Death registrations are informant driven, people are registered in the name they are usually known by and can be subject to variant spellings plus wrong dates of birth and wrong places of birth after 1969.
In more recent times with computerisation, relatives have had the opportunity to list several names on a death registration.
If anyone other than me or my brothers registers my dad's death when the time comes he will most probably be given the wrong name, his birth registration name has never been used, my grandmother was told what to name him by her parents, my grandfather didn't get a look-in.
I'm sorry that local funeral directors were not more helpful. To put their spin on things they are dealing with the recently bereaved and may not have time, they may not have been in existence then, they were in business then but are not now, just ceased trading or merged with another company, their records may not go back to 1954 and if they do aren't computerised so will take some looking through.
My father has record cards going back to the 1960's, but he's no longer trading. When he sold his business in the 1980's the paper records went to the company who acquired it.
When you do find her burial, the cemetery register will most probably have details as to who conducted the funeral.
Hi Dawn. Thanks for youre interest and your help. I have searched Lawnswood and Cottingley Hall cremation records for Annie, under her real surname of AUSTON with alternative spellings and under her alias, SMITH, spelling variations for which are limited.
She was born in Gt.Bentley, Essex in 1871, the daughter of a wealthy farmer. She first appears in Leeds on the 1901 census, lodging in Rockingham St. already having given birth to two illegitimate children, one in Newark and one in Earsham, Norfolk. Here, in Leeds, she gave birth to her third child (father unknown), Edward Alexander Auston who was immediately placed in a 'foster home'. In 1910, she is on the 1910 Tax Valuation record as Annie E, AUSTON. But later that year she put Edward Alexander in a reform school as he was apparently out of control. However, its at this point she appears to have taken on the false identity of Annie Alexandra Smith, widow and guardian of young Edward. She further states on the reformatory entry register that it's not known if Edward's mother is alive or dead. From here she appears as Smith in the 1911 census, having taken the christian name of her firstborn child, a daughter and living in Woodbine Place, Leeds.
The trail goes cold now until her death in St.James hospital, Leeds in 1954. Her death cert. gives her address as 134 Chapeltown Rd. but I've no idea how long she had lived there.
And once again, the trail goes cold.
I've been very fortunate in having had loads of help on Rootschat for finding various past members of my family and I'm always impressed by the knowledge members hold and share.
David
