John C Aird mystery death

[garydevine]

Hiya,

I was wondering if someone could help me find the death or someone. Very little is known about him.

John Charles Aird born May 29th 1921 Hamilton, Scotland

Parents were Catherine Devine and David Aird, unmarried. John is with Catherine and her cousins family in the census in Hamilton.

I’m trying to find out what happened to him. We know he died because many many years ago my great uncle told me he had received a letter from a lawyer and it was from Ireland to say John had died and had left some money to him, my uncle had no idea this man even existed, no one seems to have any information on him, I can only imagine it was maybe the 90s as I had this conversation in the late 2000s

Any help would be great, unfortunately I can’t really give much more detail as my uncle is now deceased and my own aunts and uncles haven’t a clue what I’m talking about

Gary

[Wexflyer]

Hiya,

I was wondering if someone could help me find the death or someone. Very little is known about him.

John Charles Aird born May 29th 1921 Hamilton, Scotland

Parents were Catherine Devine and David Aird, unmarried. John is with Catherine and her cousins family in the census in Hamilton.

I’m trying to find out what happened to him. We know he died because many many years ago my great uncle told me he had received a letter from a lawyer and it was from Ireland to say John had died and had left some money to him, my uncle had no idea this man even existed, no one seems to have any information on him, I can only imagine it was maybe the 90s as I had this conversation in the late 2000s

Any help would be great, unfortunately I can’t really give much more detail as my uncle is now deceased and my own aunts and uncles haven’t a clue what I’m talking about

Gary

If his parents were unmarried, is there not the possibility that he was known by the surname Devine?

[Elwyn Soutter]

Deaths in Ireland in the past 50 years aren’t searchable on-line. The records are open to the public but searching them requires some effort. Plus there are separate sets of records for what is now Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, so you need to know which part of Ireland he died in, or at least be prepared for 2 searches.

You know that he must have had a probate file if  he left money to your great uncle, so you could also search for that as well as a death certificate.

If you think he died in Northern Ireland, your best bet is probably to go to PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast. They hold the probate files for anyone who died more than about 10 years ago. You can view the files free there. They also have GRO computer terminals which allow you to search NI deaths within the past 50 years. It’s £2.50 a time to view the death certificates if you find a likely event. If you can’t get to PRONI yourself, then you could employ a local researcher.

As Wexflyer has suggested I’d search under Devine as well as Aird.

If you think he died in the Republic of Ireland then I think the probate files are in the National Archives in Dublin up to 1991. After that year you need to contact the Probate Office where probate was granted. Presumably you won’t know that  - and there are quite a few across the country - so it becomes a bit more challenging.

[ShaunJ]

If you think he died in the Republic of Ireland then I think the probate files are in the National Archives in Dublin up to 1991. After that year you need to contact the Probate Office where probate was granted.

You can search the Irish probate register (post 1991) here: https://www.courts.ie/probate-register-online   

However he's not listed there as far as I can see.

[scotmum]

Any clues from when his mum died? Eg., was he still in area and registered her death?

Did he have any siblings/half siblings?

As John obviously knew enough of your great uncle to include his details in his will, eg an adress that the lawyer could reach him at, are you certain no one in the family in turn
knew his whereabouts?

Do you know anything of his father's side of the family? Although you mentioned he lived with his mother, perhaps his father's side kept contact with him.

[garydevine]

His mum Catherine “Kate” died in 1939 in Hamilton, she remained unmarried and I don’t believe she had anymore children.

His father David was born in 1886 and died in 1948 both in Hamilton, his parents were Charles and Agnes Burns.

Catherine’s family came from Donegal and Leitrim and David I believe were Scottish. I know she lived with her own uncle and his family and was buried with them, the Daisleys, all in Hamilton too. She’d been living with them since the early 1900s after her mother died and father remarried and moved away with his new wife

My uncle said he was Aird cause he’d never heard that second name before within the family and it stuck, I can’t remember if he was even married. I will try pick at my aunts brain and see if she can remember anything

Gary