Author Topic: How accurate is age on death certificate?  (Read 5078 times)

Offline clairec666

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Re: How accurate is age on death certificate?
« Reply #9 on: Thursday 18 February 16 08:55 GMT (UK) »
It sounds like Fanny had a good idea of how old she was - her age stays consistent across the censuses. But the master of the asylum might not have had an accurate idea... maybe when she entered the asylum she was estimated to be "about 50", so when she died over a year later he simply added a year...
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Offline radstockjeff

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Re: How accurate is age on death certificate?
« Reply #10 on: Thursday 18 February 16 09:07 GMT (UK) »
My wife's ggmother was extremely economical with the truth, including a statement to the Registrar on her second "marriage" that she was a widow  - she wasn't!

Her life was full of contradictions and each census record was different from the last one in terms of where she was born etc,.

Her death certificate likewise was 16 years adrift!! It showed her as 55 when she was in fact 71.
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Offline mike175

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Re: How accurate is age on death certificate?
« Reply #11 on: Thursday 18 February 16 09:43 GMT (UK) »
... maybe when she entered the asylum she was estimated to be "about 50", so when she died over a year later he simply added a year...

Bit like the dinosaur that was 160,000,012 years old . . . "well, it was 160 million years old when I started working in the museum 12 years ago"  :)

Apart from some of the reasons already mentioned, I believe some people may have adjusted their age for employment purposes.

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Offline hurworth

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Re: How accurate is age on death certificate?
« Reply #12 on: Thursday 18 February 16 10:19 GMT (UK) »
I would not assume anything on a death certificate is accurate.

I've purchased just three death certificates.  Just the ones that I need some further details for because the details I have so far aren't in agreement.  So far 100% of these certificates have given me more questions than answers because information is missing (parts of it are blank) or anywhere from slightly to completely incorrect.

My impression is that if you die in an institution then the informant is likely to be an employee of the institution.   They'll do their best, but they don't really know you.


Offline pharmaT

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Re: How accurate is age on death certificate?
« Reply #13 on: Thursday 18 February 16 10:34 GMT (UK) »
Not everyone knew how old they were and many people's families didn't know how old they were even if the individual did.  More recently (in scotland) any way you are required to bring the birth certificate when registering death so for more recent deaths the age is more likely to be accurate.  I am considered an oddity for knowing the age of my relatives so I think it is still very common not to know ages.
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Offline Andrew Tarr

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Re: How accurate is age on death certificate?
« Reply #14 on: Thursday 18 February 16 23:36 GMT (UK) »
When my Irish gt-grandmother died in 1916 she was a widow and quite probably living alone.  Her death was registered by a non-relative - perhaps a neighbour or a carer - who put her at 72 when she was actually 66.  It confused me for a while, but not for long as the death could not possibly be anyone else (an uncommon surname in Ireland).
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Offline jbml

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Re: How accurate is age on death certificate?
« Reply #15 on: Friday 19 February 16 00:17 GMT (UK) »
Like the others I would not be too concerned by this 3 year discrepancy - particularly if the informant was somebody from the asylum rather than a family member.
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Offline majm

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Re: How accurate is age on death certificate?
« Reply #16 on: Friday 19 February 16 00:42 GMT (UK) »
Of course, it could be that there's been a mis-read of the original registration.  It could be that "54" was written in long hand, in ink.  Perhaps part of the '4' has faded and that is what has caused the document to be read as '51'

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Offline Beeonthebay

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Re: How accurate is age on death certificate?
« Reply #17 on: Friday 19 February 16 12:41 GMT (UK) »
Even in recent times, not everyone is clear about their relatives' dates of birth.

I was saying to a relative the other day - "had he still been alive it would have been your Dad's 99th birthday tomorrow", and he replied "how do you know what year he was born in, because I don't".

That's because he doesn't think like we do.  ;)
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