Other records to verify info?

[pgcruiser]

My 3Xg grandfather died early in life (in his late thirties or early forties).  There is a record in the online parish burial records of Stratton, (where he was also born) showing same name and correct time period.  However, the age is way off.  It indicates that this person was 62 when it should be 37.  Are there any other records available, besides ordering a death certificate, to verify the age?  I'm not sure where to look for this information.  
Thanks, pgcruiser

[Cornish Terrier]

The logical answer to this is that it is a completely different person with the same name. But as you have not given a name or details of the time period it is difficult to give the advice you are seeking.

If the event is post-1837 then the easiest solution would be to check FreeBMD which is an online transcription of the St Catherine's House BMD Indexes.

www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl

Enter the details in the search form provided and if you do not know the exact year of death then fill in the 'From' and 'To' date fields. I would suggest you allow about ten years either side of the date you think and work from there.

CT

[pgcruiser]

Thanks CT. I also thought that this was a different person but on a lot of the public trees on ancestry, many have listed this as the date of burial. That is why I am questioning.
My relative is Thomas Honey, born in Stratton in 1805. He marries Elizabeth Gilbert and the 1841 census shows them living in Stratton. The 1851 census shows that Elizabeth is a widow. The burial record in Stratton is from 1842. I have checked other records for Thomas Honey from other parishes but none of them match.
I will keep looking.
Thanks again.
pgcruiser

[Cornish Terrier]

Rule Number One - NEVER rely on online family trees whether they be on Ancestry or anywhere else! I use them as a 'tool' only - a resource for possible clues. Anything found should be thoroughly checked against reliable and, where possible, original records.
And don't fall into the trap of thinking that because everyone has the same information that it makes it right. Generally speaking one person puts something online and then everyone else copies it so if an error is made it is perpetuated into eternity!!!

The Stratton record definitely has the age of Thomas Honey in 1842 as 62 - it is quite clear. Do you know his occupation?
If your man was a mariner/fisherman then it is quite possible he may have been lost at sea in which case there would be no burial or death record unless a body was recovered.

The other option is that your relative ventured overseas and died before he could return. Many men left England in search for a better life and with the view for sending for family later.

CT

[donne]

Well, we are a long way from West Penwith, but everbody likes a puzzle. It seems to me you may be looking in the wrong place for Thomas's burial. The Thomas Honey/ Elizabeth Gilbert marriage you specify took place in Liskeard, and the widowed Elizabeth Honey of the 1851 census also has a Liskeard address. In 1841, Thomas is described as a lime burner, an occupation where he could be quite mobile it seems to me. I think you should consider the possibility that the family moved back to the Liskeard area, in East Cornwall, between 1841 and Thomas's death in the 1840s. There is a death of a Thomas Honey in the second quarter of 1847 in the Liskeard RD who could be your man.

[pgcruiser]

Thank you both for the advice and tips. I will definitely look into more possibilities before drawing conclusions.
pgcruiser

ps. Thanks for looking outside of the Penrith area to help me out. Being from "across the pond" I didn't realize the distances.

[sue]

Rather than having been born 1805, given his apparently "accurate" age of 37 in 1841 (rather than the rounded down to nearest 5years age that was supposed to be complied with for adults in 1841 census), I would think your Thomas Honey was perhaps the chap baptized at Duloe 27 March 1803 as "Thomas Hony" to parents Thomas & Elizabeth.

Their son Samuel would then be the witness at the 1826 marriage of Thomas Honey to Elizabeth Gilbert; Samuel also being a lime-burner in 1841.

Doesn't help find his death/burial, though!

Sue

[donne]

Aug 31, 2015 9:10:00 GMT -5 pgcruiser said:

ps. Thanks for looking outside of the Penrith area to help me out. Being from "across the pond" I didn't realize the distances.

I'm sure you are very welcome. In continental terms the distance between Penwith and Stratton is trivial, a mere 50 miles or so. Though I think most people would regard Penwith as an area with distinctive characteristics - more 'Cornish', if you will, than East Cornwall where I was born.

I've followed up on my theory of the Liskeard RD death. FreeBMD actually lists two Thomas Honeys who died in Liskeard RD in June quarter 1847, ref vol 9 page 100 and Vol 9 page 103 (possibly same event recorded twice - not unknown in the GRO index). One of these has a burial recorded on FamilySearch as 9 April 1847 in the parish of St. Cleer. We can look up the burial in the St Cleer parish register actually imaged on FamilySearch - but then we find this Thomas Honey was 62 when he died. Of the other death, I don't have any clue - Liskeard RD encompasses about 30 parishes. Maybe there's nothing for it but to start paying out for those expensive death certificates!

[pgcruiser]

I have been reviewing my files.  Your suggestions have given me real food for thought.  That was a very good point about the census records and age being rounded down.  The witness, Samuel, that is listed on the marriage record, I took to be possibly the uncle of Thomas but I need to verify that info with more facts.  I believe the 1841 census to be the correct one as the son Thomas (age 11) is the line that I am following and all his information fits.   I will look into the Liskeard area more to see what I can find.   And so we continue looking...
Thanks