Yes! I love death certificates! See Spence and West Pedigree Charts for where these people fit in.
Here is the death record of Susan's mother, Pheby Scholfield West. She died about a year before our Grannie Phoebe (Grannie English), was born, so the baby was named for her grandmother. (actually both her grandmothers, Pheby Scholfield West and Ester Brown Rushton). I like these ledgers because they give a lot of information. Phebe West is # 10. (There are many ways to spell Pheby).
Here's our ancestor, Grampa or Grampa English, William Mariner Spence. He died at 13 Aberdeen Street, Springhill, Cumberland County, his residence. He had lived in Springhill for 70 years and all his life in Nova Scotia. He was a male Canadian of English origin (hence the name Grampa English) and a widower. He was born in NS on March 27, 1873, so when he died, he was 86 years, 3 months, and 4 days old. He was a miner in the coal mining industry for 50 years, and had last worked there in 1947. His wife, Mrs. Phoebe Spence, was deceased, and his parents, John Spence and Almira Pettigrew, were both born in NS. The person giving all this info was his son, Harmon Spence of 4 Aberdeen St. He was buried in Springhill on July 3 and the undertaker was R. H. Brown. His date of death was July 1, 1959. His doctor had been attending him from January until July 1, and last saw him alive on June 29. The direct cause of death was senile psychosis, which he had had for 1 or 2 years, and the antecedent cause was arteriosclerosis, which he had had for 10 years. His doctor was Dr. Murray, who by the way is the father of the singer Anne Murray.
I thought I'd put in this nice picture of Bill and Phoebe on their 50th wedding anniversary, 1942, to help you visualize them.
Now here's Grannie or Grannie English, Phoebe Esther Rushton Spence, spelled wrong on this cert and her gravestone. She died on Aberdeen Street, Springhill, Cumberland County, her residence. She had lived in Springhill for 60 years and all her life in Nova Scotia. She was a female Canadian of English origin and married. She was born in NS on Dec. 31, 1868, so when she died, she was 85 years, 3 months, and 10 days old. She was a housewife and had last worked at that occupation on April 10/54, does that sound right?, so she had been a housewife for 69 years. Her husband was Wm. Spence and her parents were Thomas Rushton and Susan West, both born in NS. The person giving all this info was her son, Harmon Spence, of Springhill NS. She was buried in Springhill on April 12 and the undertaker was R. H. Brown. Her date of death was April 10, 1954. Her doctor had been attending her from Nov. 1953 until April 10, and last saw her alive on April 10. The cause of death was senile psychosis, which she had had for 6 months. Her doctor was also Dr. Murray, father of Anne the singer.
Now here we have Phoebe's mother, the elderly lady, who was listed on Phoebe's death cert as Susan West. In this picture are her daughter Jane, Jane's husband Tuner (Albion Rushton) and 2 of their kids.
Since this woman is Hannah S. Rushton, you wouldn't realize it is her if you didn't know her full name is Hannah Susan West Rushton. It does give her husband as the late Thomas Rushton, so we know we have the right person. Hannah S. is a female who died on Sept. 2 1918 at age 88. She lived in Roslin and her occupation was Farmer's Widow. Her cause of death was old age, which seems to have been added later in pencil. She was Baptist and Caucasian. The undertaker was Black & McDougal, who were also the ones who made the return, gave the information on Sept. 2. She is buried in Roslin.
Luckily, we know a couple of things about Susan that this death record has wrong or incomplete, maybe because the undertaker filled it out instead of her son. First of all, we know her full name. We know, because it is listed in the family Bible, that she was born on 4 September 1832, so she was 2 days short of her 86th birthday, but what's a couple of years when you're over 80? We know, because our relative Scott Miller told us, that she was buried on her own land, so there's no gravestone in a cemetery.
We also know that Aunt Connie visited her when she was a child. Aunt Connie was fascinated by the way that the smoke from Susan's corncob pipe came out from a hole in her cheek, a marvelous trick. As a 5-year-old, she didn't realize that her grandmother actually had a terrible disease. I would guess that she had mouth cancer. One obituary relates that she bore her illness with Christian fortitude. But at 86 or 88, she certainly qualifies for an old age diagnosis.
Description of the Deceased
Name and Occupation..........................................................Phebe West
Sex........................................................................................F
Age.......................................................................................60
Condition.............................................................................Married
Where Born.........................................................................Horton (in Kings County, NS)
Parents' Names, Occupation, and whether living or dead...Nathaniel Scholfield, farmer
Particulars of Death
Date, and Place of Death.....................................................4 October 1867, Pugwash (Cumberland Co NS)
Certified Cause of Death.....................................................Consumption (tuberculosis)
Signature of Informant........................................................Levi West (not his actual signature)
When Registered and signature of Deputy Registrar..........8 Oct 1867, Levi Borden
Back to Grampa, Grampa English, William Mariner Spence. Here is his father, who it says in the top death cert is John Spence. Now we see he is John W. Spence, male, who died on September 1, 1917, at the age of 73 years 4 months. He lived on Junction Road, Springhill, NS. He was a farmer and was widowed. John W. was born in Lower Cove, Cumberland County, and died of indigestion, which he had had for one week. He was Methodist and white, and his doctor was Dr. M. J. Wardrope. The undertaker was A. W. Brown, and he was buried in Hillside Cemetery, Springhill, NS. The return was given on Sept. 1, 1917, by Samuel M. Spence. (Uncle Sam was his son, and you remember him from the birth certificates in the previous post. He is the one who swore when his baby brother Ainsley was born).
A real treat is this death certificate of John W's mother, Ellenor Spence! She is William Mariner's grandmother. Female, died Oct 28 1910 at age 90 in River Hebert (Cumberland County, NS). She was a widow and her husband's name was Sam. Spence. She was born in Lakeland, NS, and died of senility (not dementia, just old age) with the immediate cause of pneumonia, which she had had for 9 months. She was white and belonged to the Church of England, although she was buried in the Baptist Cemetery in River Hebert. The name of the physician in attendance was William Rockwell, who also made the return on the same day.
That was so much fun!
Comments
Post a Comment