so looks like the 1914 registration is him.

Would be good if you can find the hard copy as there may be extra information on there that would help find him

[davidft]

In England and Wales the date of birth appears on death certificates from 1969.

Given the date of birth you provided above, 18 December 1913, i did a search from 1969 to 2005 for a Leonard Smith born on 18 December. I did not enter the year in case the person reporting the death got it wrong by a year or two.

There were no results that could be your Leonard Smith. This is either because he died before 1969, died outside England and Wales, or the person registering the death got the details wrong.

(The search I did, did include Leonard Smiths with middle names)