Death Certificates



When I was researching my own family history I was interested to find that my ancestors who died during the 1660s had been buried in woollen shrouds. On further research I found out about the Burial in Woollen Acts 1666 – 1680.  This Act required that the dead – except those who died of the plague, to be buried in pure English woollen shrouds. The legislation of this Act was in force until 1814. The Act was repealed in 1863.


Unlike the Birth and Marriage Acts of 1836, it wasn’t until 1857 that the new Burial Act was enforced named the Burial Act, 1857. Its purpose was to officially regulate burial grounds. The Act made it illegal to disturb a grave, other than by exhumation sanctioned by the Home Office.

Parish Registrars would have the details of burials, and before 1813 the records consisted of name, age and date of burial. From 1813 onwards the burials were recorded in registers, the information given would be name, abode, date of burial, age and who performed the ceremony. 

The only major burial ground in Swansea at this time was at St. Mary’s Church, its grounds being quite modest and bounded by houses. It was during the 1960s that the graveyard was cleared, extended and lawned, creating a more pleasant area with some of the older gravestones being used as paving in a walkway around the church. Unfortunately the inscriptions on the gravestones are now being worn away and lost forever. 

Pictured are two examples of burial registers of St Mary’s Church. The first example dating 1810, we can see that May 29th was a ‘busy’ day with 3 burials.  

The second example dates from 1835. The two burials made on the 31st May stood out from the other burials as the address were more than just Swansea. The first address was the House of Correction. This building opened in 1826 and stood on land located to the south of the main wing of today’s prison. The second address was Swansea Union House. This building was the Bathing House, on Swansea Burrows on the Mumbles Road, which was converted for the use as a House of Industry and Infirmary. Today it is the site of the Civic Centre.

In the previous articles I have used people who have been born and married in Swansea, with this article I looked further afield

EDGAR EVANS


Edgar Evans, was one of the five men to have journeyed to the South Pole with Captain Scott during 1911/1912.  Evans was born 7th March 1876, in Middleton, Rhossili. Their aim to become the first to reach the Pole was unsuccessful as Roald Amundsen reached it a month earlier, in December 1911.  

From Left to right Oates, Bowers, Scott, Wilson and Evans. How was the above photograph taken? Read the next article about Military Records for the answer.

Scott’s return journey of 800 miles was fateful, and all the men died. Edgar Evans was the first to succumb during the trek, on 17th February 1912, near the base of Beardmore Glacier, Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica.  A month later, 16th March, Captain Oates, famously walked out the tent into a blizzard stated "I am just going outside and may be some time".  Days later, 19th March, the final three, Captain Scott, Bowers and Dr. Wilson, set up camp, with the ranging blizzard they were unable to mark the 11 miles to  One Ton Depot.  During the 9 days supplies ran out and farewell letters were written, and Captain Scott made his last entry in his diary on 29th March, stating "Last entry. FOr God's sake look after our people"
Eight months later, the bodies of Captain Scott and his companions were found in a search party led by Apsley Cherry-Garrard.  Edgar Evans' body was never recovered 

The first memorial dedicated to Petty Officer Edgar Evans was the plaque at St. Mary’s church, Rhossili, which his widow, Lois erected.
TO THE GLORY OF GOD
AND IN MEMORY OF
EDGAR EVANS
1ST CLASS PETTY OFFICER, R.N. AND A NATIVE OF THIS
PARISH, WHO PERISHED ON THE 17TH FEBRUARY 1912
WHEN RETURNING FROM THE SOUTH POLE WITH THE
SOUTHERN PARTY OF THE BRITISH ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION
UNDER THE COMMAND OF
CAPTAIN ROBERT FALCON SCOTT, C.V.O., R.N.
“To seek, to strive, to find, and not to yield”
Erected by Lois Evans

At the Royal Mail Sorting Office, Llansamlet, a portrait of Edgar Evans hangs.


During 1964, the Royal Navy named the HMS Excellent, a new shore establishment at Portsmouth, The Edgar Evans Building.

