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This person married into one branch of my extended family. Her death certificate, which was filed in the state index as well as the state Dept. of Health, lists her birth date as March 6, 1866, and her date of death as January 17, 1925 (as far as I can tell; if anyone can decipher some of this writing, I would much appreciate)!
However, her gravestone inscription reads March 25, 1866 as her date of birth and February 17, 1925, as her date of death. I can't find any known reasons for the error; there was no autopsy, and she died at home after a two-year illness. (I also can't make out exact cause of death; looks like "hernia plaque?" What does that say?)
In general, I would trust death certificate information perhaps slightly more than gravestone inscriptions, but in this case, the writing is so scribbled and so much is crossed out, I can't tell which source to trust. What do you think, and why would a family in 1925 mix up those dates? Any ideas?
Last edited by Tobiashen; 03-27-2014 at 01:29 PM..
I agree with you on the dates, and even though death certificate information is provided by a third party (read: could be incorrect), the information contained on the official record is definitely more reliable in this case. Whoever contracted with the headstone company clearly got the details wrong.
As far as the cause of death; sorry, but I really can't read the words...because the writing is so awful!
We previously had a topic about inaccuracies on death records - they do happen and more often than you'd think. The death certificate lists the informant - do you know who that is and how they are related the deceased? That's one way of weighing the reliability of the information. The informant may have been grieving so much they were confused, or perhaps they were an in-law who wasn't sure about the early details of the deceased, or maybe they didn't speak English very well and the person taking the information misheard them. Even if they were an immediate relative, you'd be surprised how often children don't know their own parent's birth details very well. I know not all of these reasons will be applicable here but I'm just covering all the ideas we went through last time.
So it's not uncommon for a birth date/place to be wrong on a death certificate since it's a secondary source for a birth event. It is a little more unusual that the death date is wrong because it's a primary source for the death event, but not impossible. The month of the date of death looks like it's been written over and at the low res size of the image on the screen, it's impossible to read. Is it possible the correct month was written over top?
I do not necessarily agree with RVcook that the death certificate is the more reliable source over a gravestone just because it's an official government document. A death certificate is written in haste compared to getting a gravestone carved - and like I say, it's taken while the informant is still raw with grief. It's also something that can be corrected later, whereas a gravestone - not so much. It seems to me that logically, one would take more care when literally setting something in stone and also, they may have had more time to let their head clear and to check with other relatives about dates. If the headstone company were the ones who made the mistake, they should have corrected it - I can't imagine the family would just accept an error like that. Particularly given how illegible this death certificate is, I would not trust my own ability to read it and therefore I would go with the gravestone as the more reliable source for now and keep searching for more records which will confirm the correct dates. A marriage record might list her date of birth, but the jackpot would be a birth or baptism record. For the date of death, you might try contacting the cemetery if you haven't already - sometimes, their records list the date of death as well as the date of burial.
... and keep searching for more records which will confirm the correct dates. A marriage record might list her date of birth, but the jackpot would be a birth or baptism record. For the date of death, you might try contacting the cemetery if you haven't already - sometimes, their records list the date of death as well as the date of burial.
Agree about 'confirming' records . But wait...didn't I read the date the death certificate was filed was on Feb 10th? If so, how could she have died on Feb 17th?
In general, I would trust death certificate information perhaps slightly more than gravestone inscriptions, but in this case, the writing is so scribbled and so much is crossed out, I can't tell which source to trust. What do you think, and why would a family in 1925 mix up those dates? Any ideas?
My grandmother died in 1961 and the birth year is wrong on her gravestone.
My grandfather-in-law died in 1947 and the birth year is wrong on his death certificate.
The information is often provided by stressed, grieving survivors. It's not at all unusual for either to be wrong.
Sorry, I don't have a clue which of your sources is right. Since the birth month is the same in both cases, census records won't help.
Some gravestone dates reflect the birth year someone lived with if they wanted to appear younger to family, friends, neighbors, or employers. But the death certificate may reflect their true date of birth.
As far as the cause of death; sorry, but I really can't read the words...because the writing is so awful!
Yes, it's just about the worst I've ever seen on a death certificate thus far! There must have been cause for some kind of great confusion at the time this took place, because two addresses were crossed out as well as the death dates.
Quote:
The information is often provided by stressed, grieving survivors. It's not at all unusual for either to be wrong.
Now that I look at it again, prompted by PA2K, it reveals that the husband was the informant. He lived another 20 years and likely was in great distress.
Quote:
it's taken while the informant is still raw with grief. It's also something that can be corrected later, whereas a gravestone - not so much. It seems to me that logically, one would take more care when literally setting something in stone and also, they may have had more time to let their head clear and to check with other relatives about dates. If the headstone company were the ones who made the mistake, they should have corrected it - I can't imagine the family would just accept an error like that.
This does make more sense -- at least in this case. I'll go with the gravestone dates this time. It's hard to separate the wheat from the chaff sometimes when you get so deep into this information, which is why I felt I needed a few more minds and sets of eyes to look it over. Thanks so much!
the death certificate was filed was on Feb 10th? If so, how could she have died on Feb 17th?
You're right! Surely the people filing this certificate would have been cognizant (we hope) of the current month, and her gravestone does indicate that she died in February, so I'll have to go with that. What a mixup! Plus, her DOB on the DC is a year off from the DOB on the gravestone. She was either 47 or 57!
At this point, I'll have to let it go, but I've never seen so many discrepancies!
Agree about 'confirming' records . But wait...didn't I read the date the death certificate was filed was on Feb 10th? If so, how could she have died on Feb 17th?
RVcook
True - I was thinking more of the birth date than the death date though. But your point draws attention to the fact that this death certificate was filed nearly a month after the death, which is unusual. In my experience, the death certificate is normally filed within a few days of the death. If the certificate was delayed, perhaps because of an autopsy, so would the burial be delayed and this could account for the confusion of the death date on the gravestone. If the burial didn't take place until after February 17, someone may have assumed that the death date of January 17 must be wrong (burials don't normally happen over a month after the death) and changed it to Feb. Whether that was on the family's end or not, I couldn't say. But if this is the case, it has no bearing on the birth date, which means I'd still be more inclined to take the birth date from the gravestone than the death certificate.
OK then... it's official: this one wins the prize for the most screwed up death certificate EVER!
Please accept my condolences...
RVcook
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. But wait...didn't I read the date the death certificate was filed was on Feb 10th? If so, how could she have died on Feb 17th? 
