Genealogy Chat

I have received, what I hope, is the death cert of my 2xgreat grandfather. I was hoping for details of who reported the death so I could have been more positive.

The death cert was reported by the coroner, so no family information is available on the cert.

He is recorded as dying from "Heart disease accelerated by excessive drinking", so I think it highly unlikely that newspapers would have reported it.

Is there any way I could access in more detail the contents of this inquest.???

Kathlyn

The coroners records may be in the records office. Contact the coroners office for the area and he or she will tell you where they are and if they exist.

Its still worth checking out the newspapers for the relevant dates. The cause of death may not reflect the circumstances of the death and it is quite likely that the inquest was reported as a matter of course.

Ian

Kathlyn

Depending on the time frame and where the inquest was heard then you may be lucky with a newspaper report.

A local newspaper may well have made a regular feature of inquests....But a large town/city, as you have suggested, may not have bothered.

I have a feeling that inquest reports are now destroyed after 40? years but you could try the Record Office which was local to the inquest to see if they have any record.

I have a few ancestors who died and were subject to an inquest but I have never found any records :(

Chris

Hi Ian,

I already have the Lacashire RO looking for a possible newspaper report on a different inquest which took place in 1884

I contacted the Lancashire RO and as there were 5 newspapers in the area at the time, they suggested a 30 min check at a cost of £10, but with no quarantee that it could/would be found.

This one is a few years earlier, 1876, so assume the 5 newspapers available would be the same.

It`s a good thing I do not drink, smoke or go out with strange men, as all my money is spent on the hobby, no torture. lol lol

Kathlyn

I see by their website that the LRO have a lot of inquest reports, so you might be lucky.

My experience is different to Chris - I have found inquest reports quite regularly, but you need to do some detective work sometimes. For instance, the coroners officer is often a police officer and in the past inquest reports have been held at police stations in their archives. It is always worht enquiring to see if they are still in existence. Often they are.

Good luck but you really should try the odd strange man :-)

Ian

Ian

Brilliant!!!!! Would never have thought of the Police.

Can I ask when your earliest success was with inquests through the Police?

Mine are all mid 1800s so may not fall into that search catagory but I would love to know for future reference.

Thanks for the info.

Chris

Earliest was 1867.

Lots of police stations still have dusty basements with stuff going back donkeys years lying in them. Many of them havent heard of county records offices!

Always worth a try.

Good luck

Ian

When we went to the inquest about our sons death reporters from the local papers were there.The coroner informed us that they have to be there by law and that inquests have to be reported in the press


Bren

Not every matter addressed by the coroner gets an Inquest. Even though my father died unexpectedly he did not get an inquest because his autopsy showed he died of a heart attack. If people had a "natural " cause of death i.e there was no foul play or accident involved, there would likely be no inquest. Unfortunately alcohol/smoking related diseases, effects of city smog, everyday illness like TB and smallpox etc would come under the term "natural " cause.

Ian

Thanks for the info....As you say it's worth a try :)

Chris

Have you looked on the access to archives website? http://www.a2a.org.uk/
Jenny

To respond to AussieTrish - there may not have been an inquest BUT there would be a coroners report. It is, and was, up to the coroner to decide whether or not to hold a full blown 'inquest' with jury, etc. or whether to have a hearing just in front of him, or to have a 'coroners appointment' which may be a meeting just with a delegated 'coroners officer'.

The principle with all of them is to establish the cause of death.

SO even if there wasn't a full blooded inquest, any death that was reported to the coroner would have at the very least a report compiled. This would include details of next of kin, person who identified the body, persons in attendance at the death, any witnesses and possibly their statements, the report of the coroners officer, post mortem results, possibly background history of the deceased and the full circumstances surrounding the death. If you can find one, they are worth their weight in gold. So few people actually go to the trouble of tracking them down and it is such a a shame.

People tend to just look for an inquest then give up if they don't find one. Look for the report!

Ian (ex coroners officer!)

Hi Grace

Newspapers are a good place and generally easier, but it's still well worth trying to find the papers from the coroner.

Many will have been destroyed, but then again, many have not!

Ian

Possibly - worth trying the A2A website and search for 'coroners reports southwark' or whatever area you are looking for, and also simply on the name of your relative. I don't know if LMA have an online catalogue but if they have its worth searching on coroner.

Ian

Hi,

What was his name please?

If it was in Lancashire, I may be able to help.

Dea x

Instead of using the records office for newspaper lookups it is worth using the research facility offered by the reference libraries, usually much cheaper (and often quicker).


The local reference libraries are often a goldmine of research including electoral roll, trade/street directories, local papers etc.

In most cases there is no search fee as such, just the cost of copying and posting any documentation found.
Glen

I did contact the library, but they said I had to go through the RO, and as that is in Liverpool and I live in Essex !!!!!!!

Kathlyn

I have had death certificates for two of my relatives, where inquests were held.

One was 1872 in Hammersmith, London, and the other 1906 in St. Pancras, London.

I emailed the local libraries in the respective areas, and they very kindly looked up the inquest press reports which they had on microfiche, and sent me photocopies. One was free of charge and for the other I paid £2.40.

Dee
x

I have been informed my the Lancashire RO that they have found newspaper reports of one of the deaths I am researching. I gave them exact details, name, date, where, the name of the hospital etc. and they charged me £10 for a 30 min look up.

Could have done without that charge, but hey ho, I do have an answer. It`s a good thing I keep quite about how much I spend on this hobby or him indoors would have a fit.

Kathlyn

OOOhh Kathlyn,

I hope they haven't found the one that I couldn't find, otherwise I will feel I have made you spend that money when you didn't need to !!

Anyway, hope what they found was useful.

Best Regards,

Dea x