For those who have ancestors who served with the navy, and died during their service either during peace time or war time, their death would have been recorded as a Return of Death. Using Edgar Evans as an example, this is what can be obtained from the Returns: 

I purchased Edgar Evans’s Returns of Death from the General Register Office, Southport. 

What information can be found on his Returns of Death? (below)
1. Name of Ship – In our example, Terra Nova. Her home port was Cardiff. She set sail on 15th June 1910 for the Antarctic and returning to Cardiff on 13th June 1913

2. Official Number – 89090, Terra Nova’s number

3. Date of Death – 7th February 1912

4. Place of Death – Antarctic

5. Name and Surname of Deceased – Edgar Evans

6. Age – 38

7. Rank, Profession or Occupation – Petty Officer, Royal Navy (160225)/Able Seaman

8. Last Place of Abode – Portsmouth and also Pitton, Glam

9. Cause of Death – Concussion of Brain. Without an actual body present the cause of death was recorded by Captain Scott in his journals. Also according to his journals, Evans had died at 12.30am and very quietly

Can anyone spot the two mistakes on the Returns? Also does anyone know how the photograph was taken at the South Pole?

More information on death certificates will be given in next month’s article, covering military records and medals.
Copyright – The Bay Magazine – September 2015

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reader Feedback

Image
Following April’s article Per Ardua ad Astra , two readers have been in touch. Mary Johnstone contacted me via email regarding her father, Hubert John Lewis who served with the RAF Hubert was born in 1923 and was 16 at the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939. He was employed as an Apprentice Metallurgical Chemist and was living with his parents, Philip and Beatrice Lewis at 24 Elwy Crescent, Swansea. (Left) Herbert John Lewis (Right) With his crew and ground crew with kind permission Mary Johnstone Joining the RAF in 1942, 19 year old Hubert undertook his training at RAF Juby, in the Isle of Man. He joined the No 5 Bombing and Gunnery School where training was undertaken on the Handley Page Hereford aircraft. On completion of training, Air Gunner Sergeant Lewis was a Pilot Officer for a period of 6 months, which followed automatic promotion to Flying Officer. Hubert served with the 102 Squadron, based at RAF Pocklington, Yorkshire, which...
Read more

Birth Certificates

Image
July 1st 2019, marked the 182th anniversary of the introduction of the National Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths in 1837. This first article will be covering  Birth Certificates , where I will be using examples of people from Swansea to give some colour and add some meat to the bones. So let’s go back to the year of 1837, and paint a picture of what was happening nationally.  Poor  King William IV  died of a heart attack on June 20th at Windsor, with the crown passing to his niece,  Victoria . The Prime Minister was  Lord Melbourne  of the Whig party. At home, Swansea’s population had risen from 6,000 in 1801 to 17,000 in 1851. Swansea can boast of the first newspaper,  The Cambrian , which was published in Wales, 1804. A good read! Before 1837 baptisms, marriages and burials were recorded in parish registers. At this time, there were only two churches within the Swansea area, St John-juxta-Swansea, Hafod – with registe...
Read more

Swansea and WWI

Image
2018 marks the centenary anniversary of the Armistice of the First World War, November 1918. Here Charles looks at the life of marine engineer William John Johnstone and the steamer S.S. Kingsley   The steamer S.S. Kingsley was constructed in 1881, by T. & W. Smith, of North Shields; it weighed in at 633 tons. By 1918, it was managed by Harries Bros. & Co, Swansea, of Cambrian Street. The S.S. Kingsley was attacked and damaged on the morning of the 2 January 1918, by U-95, 3 miles east of Rundelstone Buoy, Cornwall. A few days after the centenary anniversary of the confrontation, Mrs Lisa Johnstone-Davies contacted me, with a tale of her great-grandfather, William John Johnstone. I carried out some research using various sources, and can now paint a picture of what occurred on that fateful morning. During the 1911 Census, William John Johnstone, (age 27), who filled in the census and called himself William Alexander, is living at 22 Calland Street, L...
Read more